10 Potential Megastars That Never Recovered From WWE Burials
9. Wade Barrett
Considering how high the company allegedly rated him, it's remarkable how frequently Wade Barrett was cut down to size when it really mattered.
His December 2010 humbling at the hands of John Cena was a damning conclusion to his time as leader of The Nexus, itself a storyline crippled by hierarchical panic that too many new superstars might accidentally get over at once. Hokey runs as leader of splinter group The Corre and a bare-knuckle experienced a profound lack of interest from the creative team, but Barrett again made the best of his circumstances following the decision to bring him back from a visa-enforced absence as an irritant mouthpiece.
As 'Bad News Barrett', Wade thrived. All gavel, podium and hashtags, Bad News Barrett was a Brother Love for the modern age in his ability to stir from the sidelines without ever appearing to have the chops to back it up. Thanks to his effortlessly entertaining delivery, the act rapidly gained traction with the audience, but the company specifically asked that he tone down so not to get too popular. It was fitting that his most prosperous period was so unnecessarily stymied. Wade was tragically always stuck being given bad news, rather than just getting to deliver it.
Aiding that calamitous decision, WWE booked him to win 2015's King Of The Ring and embrace the regalia to such an extent that the 'Bad News' aspect was phased out entirely for a 'King Barrett' act that generated less than half the heat.