| Wade Barrett | |
|---|---|
 Barrett in 2016 | |
| Birth name | Stuart Alexander Bennett |
| Born | 10 August 1980 Penwortham, England |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Bad News Barrett King Barrett Lawrence Knight Pinnacle[1] Stu Bennett Stu Sanders Wade Barrett |
| Billed height | 6 ft 7 in (201 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 246 lb (112 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Manchester, England Preston, England |
| Trained by | Al Snow Jon Richie |
| Debut | 2004 |
| Retired | 2016 |
Stuart Alexander Bennett (born 10 August 1980) is an English retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Wade Barrett as a colour commentator on the SmackDown brand.
Barrett won the first season of NXT in 2010 and made his main roster debut on Raw later that year, rising to prominence as the leader of The Nexus, a villainous faction composed of the remaining NXT first season rookies. He headlined five PPV events for WWE in 2010—SummerSlam, Night of Champions, Bragging Rights, Survivor Series, and TLC—three of which saw him unsuccessfully challenge for the WWE Championship. In 2011, he formed The Corre, a short-lived group with former Nexus members Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel as well as Ezekiel Jackson. After they disbanded, he would go on to become a five-time Intercontinental Champion.
In 2013, Barrett's ring name was amended to Bad News Barrett and he adopted the character of someone who took immense pleasure in delivering bad news. Upon winning the 2015 King of the Ring tournament, his ring name was changed to King Barrett and he began portraying an arrogant royal character. He notably portrayed a villain for his entire WWE career, regardless of the other changes made to his character.[3] He left WWE in 2016 and has not wrestled since, though he has appeared in non-wrestling roles on the international independent circuit, such as a commentator for World of Sport Wrestling and a general manager for Defiant Wrestling under his real name. He returned to WWE as a commentator for NXT in 2020.
Bennett made his acting debut in the action film Dead Man Down (2013) and has since starred in action films such as Eliminators (2016), I Am Vengeance (2018), and I Am Vengeance: Retaliation (2020).
- ^ "Wade Barrett - Career Data". Cagematch. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
WWEwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Mendhe, Abhilash (5 September 2019). "3 WWE Superstars who never turned heel and 2 who never turned face". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 11 March 2021.