Stu Bennett has moved on from his WWE career, and while he provides commentary for NWA Powerrr, it's hard to say whether he has much interest in stepping back inside the ring. After all, he's clearly intent on breaking into Hollywood, and that's evident from his fun new action flick I Am Vengeance: Retaliation.
Recently, All Elite Wrestling star Cody Rhodes responded to a fan on social media by saying that he believes Bennett (known as Wade Barrett in WWE) will be a world champion somewhere, someday. When we recently talked to Bennett, we asked for his thoughts on that and whether he would be interested in joining the AEW roster.
"Part of my issue is that I'm close to 40 now," he explained. "I'm 40 in two months, so the prospect of going back and working a full-time professional wrestling schedule isn't particularly high on my agenda at the moment. That might change. It was very kind of Cody to say that, I'm still very good friends with Cody. We've been tight for ten plus years, and he's done an amazing job with AEW. I am really excited about the explosion in opportunities in the professional wrestling world."
"I work for NWA currently as a commentator, and there's Ring of Honor which a friend of mine Marty Scurll is running the moment, obviously IMPACT has done some great stuff recently and grown from the ashes of where they were years ago, and then there's all the Japanese stuff, and there's some good stuff going on in the UK too," Bennett continued. "The fact is, there's a tonne of opportunities out there now for professional wrestlers which, when I was coming through, weren't really there. The only game in town realistically was WWE, and it was very, very difficult to see yourself working anywhere outside of that. I think the digital revolution and the opportunity for smaller brands to get big platforms now is fantastic for professional wrestlers and professional wrestling in general."
Bennett clearly remains passionate about pro wrestling, but it seems as if his interests now lie elsewhere. However, it also doesn't sound like he's completely closed the door on returning to the squared circle, so we could see him in a company like All Elite Wrestling, even if it's just for a handful of matches or a light schedule.
Would you like to see Bennett in AEW?