In a recent interview, former WWE Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett discussed the possibility of returning to the company despite the allegedly acrimonious circumstances behind his 2016 release.
Speaking to Comic Book Movie in an interview that was published on Thursday, Barrett (aka Stu Bennett in real life) discussed various topics, mostly centering on his upcoming movie I Am Vengeance: Retaliation . The English wrestler-turned-actor also touched heavily on his in-ring career, including the time he spent in WWE and how he wasn’t able to live up to the promise he had as the leader of the villainous Nexus stable.
Talking about his departure from WWE, Barrett admitted that he was “pretty angry” with some people, including “a couple” in management, when he left the company. He added, however, that time has healed most of the proverbial wounds, as he no longer has the same negative sentiments toward the promotion four years after he was released.
As Barrett said he doesn’t have any specific loyalty with WWE, he admitted that he would entertain any potential offer to return to the company in the same way he’d listen to rival promotions that may be interested in his services.
“It’s simply a business decision: is it worth it, do I like the offer, do I like the pitch, do I believe what I’m being pitched is actually going to happen? That’s another big one. I would approach anything that came my way, the same I would from any other company to be honest with you.”
In the light of the fact The Nexus recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of its explosive Monday Night Raw debut, Barrett said that there were some “mistakes” made when it came to booking the faction, thus limiting their upside as a group of young wrestlers straight from the first season of NXT’s game show incarnation. Despite these issues, he stressed that he was “very lucky” to have received the opportunities he got from WWE, as this helped him make a successful transition to the world of acting.
Although Barrett said elsewhere in the interview that he’s probably too old for a return to a full-time wrestling career at 39 years old, he emphasized that WWE is far from the “only game in town” these days. He briefly touched on AEW executive vice president Cody Rhodes’ recent prediction that he could still become a world champion this late in his career, but didn’t outright confirm whether he’d specifically be interested in a stint with WWE’s top North American rival.
