10 Gimmicks WWE Cancelled For Being TOO SUCCESSFUL

2. Bad News Barrett

Rusev Day Vince McMahon
WWE.com

Ready for another round of depressing, nonsensical WWE gimmick assassination?

Creative turned Wade Barrett into 'Bad News Barrett' in 2013. The well-spoken Englishman stood next to a podium, used a gavel and repeatedly shouted, "I'm afraid I've got some baaaaad news". This gained some steam, and it wasn't long before audiences chanted that alongside Wade.

Incredibly, Barrett was pulled aside backstage and pretty much blamed for getting babyface reactions when he was supposed to be a villain. As Wade himself explained in several interviews years later, the company told him to "knock it on the head for a while as too many people were joining in".

What?! Surely that should've been a good thing, not a negative. Would WWE rather fans had yawned their way through Barrett's promos, or walked off to visit the loo during his segments? His gimmick got cut short because it was working and people were paying attention to it.

How daft.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.