WWE superstar Wade Barrett revealed to talkSPORT that one thing stopped him from making a wrestling return against John Cena.
The Preston-born grappler, who’s currently a commentator on RAW, has not competed since he and Sheamus lost to The Recent Day in 2016.
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The 45-year-old has never officially confirmed his retirement, leading fans to take a position on whether he could still have one final match.
An ideal opportunity to accomplish that would have been during old rival Cena’s farewell tour, following his own history with WWE’s GOAT.
Wade Barrett: ‘Small likelihood’ to face John Cena
During an exclusive interview with talkSPORT.com, Barrett – real name Stu Bennett – said: “Let me let you know, they put a contract right in front of me.
“I picked up the pen just before pen hit paper for me to sign to be a part of that tournament. Someone whispered in my ear. Gunther goes to be within the tournament.
“I put the pen straight down, ripped up the contract and said, ‘No, no, that ain’t for me.’ So, yeah, it was a small likelihood.
“But then I spotted I’d get hurt badly if I entered that tournament, and I even have no real interest in getting destroyed by the ring general.”
Barrett was expected to precede Drew McIntyre as WWE’s first-ever British-born world champion in his wrestling pomp.
He broke through because the leader of the Nexus, but a crushing defeat to Cena at SummerSlam 2010 torpedoed his momentum.
Barrett recovered to turn into a five-time WWE Intercontinental champion, in addition to the 2015 King of the Ring winner.
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Where are Nexus now?
Nonetheless, he never managed to assert a serious singles title, along with his former stablemates having fun with even less individual success.
From the unique Nexus line-up that fell to Cena and Co. in 2010, only Barrett stays with WWE and never even in a wrestling capability.
Darren Young, Skip Sheffield (Ryback), Michael Tarver, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, and David Otunga have all since left the corporate.
When asked whether he would like to see any old Nexus members come back to face Cena, Barrett added, “I like all of those guys.
“I’d say all of those guys that were in the unique Nexus, and even a number of the guys that got here in afterwards, I’m still in contact with them. We still chat usually.
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“We’re just a gaggle of fellows who were type of bonded together by this crazy experience all of us had together.
“I’d like to see Heath back in WWE. I believe he’d be incredible.
“He’s the quirkiest character you have ever met, and also you see him off-camera. He’s even crazier.
“Ryback is one other one, just an incredible physique on him. Big powerhouse.
“Darren Young, love that guy. He’s still wrestling to today.
“Justin Gabriel’s one other one, big high flyer, the South African. Yeah, you may name any of those guys.
“I’d like to see that back involved in some capability, either within the ring or behind the scenes with coaching and producing, just an amazing crew of human beings that I’ll at all times hold in very high regard.”
Justin Gabriel looks unrecognizable
Gabriel, specifically, would come as the largest shock to WWE fans following his rebrand on the independent wrestling scene.
The 44-year-old is now generally known as P. J. Black, with Barrett adding to talkSPORT: “You wouldn’t recognize the guy!”
John Cena’s final match takes place on Saturday, 13 December, live at Saturday Night’s Most important Event on WWE’s YouTube channel. His 2025 Retirement Tour has seen him appear 35 times all over the world – fans within the UK and Ireland can atone for the complete tour to this point on Netflix.
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