WWE News: Wade Barrett on why WWE made him drop the Bad News Barrett gimmick
What's the story?
Wade Barrett had a great career going for him as he headlined five pay-per-views in 2010 and later went on to lead the Corre consisting of himself, Heath Slater, and Justin Gabriel.
But he will be best known as Bad News Barrett although this gimmick didn't last as long as it could have. Barrett recently spoke to SportsBible when he discussed why WWE made him drop the super popular gimmick.
In case you didn't know...
There was a bit of time when Barrett was using a character who would go around telling people "I'm afraid I've got some bad news for you" and then he'd say something ridiculous.
But he dropped the gimmick in 2011 after he won the King Of The Ring tournament and became King Barrett.
The heart of the matter
A lot of fans loved the Bad News Barrett gimmick and looked forward to repeating Barrett's words as he spoke them everytime they would lift him up toward the rafters on an elevated platform. But as it turns out it was Barrett's popularity that might have been the problem in the first place.
Barrett explained to SportsBible how the BNB character was supposed to be a heel but people were so thoroughly entertained by the character that they started to actually look forward to it even though the character was created in order to insult them.
"Vince never wanted me was a babyface, he thought I wrestled like a heel and I was English. He didn't want me to be a babyface at all, which was fine and I was happy being a heel. But I think sometimes the crowd dictates things and even though Vince wants me as a heel, you can't put me as a heel and the only way we could really turn me back into a heel, and stop them cheering for me, was to take away 'Bad News.'"
What's next?
It looks like Wade Barrett's move into being an actor is a serious one. He might pop up in a wrestling ring eventually in order to take part in some sort of angle or possibly GM for a promotion.
But his in-ring career might have taken a backseat at this point. But never say never in the world of pro wrestling.
Author's take
I always loved the Bad News Barrett character and thought it was brilliant. Even when Barrett was technically out due to injury he could still be featured on the show. He would walk through WWE Axxess at WrestleMania and announce how the show had been cancelled and people would just laugh and cheer.
It was a heel character but fans could tell how much fun Barrett was having so they had fun too. It's a shame WWE couldn't have capitalised on his success and just wanted him to be a heel. But that's life when you're talking about the wonderful world of pro wrestling.