The allure of a grand comeback is one of the most thrilling elements in professional wrestling.
For Wade Barrett, a return to the ring at WrestleMania in London would be more than a comeback—it would be the culmination of an unfulfilled journey.
A true homecoming for one of England’s most charismatic wrestling exports, Barrett stepping back into the squared circle at Wembley Stadium would not only electrify fans but also provide the WrestleMania moment he was denied during his storied yet turbulent WWE career.
From leading The Nexus to being crowned King of the Ring and holding the Intercontinental Championship multiple times, Barrett’s career was marked by incredible highs tempered by missed opportunities and untimely setbacks.
Despite his undeniable potential, Barrett retired in 2016, leaving fans with a lingering sense of what could have been.
Now, with rumours swirling about WWE’s potential WrestleMania in London and Barrett himself teasing a dream match with Drew McIntyre, the stage could be set for a storybook ending.
A one-night-only return on the grandest stage in front of a home crowd would solidify Barrett’s legacy and cement his place in wrestling history. The stars are aligning, and fans are ready to witness the comeback of a lifetime.
Wade Barrett Retired After Leaving The WWE In 2016
By the end of WrestleMania 32, Wade Barrett was sick and tired of being held back in the WWE.
It had been years of being held back by management and not reaching his true potential. John Cena had killed his push as the leader of The Nexus in 2010, while a shoulder injury cost Bad News Barrett his Intercontinental Championship in 2014.
His re-introduction as a potential top heel as part of the villainous League of Nations faction had potential. Wade Barrett joined former World Champion Alberto Del Rio, current WWE Champion Sheamus and Rusev in forming the group which had all the makings of the new top stable in the wrestling business.
Sadly, they were just created to be beaten up by Roman Reigns. He beat the group in a four-on-one match, pinned Sheamus to win the WWE Championship back and killed any credibility they had managed to keep.
The faction pottered along to WrestleMania 32. The League of Nations battled The New Day – then arguably the hottest act in the company – in a six-man tag team match and even beat them in from of over 90,000 fans.
It should have been a huge victory for Wade Barrett.
Sadly, he was stuck at ringside and didn’t actually wrestle.
He did get to grab a microphone after the match and invite a challenge from three legends of the business. Barrett and his cronies then got beaten up by Steve Austin, Mick Foley and Shawn Michaels, much to the delight of the fans.
They may have won the match, but the League of Nations were still the joke at the end of the day.
Wade Barrett’s last match in wrestling was one night after that disappointing victory. He teamed with Sheamus to challenge the New Day for the WWE Tag Team Championships.
They earned the chance to challenge for the belts with the victory the night before (which Barrett had no part in, remember). It was a very unmemorable last match for Wade Barrett, as he was pinned by Kofi Kingston and promptly kicked from the group for good.
With his chances to make it in the main event now behind him, Wade Barrett called it quits. He had enough of behind held back in the WWE and requested his release from the company. This was granted on May the 8th 2016 and he left the company after a decade in the United States.
He Returned To The Company In 2020 But Only As A Commentator
Wade Barrett kept himself busy after leaving the WWE but would not wrestle at all before making his return to the company.
He spent time in numerous promotions, having a prolonged period back in the UK for the first time since 2006. Barrett returned to England (under his real name, Stu Bennett) to become the general manager of WCPW.
The former WWE Superstar worked for ITV in their reboot of World of Sport Wrestling, holding the title of executive to complement his role as an on-screen announcer. This sadly lasted only a season before being cancelled by ITV due to low ratings.
Other appearances included as a commentator for the NWA in the United States and a single shocking moment in Lucha Underground, where he was revealed to the crowd just moments before the series ended and was cancelled forever.
Despite the various promotions he joined up with, wrestling a match never seemed to be on the Englishman’s agenda. A chance to rest up and heal seemed a welcome one for a man who had been wrestling since he was a 21-year-old in 2004.
Four years after leaving, Wade Barrett made his return to the WWE although he wouldn’t be stepping back into the ring quite yet. He was snapped up to be the new commentator for NXT, a role he held for the next two years before being drafted to Smackdown.
He moved between Raw and Smackdown in the years following and is now seen as one of the top voices in the WWE. However, no matter how good Wade Barrett is on the microphone, the fans know that his real strength is in the ring and they want to see him return to wrestling, at least one more time.
If WrestleMania Comes To London, Then Wade Barrett Will Come Out Of Retirement
Will Wade Barrett wrestle again? If WrestleMania comes to London then it is almost a certainty.
It was revealed this year that Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, made it a goal of his to bring the biggest show in wrestling to the nation’s capital.
Wembley Stadium already played host to AEW All In in 2023 and 2024 but WrestleMania is a whole different beast. With the government’s backing and the WWE machine behind it they had the best chance ever of selling over 90,000 or more tickets for the iconic event.
If WrestleMania London becomes a reality then expect Wade Barrett to be stepping back into the ring one last time. The former Nexus leader has admitted as much and wants to face Drew McIntyre in his home country in his last match in wrestling.
He admitted as much earlier this year, refusing to turn down a sold-out Wembley Stadium match with Drew McIntyre. We’ve already seen Nigel McGuinness coming back to wrestling for a shot at wrestling in Wembley so seeing another retired English commentator coming out of retirement doesn’t seem too outrageous.
Drew McIntyre and Wade Barrett go way back. They’ve been trading victories since their first encounter in FCW in 2008. However, bizarrely, they’ve only ever had one singles match on the main roster – an Intercontinental Champion match in Cardiff on a house show back in 2013.
Despite that, they have been shown as being firm friends on TV. Wade Barrett backed up Drew McIntyre in his feud with CM Punk, which teased a match between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre.
While that came to nothing, it did help establish the two Brits as being close on TV. Whether this leads to their Wembley Stadium match and Wade Barrett’s return to wrestling, we will have to wait and find out.
Wade Barrett’s Return To The Ring Would Give Him A Chance To Get His WrestleMania Moment
Wade Barrett’s return match would not just give him closure for his career but give him the WrestleMania moment he never had.
Now, he had one big moment at WrestleMania. The aforementioned WrestleMania 32 beatdown by the legends could be considered a “WrestleMania moment”. But that could have been anyone. Barrett was just a body there to be stunnered, superkicked and Socko’d. It was hardly what he would have imagined as a kid watching Summerslam 1992.
Other years saw him compete in matches for the Intercontinental Championship, both against The Miz and in multi-man ladder matches. He even captained “The Corre” against “The Apple” in another forgotten WrestleMania match.
If Wade Barrett is happy with his WrestleMania moments then I won’t argue with him. But a match with Drew McIntyre at Wembley Stadium will be unlike anything else and give him a WrestleMania moment that any wrestler could only dream of.
Wade Barrett will come out of retirement for that one match and I am here for it.
