Wade Barrett Says His In-Ring Career Isn’t Done, Would Need Three Months to Get in Ring Shape

Wade Barrett may be behind the announcing booth right now, but he’s not calling it quits in his in-ring career yet. Barrett spoke with BT Sport for a new interview and when asked about whether his career is done in the ring, he explained why he doesn’t feel like he’s completely done yet. You can check out highlights and the full audio below:

Wade Barrett on whether his in-ring career is officially done: “Hey, we’re pro wrestlers; it’s never done. That’s the truth. There’s definitely some left in the tank; I didn’t want to be someone who retired because I had to retire, or retire because I wasn’t able to do it anymore and I was embarrassing myself or anything like that. Similarly, I was burned out when I left. So there’s definitely a lot left in the tank. I’m only 40 years old. Forty sounds quite old in the sporting world, but in the world of sports entertainment it’s clearly not. And I think you only need to look at people like The Hurt Business at the moment. I think all of those guys are older than me and they’re doing, all three of them are doing some of the best work of their career right now. And Sheamus is older than me, there are guys who are on the main stage of their shows right now who are doing some of the best work of their career [and] who are older than me. So I feel like if I want to, or the time is right, or the opportunity that excites me comes up, then I’m close to being ready to go.”

On how long it would take for him to get in in-ring condition: “I’m not in in-ring shape at the moment. I’m in good shape, but to be in in-ring shape I will probably need three months of knocking out that ring rust before I step back in the ring. But currently I will say my focus is purely on the announcing booth and doing that in NXT.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit BT Sport with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.

"We're pro-wrestlers, we're never done, there's definitely some left in the tank."

"I feel like if I want to, or the opportunity that excites me comes up I'll be ready."@StuBennett won't rule out a return to the ring, but his focus is on commentary in NXT… for now 👀 pic.twitter.com/iwjECVXB1P

— WWE on BT Sport (@btsportwwe) October 15, 2020