What To Do With Wade Barrett?

[Cracka Jack]

Since you're asking what to do with him if he doesn't win the briefcase, I think I have an idea. I feel a Sheamus face turn is looming, and who better to turn him against than Wade? Now, this may sound more like a way to turn Sheamus face than anything, and it will, but it'll be great for Wade for two reasons: it gives him something to do while waiting to feud with, say, Orton, and it'll give him confidence and momentum going into his next program. There isn't really any other obvious feud for him at the moment, except with Bryan, which likely wouldn't do much for him. Give him Sheamus, and he'll be back on track soon enough.

 

[Theo Mays]

Wade Barrett has certainly had a boatload of chances in the main event and nothing really came of that. The easy way to get him back into the swing of things would be to give him the MITB briefcase. I think his chances are pretty good when it comes to winning it, but I'd put him behind Rhodes and Sheamus on that front. Carrying the briefcase for Barrett though really fits his character. He sort has that take advantage of the situation feel to him much like that of Edge or Miz. He could carry the briefcase for a handful of months before cashing in at Survivor Series or some other time later in the year.

If Barrett doesn't win the briefcase I really have no idea as to how they will book him. I like to think he is above the midcard, but who knows if the WWE feels that way. He certainly has all the tools to succeed and has had his chances. I just hope the E doesn't give up on him and lets him rot before letting him go.

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

I think Wade Barrett is an absolute natural, and someone who's future is very bright. Watch NXT season 1 again and compare him to 90% of the guys on NXT, how comfortable he is with the mic as a rookie is almost staggering. He handled himself wonderfully with The Nexus invasion with what he was given, and I honestly believe that without him they would have dropped the group far earlier. It seems he lost legitimacy when he got dropped from the group but I blame that on the booking, he gets dropped from Nexus so he just goes over to Smackdown and tries to fight The Big Show and immediately gets backed up by his old friend once again.

He ought not to have left Raw, instead taking out his anger on his former allies in The Nexus making him look like a physical threat. The thing with Big Show would have worked if he had been allowed to it by himself and get a clean win because he looked very strong when he first came in. Lumping him in The Corre really hurt him but it's not removed any of the confidence I had in him before that because when he was main eventing PPV's as a complete rookie and shining, I knew he he'd have no problems when it came time for a push.

The path to take him right now I honestly believe is to give him the MITB briefcase. I'm not saying this because I like him more than the average superstar, although I do, but if he doesn't win that contract he really has nowhere to go, no momentum at all and it won't be his fault. You don't even have to have him win when he cashes in, but he needs the push because he's not deserving of getting lost in the shuffle like some guys are, he's a stand-out guy.

He can talk naturally like few I've ever seen and what's more the rumors about him being a poor in-ring worker are poppycock. He produced a very watchable match with Kane a couple of weeks ago where you could have mistaken him for the bigger guy. He's a complete package who's only going to get better in the ring than he is. He's a great investment, time to cash in on him I say.

 

[FightOwensFight]

I think out of the three people most consider the most likely to win at MITB (Sheamus, Rhodes, Barrett) Wade needs it the most. Rhodes is already developing as a solid mid-card guy and is working up the ladder very naturally. Sheamus is already entreanched in the ME scene and is likely the #1 contender (especially if Orton retains). That leaves Barrett and with his ability on the mic having him hold the MITB case would be a perfect fit. The person that wins that match is automatically thrust onto the big stage (where Barrett has already been as the head of NEXUS) and they tend to do a lot of promo work around being able to cash in when they want, being the next champ; that kid of thing.

It just makes perfect sense that Barrett walks away with the briefcase and if he does I would love for him to hold it for a while before cashing in. It would allow him to build up some momentum, which he has lost since his sub-par IC reign and the break-up of The Corre.

 

[XXJJ]

Yeah his career has been on a downward spiral. The Corre was horrible and it flopped. Winning MITB would be the best thing that can happen to him. It will make him relevant again. He shouldn't cash it in right away.... Let him hold it for a while.

Wade and Daniel Bryan are the only two that I think will last in the wwe from the original nexus. The other members are trash.

 

[ACL]

Yeah his career has been on a downward spiral. The Corre was horrible and it flopped. Winning MITB would be the best thing that can happen to him. It will make him relevant again. He shouldn't cash it in right away.... Let him hold it for a while.

Wade and Daniel Bryan are the only two that I think will last in the wwe from the original nexus. The other members are trash.

I agree, the corre was terrible.

I disagree, he doesn't NEED the mitb case, yeah he needs momentum but not necessarily again so fast, I mean hes had alot of the spotlight in the year hes been here.

I also disagree about Wade and DB being the only 2 from the nexus that will survive. Gabriel definately will, slater possibly, even maybe skip sheffield..but I wouldn't bank on the last one

 

[Isaac Kaye]

I disagree with the notion that Barrett 'needs' MITB, almost as if his career is in jeopardy if he doesn't. It's true that he's lost a significant amount of momentum since being drafted, but it's very difficult to keep that sort of focus coming out of a stable like NeXus. The Corre was dreadful, and they were booked awfully, Barrett especially with Big Show and Jackson.

All he needs right now is a program to rediscover his character. He is only just set upon going solo, so creative need to give him time to get comfortable with his position again. MITB contract is too early if you ask me. The fans aren't invested enough in Barrett outside out his stable, which have clearly garnered him the most heat. Get him in a feud, give him the mic and let him shine on the upper midcard, main event. He will be a star eventually, he's too good not to be.

 

[btsjigs]

Hello everyone, Im new here to the wrestlezone forums... Long time wrestling fan (Macho Man getting bit by Jake Roberts snake is what drew me in when I was just a wee little guy lol). Been a long time reader of the site/forums and figured it was time to jump in.

I've gotta say I've been disappointed many times with wwf/e in my years with what they have done with certain wrestlers but never the way with what they have done with Wade Barrett.

Just look at the past year, before this whole CM Punk angle (which don't get me wrong I think is great) the one and only night I felt like a kid again was on the fan choice Raw where the Nexus was formed. After the first 2 hours and 50 mins of I was seriously disgusted that I was back into watching wrestling full time. When Barrett and Co. came out and dismantled Cena (and ironically CM Punk) I got that almost sick feeling in my stomach like I did when HBK threw Marty through the barber shop window or when Sid destroyed the barber shop and called out hogan (the barber shop left a lot of bad memories haha) It was unexpected, chaotic, and a little too real... I was hooked.

The next few months were ok with Nexus continuing to be somewhat a force (having them lose at Summerslam what idiotic IMO) Barrett beating Cena and forcing him to join Nexus (handled completely wrong, Cena had a new shirt to sell.. should have made him come out in nexus colors and sold the angle) then it went to hell plain and simple.

The "free or fired" angle is where it all fell apart. I know everyone likes to be the booker and thinks their idea is best so here is my shot lol:

1.Cena is fired
2.Barrett beats Orton for the wwe title
3.WWE makes it a open invitation Royal Rumble since its the biggest ever with 40 participants.
4.Build the hype for it saying "you never know who will accept the invitation" even though everyone would know Cena would be in. Still would have kept the surprise factor with Nash and Booker being a part of it.
5.Cena wins and you have a Cena vs Barrett match at WM.

Now I know looking back it seems stupid cause Barrett isnt on that level.... But with the way Nexus was brought in to WWE last summer there is no way why he shouldnt have been by the time Wrestlemania rolled around.

 

[JP Lioneye]

I already mentioned this in another thread but I'd like to see William Regal make a return to Smackdown to become a sort of teacher to Wade. They could easily play up the fact that both are English wrestlers and that Regal saw potential in Barrett back on Season One of NXT. It wouldn't have to last for long but just long enough to make them both kind of relevant, maybe even having Wade getting the IC title back before Regal turns on him and tries to take the belt off him.

*shrugs* It's not perfect but in my opinion it could work if the WWE does it right, just get whoever wrote the Punk storyline to write this one and you're golden.

 

[JBK2008]

Barrett indeed has lost a ton of steam but can gain in back even by the Royal Rumble if done right. First of all, give him a manager in William Regal to help him over again and beat some of the bottom and mid card guys on SmackDown, forcing Teddy Long's hand into a rematch with Big Zeke or have the pair compete for the tag team championship.

Once Barrett w/Regal is a little established, have Barrett in the main event scene claiming he's the future of SmackDown and invade by interferring in Orton's, Christian's and Sheamus' matches. Cost them matches to get attention and then with the help of Regal ofcourse since he's the manager, have him win. Wade doesn't need a championship around his waist to get over, but having him chase the WHC for a bit would be a nice change of pace.

 

[martymcfly]

I still think that they should get him off TV for a while, let him learn how to put on entertaining matches, and bring him back as some sort of monster.

But since that is not likely, unless he challenges Bryan for the briefcase and gets a cheap win over him, making him the new holder of the case, there is really nowhere else for him to go right now except down or out or both.

 

[poppycock]

I like Wade Barrett a lot. Not just because he comes from the UK but also because I think he is a great believable heel who can get under the skin of the "WWE Universe" and gather up lots of heat. He is decent in the ring (a brawler which is the type of wrestler I like) and he is good on the Mic. I think at one point he was close to becoming Champion for for whatever reason it never happend and now he is going to have wait a bit which is not a bad thing as it gives him time to develop. I would like to see Regal having some involvement with Wade..either as a manager or a tag team partner. The way he was booked as IC Champion was awful... he could have had a really good run bringing some credibility back to the title.

I would like to see a storyline where Regal gets appointed Smackdown GM by Triple H and has the power to un-unify the IC and European Titles (only for a couple of months)... Giving Wade the European Championship and this time seeing a good solid run full of clean one on one victories over challengers, booked the way his IC reign should have been booked. Then at Night Of Champions have a unification match to Unify the belts again and Wade once again gets the IC Title leading to a Title Vs Title match for the World Heavyweight Championship against Orton somewhere down the line.

Or a good Tag Team Title Run with Regal.