Wade Barrett says he is open to the idea of returning but would need at least three months to knock off any ring rust.
Ever since Wade Barrett returned to NXT in a commentating capacity, he has frequently been asked what it would take for him to step back into the squared circle. In a new interview with BT Sport, he cites RAW’s Hurt Business as great examples of people who are doing the best work of their career despite the fact that they are older than him, adding that he feels like he is pretty much ready to go now but would need about three months to make sure he is completely ready to get inside of the ring.
“We’re pro wrestlers, it’s never done. That’s the truth. There’s definitely some left in the tank. I didn’t want to be someone who retired because I had to retire or retire because I wasn’t able to do it anymore and I was embarrassing myself or anything like that. Similarly, I was burned out when I left. So there’s definitely a lot left in the tank”, said Wade. “I’m only 40 years old, 40 sounds quite old in the sporting world, but in the world of sports entertainment, it’s clearly not. I think you only need to look at people like The Hurt Business at the moment. I think all of those guys are a little bit older than me and they’re doing — all of them are doing some of the best work of their career right now. Sheamus is older than me.”
He continued, “There are guys who are kind of the mainstays of that show right now who are doing some of the best work of that career, who are actually older than me. So I feel like if I want to, or if the time is right, or if the opportunity that excites me comes up, that I’m close to being ready to go, I’m certainly not in in-ring shape at the moment. I’m in good shape but to be in-ring shape, I probably need three months of knocking out that ring rust before I step back in the ring. But currently, I will say my focus is purely on the announcing booth and doing that on NXT.”
"We're pro-wrestlers, we're never done, there's definitely some left in the tank."
"I feel like if I want to, or the opportunity that excites me comes up I'll be ready."@StuBennett won't rule out a return to the ring, but his focus is on commentary in NXT… for now ? pic.twitter.com/iwjECVXB1P
— WWE on TNT Sports (@wweontnt) October 15, 2020
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In previous interviews, he’d also discussed being willing to get inside of the ring if it meant facing Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship, the one prize that eluded him during his WWE career.
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