WWE NXT commentator Wade Barrett says he’s open to returning to the ring for WWE, if the circumstances are right.
Barrett recently spoke with BT Sport and confirmed that he feels like he can hang in the ring these days. Barrett said while he loves his NXT gig and he’s not chasing some in-ring program, he’d be interested if the right opportunity presented itself. He also said he’s the happiest he’s been with the current NXT role.
“Yeah, I can still move, I can still lift,” Barrett said. “Body is feeling good. I’ve always said, ‘Look, I’m in shape, I’m fit, and I’m healthy. If the right opportunity presents itself at my door, then maybe we’re gonna see a Wade Barrett return in the ring one day.’
“I’m not chasing anything. Sometimes guys in these interviews start floating ideas up because they secretly really want me to get back in the ring. I love my gig in NXT, I love commentating, it’s the happiest I’ve ever been, I don’t have a strange itch I’m desperately trying to scratch.”
Barrett continued and said he doesn’t think pro wrestlers ever really retire.
“With that being said, I don’t think you ever really retire when you’re a wrestler. So, if the right opportunity presents itself at the right time, then yeah, we might see me back in the ring at some point,” he said.
For those who missed it, you can click here for Barrett’s new comments on the contract extension he just signed with WWE.
Barrett originally signed his first WWE developmental deal in 2007, and wrestled for the company until leaving on May 6, 2016. The former five-time WWE Intercontinental Champion and 2015 King of the Ring winner returned in August 2020 to do commentary at a NXT TV taping, and then it was announced in September 2020 that Barrett had signed a full-time contract to join the NXT commentary team. Barrett and Vic Joseph currently call the weekly NXT 2.0 episode.
Barrett has not wrestled since teaming with Sheamus for a loss to then-WWE Tag Team Champions Big E and Kofi Kingston on the April 4, 2016 RAW episode.
Stay tuned to WrestlingHeadlines.com for more. Below is footage from Barrett’s BT interview:
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