What do you do with someone like Barrett?

[CyberPunk]

So I am back with yet another one of those 'What do you do..." question. This time it's some bad news. Yes, it's Wade Barrett.

Wade Barrett or Bad News Barrett made his debut on main roster of Raw as the leader of Nexus in 2010. It became an instant success and had the whole wrestling business abuzz. Just coming from winning NXT to leading Nexus and becoming part of one of the biggest and most successful angles in years, he had a dream debut. And what more, he straight went to feud with none other than John Cena. Not only that, with help from the Nexus, he beat Cena at HIAC that year to make him join Nexus. While Nexus lost its steam over the later part of the year and Punk took over the reins of Nexus, Wade looked like the breakout star in the Nexus.

After Nexus, he formed another group called the Corre. Soon after he became the IC champion, his first singles title. That's where it all began to go downhill for him. Corre didn't last long and he lost his IC title to Ezekiel Jackson. After that, Barrett did little of note except multiple gimmick changes and another couple of IC reigns in 2013. He went off TV multiple times during this period, more recently due to work Visa issues. His Barrett barrage showed some promise but his injury put him out of action. Right now, he's back working on JBL and Cole show as Bad News Barrett.

I don't know what to think of or do with this guy. I've always liked him on mic. His British accent really sets him apart on mic from everyone and for me, his delivery on the mic is almost flawless. He's not the best inside the ring but can work good matches with the right opponent. He also has a decent look and size. So why can't this guy get over?

Part of me thinks that he has always been recipient of some lackluster booking. His booking, to me, has made little to no sense. Injuries and absence from TV has also taken away whatever little momentum he has been able to build up. I always thought that a feud with Sheamus could've done wonders for him but that never really happened, despite a brief feud. Now he's back with what I consider a really, really lame gimmick. This might just finish him for good, but stranger things have happened.

So here is my question. What do you do with Wade Barrett at this point? Where does he go now? Honestly, I am completely blank on what to do with this guy. I always thought he could be a good upper midcarder with every now and then slipping into main event. How would you book this guy from here on?

 

[Softcore Holly]

It's tough after such a long absence, he's not a big star like Punk who can take a few months off then come back without missing a beat. He left in jobber status, and his return was very lackluster. Like I would made his return a big deal/surprise of some sort to get him back in the mix of things on a bit of momentum but nope, can't have that. He's also in a tough spot where you can't push him anywhere since all the titles are occupied elsewhere(or in Ambrose's case, long forgotten) There are several ways I would use him. Also tried to keep it more realistic, he's not going to be winning the RR for example.

1. Work for the Authority. Since the Shield seems to be getting closer and closer to breaking up the Authority might want to consider getting some new henchmen. He can be a spokeman for the Authority while keeping up with the bad news thing/podium, and he can have good matches against rebels like Punk/DB. This is a small step but it gets Barrett air/ring time along with extra heat for working for/sucking up to the Authority.

2. Work for vince when he gets back. Assuming they do that Vince vs Authority thing rumored a while back Vince will need people to do the fighting for him. This is not as good as #1 since he probably won't get to speak nearly as much but least he'll still be part of a main storyline.

3. Feud with Sheamus when he gets back. Sheamus will undoubtedly make a big splash on his return, yet he'll have no one to really face since he'll be in the same boat Wade is in now. So have them face each other. Sheamus will eventually come out on top but going back and forth with a former main eventer like Sheamus could only help Barrett move on to bigger and better things.

4. Make him face, get the US title off Ambrose, and then feud over it. This would be a huge for Barrett since he was never a face in the WWE, but I'm sure he can pull it off. Both Barrett and Ambrose are great in the ring, so they should be able to put on some entertaining matches, the US title finally gets some attention and hopefully consistent defenses on PPVs. Afterwards he can feud with the Real Americans who would be unhappy that a foreigner has the US title. Mic war with Zeb would be awesome, Barrett vs Cesaro would be even better.

 

[NxtBigThing]

You know I think at this point it may take awhile if ever for him to get back. Its no dig at Wade Barrett because I think he has all the tools to be good. However with the constant gimmick changes how can anyone take him seriously until he finds one and sticks to it. I personally think they dropped the ball when he had the Bare knuckle gimmick. In fact its not really a gimmick if it mimics his real life. I thought if they showcased some of his fights (or at least made a bigger deal out of it) you could have made him look like a true badass. However they had him job to guys like the Miz which doesn't help the cause. If it was up to me I would have either kept the gimmick, brought him back as someone's enforcer or a guy heels would pay to help them out (kinda like the APA), or at this point maybe it be best to put him with another middle/top guy who is lost in the shuffle and add them to the tag team ranks.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Like I said in a different thread, the problem wasn't the gimmick but that they didn't go all out with making him the Tyler Durden of WWE.

Barrett has the charisma and leadership to make a WWE version of Fight Club work but they just didn't do it.

How do you redeem him now? Simple but it involves someone who is not in the good books... Bring back Flair, put together a Horsemen group, Barrett as Enforcer... Job done

 

[Mustang Sally]

Barrett has the charisma and leadership to make a WWE version of Fight Club work but they just didn't do it.

"Leadership" is the key word. That's what Barrett does best, but by definition, it means you have to have people to lead. With his "Fight Club" schtick, he was by himself......in fact, the concept of a fight club is based on one-on-one encounters, with no one to help you, right?

Wade Barrett needs to lead; one of the best choices WWE made when developing the concept of Nexus was picking the absolute right person to be their leader: Wade.

For that reason, it was understandable that Corre was established after the Nexus concept ran it's course.....but it was the same soup warmed over; just a miniaturized version of Nexus. Wade needs new guys and, more importantly, a new cause.

Whatever they're trying to do now with the "Bad News" stuff, Wade is coming off as too Sandow-ish to blaze any trails of his own. Give him a gang of men to rule.....and maybe even a gal or two.....and watch him take off.

 

[Booker t 5x]

wades very talented. we saw him have such a great run in 2010. we know he can pull it off. i think wwe just doesnt know what to do with him. hes gone from so many theme songs, to so many character changes, the poor guy gets lost in the shuffle.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

"Leadership" is the key word. That's what Barrett does best, but by definition, it means you have to have people to lead. With his "Fight Club" schtick, he was by himself......in fact, the concept of a fight club is based on one-on-one encounters, with no one to help you, right?

Wade Barrett needs to lead; one of the best choices WWE made when developing the concept of Nexus was picking the absolute right person to be their leader: Wade.

For that reason, it was understandable that Corre was established after the Nexus concept ran it's course.....but it was the same soup warmed over; just a miniaturized version of Nexus. Wade needs new guys and, more importantly, a new cause.

Whatever they're trying to do now with the "Bad News" stuff, Wade is coming off as too Sandow-ish to blaze any trails of his own. Give him a gang of men to rule.....and maybe even a gal or two.....and watch him take off.

The Fight Club gimmick would have been too "non PG" and may have come into copyright issues but had they gone there, Barrett could have had the "rules" of the group, random guys would start working extra stiff in a visable way during matches but not really explaining it (The first rule is you don't talk about Fight Club...the second the same...)

Then over time it happens with Barrett battering someone and helping them up/shaking their hand. Lawler and JR would have been "What?" but we'd have realised it was an initiation.

Over time he would have started talking about bringing the machine down similar to what the Wyatts do now and eventually it's revealed that loads of people on the roster are part of his group... maybe even down to referees, Justin Roberts...Regal, even some of the "ring crew" or EMTS, arena staff etc (plants of course).

 

[Dum Dum Dudley]

Honestly, with the way the tag division is being booked now, I'd slap him in a tag team with someone. When you've got good hands like Cody, Swagger and Cesaro stepping back from the singles division and getting exposure in the tag division, it shows that tagging isn't a step backwards anymore.

We've seen RAWs and Smackdowns where the Rhodes have teamed with Punk, Bryan, Show and Mysterio: all top faces. We've seen the Real Americans get far more tv time as a team than as singles guys. The only question is who do you partner him with?

I would love to see Barrett team with Leo Kruger (if and when he drops the Adam Cole gimmick) and be an old-school, rough tag team in the vein of the Brain Busters. I think the two would complement each other and could work well with the existing teams in the division such as the Usos and Real Americans.

If we're going down the title unification route, the sad reality is some guys will never be world champions. However, theres no shame in being a good midcarder. Barrett is an excellent talent to have in your IC or tag division but I would absolutely resist the urge to lumber him with another stable. Nexus worked (briefly) and the Corre outright sucked. Saddle him with another stable, especially the UK stable that's ALWAYS thrown around, and you end up repeating history and not even successful history at that.

 

[Dagger Dias]

What they need to do with Barrett is get him re-established as a threat to the titles. This whole Bad News announcements thing makes no sense. The fighter gimmick could have worked, but nothing came out of it. Had Barrett not gotten injured to where he missed out on that rumored Money In the Bank win, we might not be having this discussion right now. Money In the Bank is still his answer to fixing his problems. It's too soon for him to get built up enough to be believable in winning the Royal Rumble or the Elimination Chamber. Build him up slowly up until this summer by having him win filler feuds.

No more Intercontinental Championship reigns where he does absolutely nothing. No more factions. Barrett should have won Money In the Bank last year. He needed it more than Sandow did. They should correct that this year. He's better than the couple of meaningless reigns with the Intercontinental Championship that he's gotten. Remember Nexus? Barrett was awesome back then and he still has what it takes to make it into the world title tier. At the very least he should be able to get a more meaningful Intercontinental Championship reign once that belt becomes the #2 belt after the unification, although I still want to see him make it back to the world title scene and win it once.

 

[tripleddd]

Actually I think there is a lot they can do with him just not sure which order but I would like to see him team up with either Sheamus or William regal or both win the Tag team titles, a possible Royal Rumble winner and certainly after Wrestlemania get him invovled in the WWE title certainly having him win it before 2014 is out !!!

 

[babinko]

Now with the titles being unified it actually hurts Barrett from achieving any big goals in the near future. It must be frustrating knowing that you work your butt off day in and day out and your job just doesn't give you the break that you need. He could break off one day to become a WWE Champ, but the only way to do that is by winning the MitB, which I can't see happening anytime soon. Cody Rhodes deserves it a bit more than Barrett as of right now.

What really hurt Barrett was when he was injured two years ago before WM. He took that nasty spill outside and hit the announcers table. Broke his arm I believe. I remember him just swearing so loud when it happened, gave me the feeling how unprofessional that was. With the whole PG outlook, even if you do hurt yourself, never swear on TV. But getting back on track, around that same time there were rumors about maybe a MitB at WM that year and Barretts name was being thrown around for the big push. At that time, he was feuding on a weekly basis with either Orton or Sheamus on Smackdown. I dont really watch SD but it was one of the two. But that injury just set him back and now hes in limbo.

Its just like Dolph Ziggler. Guy wins the WHC on Raw and the crowd goes nuts. The next week he gets a concussion and thats it, your push is gone. Its just how show business works. Its about timing and maintaining it. One thing goes wrong, that could be it, you are never guaranteed air time again.

I think for now, Barrett needs to partner up with Sheamus and make a stab in the tag team division. They have recently been teaming up former main eventers to beef up the division, which is something wwe needs. There needs to be more alliances and factions so not all of these single superstars lose the spotlight. There really isnt much else. I think the European title should come back but they dont even do enough with the US and Intercontinental title that it would be pointless. Yet with the main titles being unified another mid-card title should be introduced. That way, a guy like Barrett has something to chase after.

 

[BrutalBarrett]

With the Rumble coming up, and Barrett's new gimmick hasn't given him any ring time, will he be an entrant? Or even a long shot guess as his gimmicks debut victory being the rumble? Don't diss me for the far out prediction, it's only a guess..

 

[Rocky84]

I always thought Barrett would be nice in a tough British stable...Mason Ryan the muscle, William Regal as the crooked old school guy ala Flair, and you can even add a guy like Gabriel in there and/or a girl like Lela? I think that's her, but mainly Ryan, Barrett and Regal...they could do some damage as a gritty reality almost crime-type of heel faction.

I thought it would be cool to have Sheamus do the same with Finley as an Irish crew. Like have Finely play the part of an old school street guy like the 2 dudes from that the flower shop in that movie "The Town"....and make Sheamus a darker tougher character which he can be if he stopped with his stupid haircut and his constant smiling. These two groups can fued or even join, but given the history of the Irish and English...the latter is unlikely.

They are getting darker groups like the Wyatt's, Real Americans, and the Shield so why not?