Despite his characters gimmick of delivering bad news, it seems like poor Wade Barrett has been on the receiving end of bad news more often than he gives it out. Bad News Barrett is one of WWEs natural heels, something the company seems to be short of these days. But he also has been snakebitten when it comes to his career. Barrett has been pegged for bigger and better things, but various issues have knocked him out of position each time. In early 2012, Barrett was beginning a singles push with the Barrett Barrage, but he was knocked out of action for six months with a dislocated elbow. He returned after adopting more of a Fight Club persona, channeling his backstory as a bareknuckle brawler. After a year of treading water in the midcard, Barrett was barred from competing in the U.S. due to work visa issues, once again knocking him off television. During this absence from television, Barrett developed the Bad News Barrett gimmick that he then inexplicably got over, turning what should have been a one-note joke into a legitimate character. He won the Intercontinental Championship and seemed poised to finally break through until Jack Swagger threw him into a barricade, separating his shoulder and sidelining him for five months. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6enu56FaNjU Barrett has returned to action and is once against the IC champ, but can he capture lightning in a bottle again?
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.
