Wade Barrett hasn’t closed the door on a wrestling comeback (Picture: WWE)
WWE superstar Wade Barrett confirmed he ‘never retired’ from wrestling and could still wrestle one more match.
The 44-year-old star, who is currently a commentator on Monday Night Raw alongside Joe Tessitore, hasn’t wrestled since he and Sheamus lost to The New Day on Raw in April 2016.
The Preston-born heavyweight got people talking this summer when he insisted a video package shared by WWE should be renamed ‘Career highlights, thus far’.
Now, Wade exclusively told Metro.co.uk via AceOdds: ‘I’ve never retired. That’s the truth. That does not mean I am going to have another match. It just means that we don’t know.’
The former Intercontinental Champion insisted ‘there’s a big question mark’ over the possibility him stepping between the ropes.
However, he will ‘always be open to that conversation’ if it’s under the right circumstances.
When Wade returned to WWE in 2020, it was behind the commentary desk (Picture: WWE)
‘No guarantees either way. I’m not saying I’m going to come back; I’m not saying I won’t. It’s open-ended,’ he explained.
‘But I will add, if I have had my last match, I’m also completely satisfied with that. So, it’s not an itch that needs scratching.’
One thing for certain is that Wade has no desire to make a full-time comeback, which is as much down to his own ambitions at this time as it is the physical demands.
‘I will never, ever come back and sign a multiple-year full-time contract in the ring. I just can’t do it at this point. My life has moved on more than anything else,’ he added.
‘I think physically it will probably kill me too, but more than anything else mentally getting on that grind.’
He pointed to ‘the kind of schedule’ people like current WWE Champion Cody Rhodes has to do between live events, SmackDown, occasional Raw dark matches, premium live events and more.
He couldn’t handle the intensity of Cody Rhodes’ schedule (Picture: WWE)
And for Wade, he ‘couldn’t put a price on’ what it would take to go back to that kind of lifestyle.
‘That guy, he is just nonstop and it’s not just the in-ring stuff, it’s the promotional work behind the scenes. It’s the media work. It’s doing all the charity stuff he does, doing the stuff with the Wheatley Vodka.
‘Then on top of that, he’s got a great family at home he’s got a look after too. You couldn’t pay me to take that kind of schedule right now, but a one-off short run here or there, if it made sense, I’d always be open to that conversation.’
He knows Drew McIntyre would be the perfect opponent (Picture: WWE)
If he were to return, Wade would love to face his longtime friend Drew McIntyre – which is something WWE has teased on television this year.
‘He did talk a little smack to me a few weeks ago on Raw and I haven’t forgotten about that. I’m not going to make a major deal of it, but he’s lucky he stopped where he did,’ he teased.
‘If he did take one more step forward, the old Bull Hammer would have come out, boom, knocked him on his ass, and perhaps that in-ring comeback would have happened by now.’
Despite joking about the possibility, Wade is adamant he isn’t ‘clamouring for anything like that’, and he’s ‘absolutely thrilled’ with his commentary job with no desire to step away from the desk.
Wade moved from NXT to SmackDown and worked with Corey Graves before joining Raw (Picture: WWE)
‘If the opportunity arises, obviously it’s something I would consider and think about and think, “Could I deliver something here,”‘ he conceded. ‘I’m really, really satisfied with what I’m doing right now.’
He added: ‘But like I say, if the magic is there and it happens and it’s the perfect storm, maybe those tights will be pulled out of storage, have to make sure the moths haven’t eaten them or I may have to pay for a new pair, we’ll see.
‘There’s always a tiny, tiny chance, but don’t hold your breath.’
WWE Raw airs Monday nights at 1am on TNT Sports 1. The show is moving to Netflix in January 2025, along with Raw, SmackDown and all PLEs for UK fans.
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