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King Barrett got a shot of relevancy this week when English football superstar Wayne Rooney slapped Barrett on Monday’s Raw. Barrett and WWE parlayed that into U.K. press and a SportsCenter interview in the U.S.
However, Barrett has seen the writing on the wall for his wrestling career and he is already thinking about life-after-WWE.
“I’m still as passionate about wrestling as I ever was, but I think it’s inevitable that at some point in your career you’ve got to start looking for things outside of wrestling,” Barrett told U.K. publication “The Independent” while on the European Tour.
“I’m not going to wrestle forever, though I certainly feel that I’ve got a lot of time left in me if I want to. Maybe at some point I’ll be taking a career break, I’m not sure. I’ve done some movie work lately and that’s an area I really enjoyed and would be looking to explore. Certainly in terms of acting and doing things outside of wrestling, that’s something I’ll be looking to do more of in the not-too-distant future.”
There was a hint of frustration in Barrett’s printed quotes when discussing his ups-and-downs in WWE. Since the Nexus angle in 2010, Barrett has struggled to be consistently relevant on WWE TV and stay healthy.
Barrett says he thought they had something with the Bad News Barrett routine, especially a chance to turn him babyface, but WWE management nixed his suggestion.
“For the most part I excel as being the bad guy, and that’s definitely a strong point for me. There was a period about a year ago when I was performing as Bad News Barrett that I felt that the company should have turned me into the good guy kind of role because I think the fans were wanting that at that time,” Barrett said.
“I suggested it, but the powers that be made the decision that they didn’t want me to do that, instead they wanted me to continue as the bad guy. That decision was made at the time, but I feel that at the moment it’s not the right time for me to be a fan favourite because I’m universally hated. Maybe one day it will change, but I’m currently quite happy being the bad guy.”
Barrett also discussed getting “zero time off unless I’m injured,” causing him to miss out on non-wrestling events. “It’s pretty much impossible to do anything when you’re in WWE because you’re so busy constantly,” Barrett said. “I probably only spend 50 nights a year in my own bed, the rest of the time I’m on tour in various hotel rooms. The one downside of being in WWE is that you miss out on things like that.”
What keeps Barrett going? Barrett identified the best thing about being in WWE: “Without doubt is being able to step out in front of the incredible fans that we’ve got. We packed out arenas for this entire U.K. tour, and the second the music hits and you burst through the curtain and see all the faces booing or cheering, it gives you a feeling that just can’t be replicated.”
[ Full Interview at Independent.co.uk. Thanks to Matt Davies ]
No one’s character has been botched more than Wade Barrett’s. They were onto something with the Bad News Barrett gimmick. That gigantic podium was fantastic. Once he became “King,” no one gave a shit. This isn’t 1995.