In the wrestling world’s version of As The Important News Story of the Day goes, the latest social media buzz has been the reports that Stuart Bennett, known more affectionately by the WWE Universe as Wade “Bad News/King” Barrett, has given WWE his notice and will be leaving the company when his current contract expires in June of this year.
And predictably, the Twitter and Facebook soap opera boxes are ripe with battle cries of “WWE has wasted another wrestler” and “he’s going to be a bigger star in TNA” and “he wasted in the mid-card”. But let’s be honest. In two years, you’re not going to miss him. And Wade Barrett will remembered not as a let go Kurt Angle or Jeff Hardy, but as a Mr. Kennedy/Anderson.
Was Barrett a good hand? Absolutely. He made the Bad News gimmick work when it shouldn’t have left the Creative meeting it spored from. He was entertaining on the mic and his infectious smile carried even the weakest of gimmicks. His turn as the leader of the Nexus showed great potential and the Universe seemed to jump all over the extremely short lived idea of the Cosmic King teaming up with Stardust. But he was NEVER going to be a Main Eventer. Not anymore.
Much like another Chosen One, Mr. Kennedy (Vince had such faith in him he actually christened him with his own MIDDLE NAME), Barrett got hit with an injury bug that simply became too conistent in his lengthy delays that the idea of any reasonable push was no longer an option for any long term booking or promotion. Like another mid-card staple Dolph Ziggler, his injuries became his burial. Not Triple H. Not Vince McMahon. And not John Cena. Unlike Ziggler, Barrett seemed to lose his smile and never managed to pull himself out of the funk of the King of the Ring curse. His passion seemed lost, his direction gone, and his will to inject any life into these characters evaporated. Many have come back from seeming dead in the water characters and turned them into gold (New Day anyone?).
When Mr. Kennedy was released back in 2009, we are quick to forget the public outcry online at WWE’s misguided decision to release one of their most popular mid-card stars in recent history. Everything that is being said right now about what the WWE is going to lose and miss out on with Wade Barrett was exactly what they said then about Ken Kennedy. Except way worse.
And you know what? They were all wrong. He arrived in TNA in 2010 and everyone was convinced he would be part of the new renaissance for TNA joining AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle, The Dudley Boys, Sting and Jeff Hardy to create a force to be recockned with and a new war against WWE. But what really happened? Did Mr. Kennedy – now repackaged as Mr. Anderson – rise to become part of TNA’s saving grace? Nope. Did he get a bigger push? Absolutely. He’s a 3-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion. Is he making more money or a bigger Superstar than he was as a perennial mid-carder in WWE? Absolutely not. He’s being seen by less people now and his spot was taken by guys like Daniel Bryan. And guys like Wade Barrett.
One managed to not only overcome the thinking process of the management and the lacklustre gimmicks and storylines to become one of the most organic success stories in wrestling of the past 20 years. And don’t say John Cena buried Barrett by beating him clean during the Nexus feud. Bryan was FIRED for choking out the Golden Goose. FIRED. That’s worse than being buried with the Bad News gimmick (although the jury is still out on the Corre). But Bryan was smart enough to push through regardless. Barrett has failed to do that. And whether he defeated himself mentally or lost graces with management, it doesn’t matter. His star never shone bright enough to get him through the trenches.
So if you think Barrett is going to light up the sky in TNA, you’re sadly mistaken. Drew McIntyre isn’t exactly turning the world on it’s ear as Drew Galloway, Kurt Angle is tired of holding the company on his back, and most of the that class that Mr. Anderson was supposed to be a part of to change the tide are now working with (or back with) the WWE – in many cases at a lower position on the card than they’re used to. Like it or not, the WWE is still the place wrestlers go if they truly want to entertain to the largest audience possible. Because after all, isn’t the principle reason anyone wants to truly become a wrestler is because they love to entertain crowds? I’ve played in bands for decades and I can say that although I’ve had some memorable small gigs in front of small audiences, there’s a whole different energy playing in front of 15,000 people than in front of 100. And like James Storm recently told Jim Ross on his latest podcast, “No matter what any wrestler says, when you get into the [professional wrestling] business and start training and stuff, the ultimate goal is to make it to WWE and to have that WrestleMania moment.” Storm continued that, “a lot of guys will say, ‘No, I just want to make money for my family’ and stuff, and that’s great, but in the back of your mind, you want to have that run.” And time and time it’s been proven right.
So don’t fret. In a couple of years, you’ll have forgotten Mr. Barrett… Barrett, and you’ll be getting all worked up because the WWE just let go Curtis Axel and that once again, the WWE will not realize the potential they had in their midst. He was wasted in the mid-card.
But hey, maybe he’ll become the Perfect champ in TNA.
