10 Backstage Stories About Wade Barrett We Can't Believe

Wade Barrett seemed like he was the future of the WWE as the leader of Nexus. However, WWE made a huge blunder with Barrett and he couldn't retain his main event spot. Sometime later, he left WWE to pursue an acting career.

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From losing his push in WWE due to backstage politics to being threatened on his first day on the main roster, a ton of things happened in Wade's life behind the scenes. Find out more about the former King of the Ring with the following backstage stories about him.

20 Lost His Momentum Due To John Cena

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John Cena was originally going to lose to Nexus at SummerSlam 2010. The Wade Barrett-led stable fought Cena, Edge, Chris Jericho, R-Truth, John Morrison, Daniel Bryan, and Bret Hart in a 7-on-7 tag team elimination match.

It made all the sense in the world for Nexus to go over. They were the hottest thing in WWE at that time, but Cena allegedly used his powers and changed the original planning of the show.

18 He Had Issues Getting Used To A Normal Life For A Year After Leaving WWE

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The way Barrett lost his main event status, it made sense for him to be frustrated. The leader of Nexus was also unhappy due to his 280 days-a-year-long wrestling schedule. In 2015, WWE tried hard to pen another deal with him, but Barrett had lost it.

He told the management about his frustrations and how he hated every minute of him being in the company. Wade also once said that it took him a whole year to get used to a normal day-to-day schedule after leaving WWE.

16 Got Arrested When He Was Still A Developmental Wrestler

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In 2008, Wade Barrett was charged with the battery of a cop and was arrested for one day. Apparently, a woman had bumped into him in a nightclub and started a scene. Barrett didn't want anything more to come out of it and he tried to run from the destination. But then, he attacked a law enforcement official, who was in plain clothes.

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Barrett said that had he known about the officer, he would not have tried to escape at all. Fortunately for him, he was released on the very next day and the charges were dropped.

14 Vince McMahon Made Him Drop His Gimmick Due To Fans Cheering Him

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Wade Barrett was an excellent heel. But there came a time when the WWE Universe started to cheer him during matches he should've been booed in.

Bad News Barrett was a great gimmick, one that was over with the fans too. But Vince McMahon absolutely hated the fact that Wade started getting a face reaction. He thought Barret was a natural heel and didn't want him to come across as a babyface. So he made him drop the gimmick that made him more relevant in WWE.

12 Almost Lost His Job On His First Day On The Main Roster

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Right before, Nexus made its debut, Vince McMahon threatened to fire Wade Barrett and his stablemates from the company if their debut failed. Fortunately, Nexus made the perfect debut when they hijacked Monday Night Raw and attacked everyone they caught sight of.

They even attacked Vince on the show. McMahon was pretty impressed by all of the wrestlers involved and even praised them for their work when he returned backstage, except for Daniel Bryan who was stupidly fired.

10 He Was Stabbed With A Eight-Inch Knife Once

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In this early 20s, Wade Barrett was a bare-knuckle boxer. He won a huge match against someone and was rewarded with a large sum of money. When Barrett was making his way to the airport, someone tried to rob him.

The culprit stabbed him with an eight-inch knife in his triceps. Despite suffering a serious injury and losing a lot of blood, Barrett was able to escape with all of his cash.

8 Dusty Rhodes Liked His Voice So Much He Made Him A Commentator In FCW

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Florida Championship Wrestling was WWE's developmental brand before NXT was formed. Around 2009, Barrett had suffered an injury. He once recalled that Dusty Rhodes really liked the way he talked so he offered him a job as a color commentator in FCW. The WWE management liked his work as a commentator but they also wanted him to return to the ring.

RELATED: Wade Barrett: 5 Reasons He Should Stay With NXT (& 5 Reasons He Shouldn't)

When Wade recovered from his injury a few months later, he started wrestling again. He always wanted to go back to his previous job when he retired. And he's doing that now in NXT.

6 His Wrestling Name Was An Homage To A Rugby Player

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Wade Barrett had many different names back he was a developmental wrestler in WWE. For some time, he worked under the moniker of Lawrence Knight. Later, he changed his name to Wade Garrett, with Dusty Rhodes suggesting the surname.

Wade Garrett was actually an homage to Wade Dooley, a 6'8" English rugby player. Later he changed his surname to Barrett because Wade Garrett was actually a character from Road House movie played by Sam Elliot.

4 Vince McMahon (Accidentally) Made Him Bark Like A Dog

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Vince McMahon has made wrestlers do bizarre things in and outside the ring. He once ordered Barrett and Sheamus to fight like dogs in a promo class. Both were shocked when they heard Vince say this and sometime later when Barrett finally opened his mouth, he barked like a dog, literally.

But that wasn't what Vince wanted them to do. He wanted them to have a war of words but Barrett didn't quite get the reference and thought his boss had ordered them to fight like actual dogs.

2 The New Day Almost Fought Him And His Teammates At WrestleMania 32

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At WrestleMania 32, The New Day faced The League of Dominations in a six-man tag team match. The match was a fun affair which saw Steve Austin, Mick Foley, and Shawn Michaels return.

Apparently, there was a heated argument between the two teams backstage. This wasn't the favorite WrestleMania for The New Day members as they almost fought the team of Sheamus, Rusev, Alberto Del Rio, and Wade Barrett backstage over an argument.

NEXT: Every Version Of Wade Barrett, Ranked From Worst To Best