Former Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett left the WWE two years ago and has been on an extended hiatus from the wrestling world ever since. That is, until recently.
Barrett, back using his real name of Stu Bennett, is the new General Manager of the former WhatCulture Pro Wrestling. WCPW has been re-branded as Defiant Wrestling, and Bennett is the on-screen man in charge. For now, he's happy staying in the role of the authority, but he's definitely open to returning to the ring.
Speaking with Sportbible, Bennett says he's really enjoying being the General Manager.
"It's a lot of fun! I kind of took a break from the wrestling industry for a little while and did some other stuff - did some acting, some TV hosting, but WCPW had me involved when I did a tour not so long ago and I did some stuff for them. I was actually really impressed with the company and so when the chance came to come back in, in this kind of role, I had to take it.
"I think they've had some turmoil recently with some of their regular guys leaving, which a few fans were upset about because they are used to certain personalities. I think it was good from their perspective to have a bit of a surprise, me coming back, especially because I've kind of been keeping away from the wrestling industry for a while so it was a big name for them to use and the positive reaction's been great.
"It's a lot easier on my body, that's for sure! My strongest suit has always been my talking. Night one went pretty well, so we had 'Refuse to Lose' and I think that was an amazing show. I did a bit of commentary, a bit of promo work out there and it was probably one of the better shows we have seen from WCPW."
But does he intend to wrestle again?
"I have my good days and bad days. There's days where I think I don't miss it all and then there's days like yesterday [at Refuse to Lose on October 2] where you see the kind of reactions the guys were getting and get that desire to get back in the ring. I'm 99 per cent certain I will wrestle again at some point, I just couldn't tell you when. I have those days where I'm like "no, everything hurts, I don't ever wanna get back in a wrestling ring again" - but I have days where I feel great and can't wait to get back in. I know at some point I'll be wanting to get back in, so if the right opportunity comes along we'll get it done."
You can read the entire interview at this link.
