Wade Barrett Reveals Why WWE Ended His Bad News Barrett Gimmick

Former WWE star Wade Barrett recently took part in an interview with We Are Defiant. Below are the highlights:

On Burning Out:

“Yeah, I was burned out. I was with WWE for about 10 years and by the time my contract was up there, I was just ready to go, so I took about a year or so away from the business but getting back involved with the guys at Defiant has been great and it’s really helped me scratch that itch to get back around the locker room, hang out with the guys and be back around the wrestling world again, which is really nice.” 

On Why WWE ended his Bad News Barrett Gimmick:

“I was specifically told the reason I wasn’t allowed to say my catchphrase ‘I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news’ anymore was that it was getting a positive response and they wanted me to be a heel. I personally didn’t agree with that philosophy. I felt ‘Look, if they are going to cheer for me, they like this, let’s go with it. I’ve never been a babyface before, let’s go with it.’ The decision was made above my pay grade and that wasn’t going to be the case and then I was Bad News Barrett, a guy who didn’t cut promos and wasn’t giving out bad news, so that kind of instigated the transition into a completely different character and the King run at that point, so for me personally, like I say, I didn’t agree with it but it wasn’t my decision to make ultimately.”