Scott,
With the recent podcast on Talk is Jericho & looking back at his stuff around Summerslam 2010, I got thinking about Wade Barrett's potential.
Back then they weren't quite as bad off for main eventers; Taker was still about, Edge wasn't retired, Jericho was back and Cena & Orton weren't quite as stale as they are now. I suppose the need to look forward wasn't as important then.
Even though he was just in the door, would it have been that bad a thing to get behind Barrett back then? He came in as important and had a huge impact on their first night... Obviously Cena neutered them at Summerslam but I felt it was a strong end to 2010 for Barrett with a title win the only thing missing.
Thoughts?
Keeping in mind that I was literally paying almost ZERO attention to the product around the time of the Nexus angle, I think they should have put him over Orton for the title and lead to the payoff of Cena escaping the Nexus at Wrestlemania by winning the title from Barrett. It would seem to be a pretty obvious and natural direction for the storyline to go, and Barrett was literally a guy developed within the system from day one (well, more or less) so it's not like this was a situation where they couldn't trust someone.
Was Barrett/Taker a real thing at one point or standard dead zone rumor filler? Maybe the 2nd(3rd) HHH match timing wise? Remember seeing that speculated at the time, no clue on legitimacy though
ReplyDeleteBarrett's a strange case where he's talented but feels very bland.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing larger than the amount of chances Barrett's had is the amount of theme songs he's had.
ReplyDeleteBarrett waent very good at that point and Wasteland was one of the weakest looking finishers ever. The fact they didn't embrace his bare knuckled boxing roots from the start as his character was crazy.
ReplyDelete(adding)Whenever the fuck Nexus helped bury Taker at SS, there was a decent amount of chatter that that's where it's leading
ReplyDeleteNot sure what's worse 2010 WWE or 2015 WWE.
ReplyDelete2015 by far. Nexus got bungled but at least it was interesting.
ReplyDelete"Whipper" Wade Barrett
ReplyDelete"Wild" Wade Barrett
"Mr. Wonderful" Wade Barrett
Wade "The Top Grade" Barrett
Wade "In The Pool" Barrett
That's a great description.
ReplyDeleteNothing he does is bad or offensive, but neither is he anybody's favorite wrestler or ever the "best" at anything. And he's not a guy who's clearly designed for the mid/lower-card (a Kofi or a Kidd), he could easily main-event, where he would put in competent yet boring work there.
His peak is probably at the Sheamus level, but he's kind of slumming it right now.
ReplyDeleteI know the general consensus is that Wade should have been pushed all the way to WM, but I agree with you that the guy was still green at that point and was uncertain if Barrett would have tanked the match or not.
ReplyDeleteThey also should have stuck Bryan back with the Nexus after he got rehired so they could have given Wade someone to learn from so he could have developed more quickly as a worker.
I think they need to drop 'Bad News' and just make Barrett a Fit Finlay level of mean.
ReplyDeleteHe's a guy who if they stopped 50/50 booking everything could regain some steam really quickly and could break into that upper mid card where he's at least on the fringes of the title picture.
I also wouldn't mind seeing him and Sheamus as a no-nonsense tag team for a little while to counter the Usos.
Barrett right now is a perfect example of how WWE just doesn't give a shit about anyone who's not a Top 5 guy.
With Rusev getting decently over with an "Anti-American" act, maybe it's time to go deep in the playbook and put together a Heel Forigen Wrestler stable- Rusev, Barrett, Cesaro and Sheamus are naturals... Maybe Jericho if he is ready for a run, if not Tyson Kidd could do done work.
ReplyDeleteThere are some other lower and mid card guys ( not to mention sobs free agents) who could be added as needed depending if you want more of a Horseman or nWo vibe.
It's not redesigning the wheel, but it is easy to execute, guaranteed to get heat, could have potential to be something more if done correctly (give them some valid points, not just "Merica Sucks).... And best of all it would be something different
Has he?
ReplyDeleteBecause it kinda seems to me like the only real chance he had that wasn't violently taken from him for no/Cena-related reasons was his last run as BNB before he got hurt.
Barrett was the least green dude in the Nexus. Could he have put on a ****+ WM main? Maybe not, but not many can. He and Cena could easily have amped the drama and put on a good main, though.
ReplyDelete2015 must be pretty bad if you're writing off the next 11 months based on less than 1.
ReplyDelete"He's someone that you really wish could go to the indies to learn crowds better..."
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm missing something, but how does wrestling in front of 15-1,000 people help you learn how to handle crowds 2,500-80,000 better?
I was never a big Barrett fan, but I agree that he absolutely should have been pushed all the way with the Nexus angle. I mean, they put fucking Miz over in the Wrestlemania main event slot and a World title on Swagger, so it's not like they're some precious commodities like ice packs anymore. They might as well have run Cena/Barrett for the title to pay off the storyline.
ReplyDeleteEh I would say Gabriel was the best worker in the group at the time.
ReplyDeleteThat's not really much of a compliment since Barrett was surrounded by green guys. Being the best worker of the Nexus doesn't mean he should automatically get to main event WM.
ReplyDeleteEh, it comes down to what smarks see vs. what the WWE sees. Gabriel may have been the better worker, but Barrett had WWE Main Eventer written all over him.
ReplyDeleteCornette's old description of Triple H applies here - "he's the guy who works with the guy on top." Barrett's got upper-card cred and could handle that role at this point in his career, but you'd never center the promotion around him. He's someone that you really wish could go to the indies to learn crowds better, or Japan to develop a really personal style.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought the same thing. But I heard that Vince got feet on Barrett and The Nexus after the SummerSlam buyrate came out and cut the cord Barrett
ReplyDeleteOff the top of my head I've got:
ReplyDeleteNexus
Corre
"Barrett Barrage"
Street Fighter Barrett
BNB
That's more than one repackage a year since 2010. He's had more effort put into him than half the roster combined.
It doesn't but going in front of different crowds will help you judge better on what certain crowds will like. For instance if Roman had experience going in front of Philly crowds, he would have instinctively knew how to roll with it and may not have been shat on so much.
ReplyDeleteYou can't book with the benefit of hindsight because you never know how things will turn out but Miz was just as hot as Wade in 2010 and I would have gone with Miz over Wade too just because Miz was more experienced and Wade was still green.
ReplyDeleteAnd 4 of those were killed off by booking needing to make his current opponent look strong or the dreaded IC title curse.
ReplyDeleteGetting a new gimmick doesn't always constitute a chance. History is littered with gimmicks that died because no one got behind them past the first few weeks.
Nexus was DOA after they lost at Sumerslam anyway
ReplyDeleteI think Nexus was DOA in the second week after their debut when the WWE midcard brigade sent them running. When you're running away from 60 year old Jerry Lawler, I know not to take you seriously.
ReplyDeleteMeh, beating the all star team would have been all they needed to forget a raw segment.
ReplyDeleteI'd more argue that guys that work in different territories/companies/countries know better how to work a crowd. If you spend most of your career performing in front of one certain type of crowd, no matter how good you are engaging towards that audience, you're going to feel lost once you work for a whole different audience.
ReplyDelete