WWE's Wade Barrett Hasn't "Ruled Out" An In-Ring Return

Could the five-time Intercontinental Champion one day return to the ring?

by Andrew Pollard
Wade Barrett
WWE

While he's gotten extremely comfortable at the commentary desk in recent years, Wade Barrett hasn't ruled out an in-ring return at some point down the line.

Nowadays found calling the action on SmackDown, the one-time Bad News addressed returning to the ring during a recent appearance on Out of Character with Ryan Satin.

As Barrett explained (via WrestlingNews.co):

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"I've never ruled out getting back in the ring one day. I won't say it's high on my list of priorities. I don't think I could physically do the full-time grind anymore. More mentally than physically. I think my body could hold up. I'm still in very good shape, I keep myself fit, but I think that the grind of doing the job full-time for who knows how long would be very difficult for me at this point because I've just got other avenues now and other things I enjoy doing - most obviously, the commentary side of things - which I wouldn't want to give up."

As it stands, the last time fans saw Wade Barrett in action was on the 4 April 2016 episode of WWE Raw. There, Barrett and his League of Nations cohort Sheamus came up short against Big E and Kofi Kingston, with the New Day's Tag Team Titles on the line.

Having been under the WWE banner as far back as 2006, the Englishman formally departed the promotion a month after that aforementioned Raw bout. Prior to returning to WWE as part of the NXT commentary team in August 2020, Barrett - under his real name of Stu Bennett - appeared for WhatCulture Pro Wrestling/Defiant Wrestling, World of Sport Wrestling, Lucha Underground, and found a nice spot for himself calling the action for Billy Corgan's National Wrestling Alliance.

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Whether Wade does end up returning to the ring remains to be seen, but his age of 42 would indicate there's still plenty left in the tank should the five-time Intercontinental Champion indeed opt to lace up his boots once more.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.