15 Biggest BURIALS Wrestlers Never Recovered From

8. Wade Barrett (By John Cena)

John Cena Wade Barrett
WWE Network

Higher-ups within WWE were often reported to really rate Wade Barrett. That sort of explains the fates of about 50 others they didn't care about in the 2010s, because you might as well quit on the spot if you're laying under under a mountain of steel chairs mere months after shocking the entire wrestling world and being told it's a push. 

This was the untimely end of the Nexus leader's disastrous run against John Cena, which went into low gear and high banter after SummerSlam 2010's burial-within-a-burial stable war loss. The takeover storyline was hobbled by a curious hierarchical panic from that point on - perhaps due to the prospect that too many new superstars might accidentally get over at once, Cena in particular just gave the group less than nothing as their foil. He was forced into joining the team but basically dismantled it from within, proving that he was too smart and tough for all of them in just about every segment.

A lop-sided indentured servitude era for 'The Champ' made a mug of Barrett when he ostensibly had all the cards, and when Cena was "forced to retire" following the Survivor Series that year, he was an even bigger danger to them now he was off the clock. The TLC pay-per-view payoff was an ending to the year's biggest story, but it was anything but a happy one for Barrett and Nexus/new talent fans alike. DX literally put The Spirit Squad back in their box in similar fashion half a decade earlier, but why would Cena need a container with a lid to do the same when he already had a shovel? 

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett