On October 6 it was announced Wade Barrett would be joining the WWE SmackDown commentary team as the announce teams were rearranged for the season premieres.
Barrett previously served on the NXT commentary team, joining the desk in August 2020 when he signed a new contract with WWE.
Speaking to Ryan Satin on Out Of Character, Barrett was asked when he learned of the move to WWE SmackDown.
"I probably found out maybe three or four days before I took the first trip over. It was very much a last minute decision. Pat McAfee is off for two or three months doing his college football stuff. Initially, they had Corey Graves stepping in and filling the seat, but I think Corey had a a lot on his plate, he does a hell of a lot for WWE with all the pay-per-views, Raw, his podcast. Maybe somebody needed to pick up a little slack on behalf of Corey and that's when they gave me the call and asked me to step in there," he said.
McAfee joined ESPN College Game Day on September 6, stepping away from his WWE SmackDown commentary gig.
Barrett continued by saying, "My history in the entertainment sphere in general, but especially WWE, you always have to be ready to pivot. I love NXT. I hope to be back there sooner or later in some capacity, hopefully commentating, but you always have to be ready to pivot in this game. Things change fast, as we've seen, the past 18 months in WWE have been absolutely insane for all of us and you always have to be ready. I love NXT, I thought that was going to be my future for the foreseeable, but you get that call, you have to be ready to jump and it's been that way since I was in the developmental system. You can never be too comfortable in any position and you always have to be ready to jump as soon as that call comes."
Elsewhere during the interview, Barrett discussed a potential in-ring return. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
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