After a few years of struggling along in WWEs midcard, Wade Barrett reinvented himself late last year by debuting his Bad News Barrett character from YouTubes JBL & Cole Show. As Bad News Barrett he showed up for months without wrestling, only ever delivering topical bad news from his ever increasing in size podium. He finally returned to in-ring action the night after WrestleMania, and got a rousing pop from the largely international crowd as he defeated Rey Mysterio. He surfed this growing wave of momentum and at Extreme Rules, he defeated Big E for his fourth Intercontinental Championship. Unfortunately, his momentum didnt last too long as he separated his shoulder quite severely on an episode of SmackDown when Jack Swagger threw him into a barricade in June. Barrett underwent a ligament reconstruction, as well as a distal clavicle resection, which involves the end of the collar bone being shaved off. Barrett was unfortunately stripped of his title while he recovered, and it was eventually won by The Miz in a battle royal. Hes made sporadic appearances on pay-per-views since the injury, as well doing promotional work for the WWE 2K15 video game and stated he hopes to be back by the end of the year.
