74 Facts About Wade Barrett

Wade Barrett is currently signed to WWE, where he is a colour commentator on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Wade Barrett.

Wade Barrett rose to prominence as the leader of The Nexus, a villainous faction composed of the remaining NXT first season rookies.

Wade Barrett later formed The Corre, a short-lived group with former Nexus members Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel, along with Ezekiel Jackson in 2011.

Wade Barrett was notably a villain for his entire WWE career, regardless of all other changes made to his character.

Wade Barrett left WWE in 2016 and has not wrestled since, though he has appeared in non-wrestling roles on the international independent circuit, such as a commentator for World of Sport Wrestling and a general manager for Defiant Wrestling under his real name.

Wade Barrett returned to WWE as a commentator for NXT in 2020.

Wade Barrett grew up in nearby Preston before moving to Wales with his parents and older brother at the age of six.

Wade Barrett was inspired to become a professional wrestler by his idol Davey Boy Smith, and named the WWF Intercontinental Championship match in the main event of SummerSlam 1992 between Smith and his other childhood hero Bret Hart as his favourite match of all time.

Wade Barrett earned a degree in marine biology from the University of Liverpool, after which he went to work in a science lab and as a recruitment consultant while training to become a wrestler.

Wade Barrett competed in a match in Budapest dubbed "The Battle of Buda" by the bare-knuckle underworld, in which he defeated a reputable opponent for a substantial cash prize.

Wade Barrett incorporated his bare-knuckle career into his WWE gimmick at the request of Dusty Rhodes, being introduced to the WWE audience as a European bare-knuckle champion who had fought on the streets of Europe.

Wade Barrett's Wasteland move is named after the site of many of his fights.

Wade Barrett made his professional wrestling debut in June 2004, using the ring name Stu Sanders, as a surprise entrant in a 30-man battle royal held by NWA UK Hammerlock Wrestling.

Wade Barrett had another tryout in 2007, and signed a developmental contract with them in October.

Wade Barrett was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling under his Stu Sanders ring name, where he defeated Ace Steel in a dark match.

Wade Barrett later formed a tag team with Paul Burchill and the pair faced the Major Brothers in several matches.

Wade Barrett became colour commentator due to an injury, in which he tore his Latissimus dorsi muscle and required surgery.

Wade Barrett described the character of Barrett as being an extension of his "dark side".

Wade Barrett returned to in-ring competition in FCW in December 2009.

Wade Barrett competed on the first season of NXT, with Chris Jericho as his storyline mentor.

Wade Barrett made his in-ring debut on the following episode of NXT, defeating Daniel Bryan.

On 1 June 2010 episode of NXT, Wade Barrett won the overall competition and a WWE contract, by defeating Gabriel and David Otunga in the season finale.

On 7 June 2010 edition of Raw, Wade Barrett was at the forefront of an attack by the NXT rookies, as they interfered in the main event match between John Cena and CM Punk, attacking both competitors, Luke Gallows, the announce team, the timekeeper and the ring announcer, Justin Roberts, before they destroyed the ring area and surrounding equipment.

That same week, Wade Barrett was absent from Raw as his work visa had expired and he had to return to the United Kingdom to apply for a new one.

Wade Barrett was the final member of the Nexus but submitted to Cena, causing the Nexus to lose the match.

Wade Barrett received his guaranteed championship match from winning NXT at Night of Champions, where he was unsuccessful in a six-pack challenge match for the WWE Championship, despite eliminating Cena.

Wade Barrett received his championship match against Randy Orton at the Bragging Rights pay-per-view.

Wade Barrett chose Cena, stating that if Barrett wins the match and the WWE title, Cena would be allowed to leave the Nexus; however if Barrett failed to win the title, Cena would be fired.

At Survivor Series, Wade Barrett was unsuccessful in winning the WWE Championship from Orton after Cena pushed him into an RKO by Orton.

Wade Barrett made his first appearance since the TLC pay-per-view on 3 January 2011 edition of Raw, where he confronted CM Punk, who had taken over the leadership of the Nexus in his absence.

At the television tapings of 10 January 2011 edition of SmackDown the next day, Wade Barrett made his first SmackDown appearance since 1 October, this time by attacking Big Show.

At the television tapings of 25 March 2011 edition of SmackDown, Wade Barrett defeated Kofi Kingston to win the Intercontinental Championship.

Wade Barrett went on to successfully defend his championship against Kingston on 22 April 2011 edition of SmackDown.

On 13 May 2011 edition of SmackDown, Wade Barrett then challenged Jackson to a match for the Intercontinental Championship at the Over the Limit pay-per-view and Jackson accepted.

At the event, Gabriel and Slater attacked Jackson during the match, resulting in a disqualification, but Wade Barrett retained the title as a title cannot change hands via disqualification.

Wade Barrett then defended his Intercontinental title against Jackson again on 3 June 2011 edition of SmackDown.

Wade Barrett then instructed The Corre to attack Jackson, but abandoned Gabriel and Slater, whom Jackson fended off.

Wade Barrett then had a short feud with Sheamus, where he lost on three occasions.

Wade Barrett vowed that the "Barrett Barrage" was only just beginning.

Team Wade Barrett defeated Team Orton at Survivor Series, with Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes being the sole survivors of the match.

Wade Barrett continued his feud with Orton by attacking and distracting him during matches.

Wade Barrett defeated Ezekiel Jackson in 7:53, but Orton beat Dolph Ziggler in 7:51 and chose a Table match.

At TLC, Orton defeated Wade Barrett after hitting the RKO in mid-air, with Wade Barrett landing through the table.

At Elimination Chamber, Wade Barrett failed to capture the World Heavyweight Championship after being eliminated by Santino Marella.

Wade Barrett then went on a winning streak, defeating wrestlers including Justin Gabriel, Tyson Kidd, and Zack Ryder, among others.

At Survivor Series, Wade Barrett was part of the winning team of Dolph Ziggler against the team of Mick Foley, where he eliminated Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston before being eliminated by The Miz.

Wade Barrett failed to win the Intercontinental Championship from Kingston at the TLC pay-per-view.

Wade Barrett made his first successful title defence four days later on SmackDown, defeating Kingston in a rematch.

Wade Barrett entered the 2013 Royal Rumble match and was eliminated by the debuting Bo Dallas, but Wade Barrett later returned to eliminate Dallas as well.

Wade Barrett then lost an Intercontinental Championship match to The Miz by disqualification, after Fandango interfered, leading to Wade Barrett attacking both Miz and Fandango post-match.

At Payback, Wade Barrett lost the Intercontinental Championship to Curtis Axel in a triple threat match, involving The Miz.

Wade Barrett received his rematch for the title on the following episode of SmackDown, but was again defeated by Axel.

That same week on SmackDown, Wade Barrett lost to Bryan, but on the next Raw, Wade Barrett defeated Bryan after special guest referee Brad Maddox made a fast count on Bryan.

Four days later on SmackDown, Wade Barrett was again defeated by Bryan in a no disqualification match.

Wade Barrett made his in-ring return on 7 April 2014 Raw, defeating Rey Mysterio in Mysterio's last WWE appearance until 2018.

On 29 December 2014 episode of Raw, Wade Barrett returned to action and defeated Cesaro.

On 5 January 2015 episode of Raw, Wade Barrett defeated Dolph Ziggler in a 2-out-of-3 falls match to capture his fifth Intercontinental Championship.

At Fastlane, Wade Barrett retained his title against Dean Ambrose after Ambrose got himself disqualified.

Wade Barrett was scheduled to face Bryan for the championship in a rematch at Extreme Rules, however Bryan was not medically cleared to compete.

Wade Barrett instead faced Neville in a losing effort on the pre-show.

On 28 April 2015 episode of Raw, Wade Barrett would compete in the 2015 King of the Ring tournament, where he defeated Dolph Ziggler in the first round.

King Wade Barrett participated in the Elimination Chamber match for the vacant Intercontinental Championship, but was the first eliminated by R-Truth.

At the Money in the Bank pre-show, Wade Barrett lost to Truth.

Wade Barrett then formed a partnership named "The Lords of Darkness" with Stardust, leading to a tag team match at SummerSlam, where they were defeated by Neville and actor Stephen Amell, when Neville pinned Wade Barrett for the win.

The night after SummerSlam, Stardust turned on Wade Barrett for costing him the match, thus disbanding their tag team.

At Survivor Series, Wade Barrett took part in a 5-on-5 traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team match, alongside Sheamus and The New Day, with this team being defeated by Ryback, The Usos and The Lucha Dragons.

At WrestleMania, Wade Barrett's stablemates defeated The New Day after interference from Wade Barrett himself.

Wade Barrett asked for his release because he was burnt out creatively and was sick of the crazy schedule of the WWE.

Wade Barrett spent 2017 making appearances in WhatCulture Pro Wrestling, which later became Defiant Wrestling, where he served as on-screen general manager.

On 26 August 2020 episode of NXT, Bennett returned to WWE under his earlier Wade Barrett name, serving as a colour commentator in a single-appearance deal.

Wade Barrett would become an official member of the NXT commentary team the following week.

On October 6,2022, WWE announced that they had shuffled their commentary and interview teams, with Wade Barrett moving to SmackDown to be the colour commentator alongside Michael Cole.

Wade Barrett starred as assassin George "Bishop" Edwards in the action thriller film Eliminators.

Wade Barrett is an avid supporter of his hometown football team Preston North End FC.