WWE's Wade Barrett Hasn't "Ruled Out" An In-Ring Return

Could the five-time Intercontinental Champion one day return to the ring?

By Andrew Pollard /

WWE

While he's gotten extremely comfortable at the commentary desk in recent years, Wade Barrett hasn't ruled out an in-ring return at some point down the line.

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Nowadays found calling the action on SmackDown, the one-time Bad News addressed returning to the ring during a recent appearance on Out of Character with Ryan Satin.

As Barrett explained (via WrestlingNews.co):

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"I've never ruled out getting back in the ring one day. I won't say it's high on my list of priorities. I don't think I could physically do the full-time grind anymore. More mentally than physically. I think my body could hold up. I'm still in very good shape, I keep myself fit, but I think that the grind of doing the job full-time for who knows how long would be very difficult for me at this point because I've just got other avenues now and other things I enjoy doing - most obviously, the commentary side of things - which I wouldn't want to give up."

As it stands, the last time fans saw Wade Barrett in action was on the 4 April 2016 episode of WWE Raw. There, Barrett and his League of Nations cohort Sheamus came up short against Big E and Kofi Kingston, with the New Day's Tag Team Titles on the line.

Having been under the WWE banner as far back as 2006, the Englishman formally departed the promotion a month after that aforementioned Raw bout. Prior to returning to WWE as part of the NXT commentary team in August 2020, Barrett - under his real name of Stu Bennett - appeared for WhatCulture Pro Wrestling/Defiant Wrestling, World of Sport Wrestling, Lucha Underground, and found a nice spot for himself calling the action for Billy Corgan's National Wrestling Alliance.

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Whether Wade does end up returning to the ring remains to be seen, but his age of 42 would indicate there's still plenty left in the tank should the five-time Intercontinental Champion indeed opt to lace up his boots once more.