Wade Barrett is, surprisingly, back under contract with WWE serving as part of the NXT commentary team. However, there's inevitably a tonne of speculation about when and if he'll step back into the ring, especially as you have to believe he still has at least a few more matches left in him.
Predictably, the topic came up during a recent interview with BT Sport which saw Barrett give some insight into what he'd need to do to prepare for another match.
"We’re pro wrestlers, it’s never done, that’s the truth," he teased. "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."
"There are guys who are kind of the mainstays of that show right now who are doing some of the best work of that career, who are actually older than me. I feel like if I want to, or if the time is right, or if the opportunity that excites me comes up, that I’m close to being ready to go, I’m certainly not in in-ring shape at the moment. I’m in good shape, but to be in-ring shape, I probably need three months of knocking out that ring rust before I step back in the ring. Currently, I will say my focus is purely on the announcing booth and doing that on NXT."
Time will tell whether Barrett actually wrestles again, but it's something fans would definitely welcome.
Barrett has expressed an interest in facing WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, while he's also been receptive to the idea. Whether that's something WWE is also on board with is hard to say, and given how poorly treated he was in the past, we don't know how he'd be treated.
We'll keep you updated.