Wade Barrett isn’t ruling anything out, but he says a full-time return to the ring is unlikely.
Barrett hasn’t wrestled since WWE released him in 2016. Upon his return in 2020, he joined the NXT commentary team, and he later shifted to SmackDown when WWE shuffled the lineups in October 2022.
Speaking with Alistair McGeorge of Metro, Barrett the five-time WWE Intercontinental Champion commented on potentially returning to the ring and noted that he won’t rule anything out, but he doesn’t think he’s resume a full-time career as an active competitor.
“I wouldn’t rule anything out going forward,” Barrett said. “I think it’s incredibly unlikely that I would ever come back to an in-ring role full time and do that weekly grind, four or five matches a week, tours, no chance to recover. I just don’t think I have that in me anymore. There’s always the element of maybe a surprise spot in a Royal Rumble, or maybe even a special match.”
Barrett referenced the WrestleMania match between Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler as an example of a commentator stepping into the ring. He also stated that competing in a gimmicky match would be a possible option, but he’s not focused on it. Instead, Barrett stated that he’s enjoying his role as a commentator.
“There’s always gimmicky matches like that which could potentially crop up and if the situation was right, it’d be something I’d look at,” Barrett said. “Currently there’s no focus for me on doing that, I’m purely focused on doing commentary on SmackDown and having as good as a time as I can doing that, which is something I enjoy.”
Barrett is set to call the action on the March 3 episode of WWE SmackDown. Check out the card here.
