Stu Sanders
Encyclopedia
Stuart Alexander "Stu" Bennett (born August 10, 1980) is an English professional wrestler
. He is currently signed to WWE where he performs on its SmackDown brand
under the ring name
Wade Barrett. He won the first season of NXT
in 2010 and made his Raw
debut in June of that year, rising to prominence as the leader of the Nexus
, a villainous
stable composed of the NXT contestants. Barrett headlined five WWE pay-per-view events during the remainder of 2010, challenging for the WWE Championship
in three of those, headlining SummerSlam
, Night of Champions
, Bragging Rights
, 2010
Survivor Series
, and TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs
, as well as challenging for the WWE Championship
at Night of Champions, Bragging Rights and Survivor Series.
After moving to SmackDown in January 2011, Barrett formed a new stable known as The Corre
, which included former Nexus members. He challenged for the World Heavyweight Championship
at the 2011
WWE Elimination Chamber
and won his first singles championship, the WWE Intercontinental Championship
, in March. Prior to his WWE debut, Barrett competed in various independent promotions under his own name, and the ring names of Stu Sanders and Lawrence Knight.
at the age of 21, and was trained by Jon Ritchie and Al Snow
. He made his professional wrestling debut in June 2004, using the ring name
"Stu Sanders", as a surprise entrant in a 30-man battle royal
held by NWA UK Hammerlock Wrestling
. Sanders also performed at numerous Dropkixx Wrestling and All Star Wrestling
events, as well as wrestling in Wales for Welsh Wrestling.
(OVW) under his Stu Sanders ring name, where he was defeated by Ace Steel
in a dark match. He later formed a tag team
with Paul Burchill
and the pair faced the Major Brothers
in several matches. On 2 January 2008 Sanders and Burchill defeated Colt Cabana and Charles Evans in the final of a tournament for the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship
. Sanders and Burchill held the title for nearly two months before losing it to Los Locos (Ramón and Raúl) in a four-way match also involving The Insurgency (Ali and Omar Akbar) and The Mobile Homers (Ted McNaler and Adam Revolver).
After WWE ended their relationship with OVW as a developmental territory, Sanders was moved to Florida Championship Wrestling
(FCW) with several other wrestlers. On 6 May 2008, Sanders and Drew McIntyre, collectively known as The Empire, defeated The Puerto Rican Nightmares
(Eddie Colón
and Eric Pérez
) to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship
. They lost the titles back to the Nightmares at FCW's first TV taping on 17 July. The team broke up after the loss, and Sanders began wrestling under his real name before changing it to Lawrence Knight at the 9 October FCW television taping. On 19 February 2009, Knight announced that he was the new FCW commentator, alongside Dusty Rhodes
. He became colour commentator due to an injury, in which he tore his Latissimus dorsi muscle
and required surgery. In August 2009, Bennett was renamed yet again to Wade Barrett, partially named for Wade Dooley
. Bennett describes the character of Barrett as being "an extension of his dark side". He returned to in-ring competition in FCW in December 2009.
It was announced on 16 February 2010 that Barrett would be competing on the first season of WWE NXT
, with Chris Jericho
as his storyline mentor. His first appearance for NXT was on the inaugural episode of NXT on 23 February, when he acted as Jericho's ring announcer
. Barrett made his in-ring debut on the following episode of NXT, defeating Daniel Bryan
. On the 13 April episode of NXT, Barrett won the "talk the talk" challenge and was awarded his own custom made entrance theme. On 11 May, Barrett was ranked in first place in the Pros Poll. On the 1 June episode of NXT, Barrett won the overall competition, and a WWE contract, by defeating David Otunga
and Justin Gabriel in the season finale.
, Barrett was at the forefront of an attack by the NXT rookies, as they interfered in the main event match between John Cena
and CM Punk
, attacking both competitors, the Straight Edge Society
, the announce team, the timekeeper and the ring announcer, before they destroyed the ring area and surrounding equipment. Cena in particular was heavily targeted by the rookies, who hit him with their finishing moves. On the next episode of Raw, Barrett and the other rookies (minus Daniel Bryan) demanded full-time contracts from Raw General Manager Bret Hart
, who instead fired Barrett and had the rookies removed from the building. Later in the show the rookies attacked Hart and gave him until the Fatal 4-Way
pay-per-view
to decide on their contracts. At Fatal 4-Way, the rookies interfered in the main event for the WWE Championship
, costing John Cena the championship in the process. The following night on Raw, Vince McMahon
fired Hart and announced that a new 'anonymous' General Manager had been hired and the seven rookies received WWE contracts. The group of rookies continued their path of disrupting main events, as they attacked both Cena and McMahon, who had been acting as the referee
. The following week, the group was named The Nexus
. That same week, Barrett was absent on Raw as his work visa had expired and he had to return to the United Kingdom to apply for a new one. With his visa situation cleared up, Barrett returned the following week. On the 12 July episode of Raw, the Nexus, sans Darren Young, competed in their first match together and defeated John Cena in a six–on–one handicap match. The following week, Barrett made his singles match debut on Raw by defeating Mark Henry
. the Nexus continued to feud with Cena and the Raw roster, resulting in a seven-on-seven elimination tag team match at SummerSlam
. Barrett was the final member of the Nexus but submitted to Cena, causing the Nexus to lose the match. After Darren Young was exiled from the group and Skip Sheffield was injured, the Nexus faced Cena, Edge, Randy Orton
, Sheamus and Jericho in a five-on-five elimination match on the 900th episode of Raw on 30 August. Barrett won the match for his team by last eliminating Orton.
Barrett received his guaranteed championship match from winning NXT at Night of Champions
, where he was unsuccessful in a six-pack challenge match for the WWE Championship, despite eliminating Cena. The feud between Cena and the Nexus continued at Hell in a Cell
on 3 October, when Barrett defeated Cena to force Cena to become a member of the Nexus. The following night on Raw, Barrett, with the help of the rest of the Nexus, won a battle royal to determine the number one contender to the WWE Championship, when Cena eliminated himself on Barrett's orders. Barrett received his championship match against Randy Orton at the Bragging Rights
pay-per-view. After ordering Cena to help him win, Cena interfered in the match causing Barrett to win via disqualification, which meant that Orton retained the championship. The following night, Barrett was granted a rematch at the Survivor Series
pay-per-view, and allowed to choose a guest referee. He chose Cena, stating that if Barrett won the match and the WWE Title, Cena would be allowed to leave the Nexus, but if Barrett failed to win the title, Cena would be fired. At Survivor Series, Barrett was unsuccessful in winning the WWE Championship from Orton after Cena pushed him into an RKO by Orton. Cena was fired as per the match stipulation after Survivor Series.
Due to Cena's interference, Barrett received a rematch for the championship the following night on Raw, but was attacked by the fired Cena, costing him the match. After Cena attacked several members of the Nexus over the next few weeks, they demanded that Barrett re-instate him, or be exiled from the group. On the 13 December episode of Raw, Barrett agreed and rehired Cena. As a condition of his rehiring, Cena had to face Barrett in a Chairs match at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs
pay-per-view, which Barrett lost.
Barrett made his first appearance since the TLC pay-per-view on the 3 January 2011 episode of Raw, where he confronted CM Punk
, who had taken over the leadership of the Nexus in his absence. Punk gave Barrett the opportunity to regain the leadership, stating that if he won a three-way steel cage match involving Orton, Sheamus and Barrett to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship, Punk would give up the leadership. However, during the match, Punk came down to ringside, attacked Barrett as he was about to win and took off Barrett's Nexus armband, symbolically removing him from the Nexus. Barrett went on to lose the match.
. Barrett later qualified for the WWE Elimination Chamber
match for the World Heavyweight Championship
, but came up short after being the first man eliminated by The Big Show. On 22 March, at the tapings of the 25 March episode of SmackDown, Barrett defeated Kofi Kingston
to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship
. At WrestleMania XXVII
, The Corre were defeated in an eight-man tag team match by the team of Kingston, The Big Show, Kane
, and Santino Marella. Barrett went on to successfully defend his championship against Kingston on the 22 April episode of SmackDown. On the 6 May episode of SmackDown, Barrett, Gabriel, and Slater attacked Jackson, removing him from the group. On the 13 May episode of SmackDown, Barrett then challenged Jackson to a match for the Intercontinental Championship at the Over the Limit
pay-per-view, and Jackson accepted. At the event, Gabriel and Slater attacked Jackson during the match, causing Barrett to lose by disqualification, but Barrett retained his Intercontinental Championship. He would then have to defend his Intercontinental Title
against Jackson again on the 3 June episode of SmackDown. During the match, Jackson threw Barrett out of the ring, resulting in Barrett losing by countout, but Barrett still retained his Intercontinental Title as a title cannot change hands via countout. Barrett then instructed the Corre to attack Jackson, but then abandoned Gabriel and Slater, whom Jackson fended off. On the 10 June episode of SmackDown, The Corre dissolved after Barrett, fleeing from Jackson, walked out on Gabriel and Slater in a 6-man tag team match against Jackson and The Usos
, causing them to lose the match. At WWE Capitol Punishment
, Barrett lost the Intercontinental Championship to Jackson. He invoked his rematch clause against Ezekiel Jackson for the Intercontinental Champion on the 24 June episode of SmackDown, but lost.
pay-per-view, facing Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, Kane
, Sin Cara
, Daniel Bryan
, Cody Rhodes and Sheamus, but the match was won by Bryan. On the 22 July edition of SmackDown, Barrett faced Sheamus and both men were counted out. The following week Wade Barrett came to talk about how he was deserved to be Mr. Money in the Bank, Daniel Bryan came out and put him on the LeBell Lock. The week after, he was commentating in Bryan's match. Then on the following week on the last episode of SmackDown before SummerSlam, he attacked Bryan after the latter's loss to Alberto Del Rio. At SummerSlam
, Barrett defeated Bryan. He then had a short feud with Sheamus, where he lost on three occasions. On September 23rd edition of Smackdown, Barrett defeated another former Nexus and Corre teammate, Justin Gabriel.
On the October 21 edition of SmackDown held in Mexico, Barrett dismissed his past alliances with a "legion of parasites", claiming that the only person he needed for him to succeed was himself, and he vowed that "The Barrett Barrage" was beginning. Barrett followed this announcement by beating Daniel Bryan. The next week, he would obtain wins over John Morrison on Raw and Trent Barreta on SmackDown.
Barrett's winning streak continued as Barrett and Cody Rhodes defeated the WWE Tag Team Champions
Evan Bourne and
Kofi Kingston
on the October 31 edition of WWE Raw
and continued on the November 4, 2011 edition of Smackdown when he defeated Sheamus, with a little help from Christian in the process, and again the next week, against Randy Orton. Barrett's winning streak was broken on the November 14, 2011 episode of Raw (Raw Gets Rocked) when he was defeated by Orton via disqualification after Team Barrett attacked Orton. At Survivor Series
Team Barrett defeated Team Orton, with Barrett and Cody Rhodes being the sole survivors in the match.On Smackdown he lost a Fatal-4-Way match to determine the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship
(Won by Daniel Bryan
) which also included Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton
.
and lived in Preston, Lancashire
until the age of six, when he moved to Wales
with his family. He has an older brother named Martin. As a child, Bennett was a fan of "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith
. He supports Preston North End. Before becoming a professional wrestler, Bennett was a bareknuckle boxer while living in Liverpool
. Bennett has a degree in marine biology
from University of Liverpool
. He worked in a science laboratory and later as a Recruitment Consultant at Venn Group's London Office, whilst training to become a wrestler.
On 15 June 2008, Bennett was arrested in Tampa
, Florida
and charged with battery on a law enforcement officer (a felony) and obstructing an officer (a misdemeanor). The arrest took place outside of Champps Restaurant and Bar (2223 West Shore Boulevard North) at 2 am. Bennett was released the next day. According to FCW sources, all charges were subsequently dropped by police.
Bennett has two tattoos. The first is a barbwire tattoo on his left deltoid. He later expanded it to cover the entire deltoid. The second is a tribal design directly underneath the former tattoo.
Stuart Alexander "Stu" Bennett (born August 10, 1980) is an English professional wrestler
. He is currently signed to WWE where he performs on its SmackDown brand
under the ring name
Wade Barrett. He won the first season of NXT
in 2010 and made his Raw
debut in June of that year, rising to prominence as the leader of the Nexus
, a villainous
stable composed of the NXT contestants. Barrett headlined five WWE pay-per-view events during the remainder of 2010, challenging for the WWE Championship
in three of those, headlining SummerSlam
, Night of Champions
, Bragging Rights
, 2010
Survivor Series
, and TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs
, as well as challenging for the WWE Championship
at Night of Champions, Bragging Rights and Survivor Series.
After moving to SmackDown in January 2011, Barrett formed a new stable known as The Corre
, which included former Nexus members. He challenged for the World Heavyweight Championship
at the 2011
WWE Elimination Chamber
and won his first singles championship, the WWE Intercontinental Championship
, in March. Prior to his WWE debut, Barrett competed in various independent promotions under his own name, and the ring names of Stu Sanders and Lawrence Knight.
at the age of 21, and was trained by Jon Ritchie and Al Snow
. He made his professional wrestling debut in June 2004, using the ring name
"Stu Sanders", as a surprise entrant in a 30-man battle royal
held by NWA UK Hammerlock Wrestling
. Sanders also performed at numerous Dropkixx Wrestling and All Star Wrestling
events, as well as wrestling in Wales for Welsh Wrestling.
(OVW) under his Stu Sanders ring name, where he was defeated by Ace Steel
in a dark match. He later formed a tag team
with Paul Burchill
and the pair faced the Major Brothers
in several matches. On 2 January 2008 Sanders and Burchill defeated Colt Cabana and Charles Evans in the final of a tournament for the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship
. Sanders and Burchill held the title for nearly two months before losing it to Los Locos (Ramón and Raúl) in a four-way match also involving The Insurgency (Ali and Omar Akbar) and The Mobile Homers (Ted McNaler and Adam Revolver).
After WWE ended their relationship with OVW as a developmental territory, Sanders was moved to Florida Championship Wrestling
(FCW) with several other wrestlers. On 6 May 2008, Sanders and Drew McIntyre, collectively known as The Empire, defeated The Puerto Rican Nightmares
(Eddie Colón
and Eric Pérez
) to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship
. They lost the titles back to the Nightmares at FCW's first TV taping on 17 July. The team broke up after the loss, and Sanders began wrestling under his real name before changing it to Lawrence Knight at the 9 October FCW television taping. On 19 February 2009, Knight announced that he was the new FCW commentator, alongside Dusty Rhodes
. He became colour commentator due to an injury, in which he tore his Latissimus dorsi muscle
and required surgery. In August 2009, Bennett was renamed yet again to Wade Barrett, partially named for Wade Dooley
. Bennett describes the character of Barrett as being "an extension of his dark side". He returned to in-ring competition in FCW in December 2009.
It was announced on 16 February 2010 that Barrett would be competing on the first season of WWE NXT
, with Chris Jericho
as his storyline mentor. His first appearance for NXT was on the inaugural episode of NXT on 23 February, when he acted as Jericho's ring announcer
. Barrett made his in-ring debut on the following episode of NXT, defeating Daniel Bryan
. On the 13 April episode of NXT, Barrett won the "talk the talk" challenge and was awarded his own custom made entrance theme. On 11 May, Barrett was ranked in first place in the Pros Poll. On the 1 June episode of NXT, Barrett won the overall competition, and a WWE contract, by defeating David Otunga
and Justin Gabriel in the season finale.
, Barrett was at the forefront of an attack by the NXT rookies, as they interfered in the main event match between John Cena
and CM Punk
, attacking both competitors, the Straight Edge Society
, the announce team, the timekeeper and the ring announcer, before they destroyed the ring area and surrounding equipment. Cena in particular was heavily targeted by the rookies, who hit him with their finishing moves. On the next episode of Raw, Barrett and the other rookies (minus Daniel Bryan) demanded full-time contracts from Raw General Manager Bret Hart
, who instead fired Barrett and had the rookies removed from the building. Later in the show the rookies attacked Hart and gave him until the Fatal 4-Way
pay-per-view
to decide on their contracts. At Fatal 4-Way, the rookies interfered in the main event for the WWE Championship
, costing John Cena the championship in the process. The following night on Raw, Vince McMahon
fired Hart and announced that a new 'anonymous' General Manager had been hired and the seven rookies received WWE contracts. The group of rookies continued their path of disrupting main events, as they attacked both Cena and McMahon, who had been acting as the referee
. The following week, the group was named The Nexus
. That same week, Barrett was absent on Raw as his work visa had expired and he had to return to the United Kingdom to apply for a new one. With his visa situation cleared up, Barrett returned the following week. On the 12 July episode of Raw, the Nexus, sans Darren Young, competed in their first match together and defeated John Cena in a six–on–one handicap match. The following week, Barrett made his singles match debut on Raw by defeating Mark Henry
. the Nexus continued to feud with Cena and the Raw roster, resulting in a seven-on-seven elimination tag team match at SummerSlam
. Barrett was the final member of the Nexus but submitted to Cena, causing the Nexus to lose the match. After Darren Young was exiled from the group and Skip Sheffield was injured, the Nexus faced Cena, Edge, Randy Orton
, Sheamus and Jericho in a five-on-five elimination match on the 900th episode of Raw on 30 August. Barrett won the match for his team by last eliminating Orton.
Barrett received his guaranteed championship match from winning NXT at Night of Champions
, where he was unsuccessful in a six-pack challenge match for the WWE Championship, despite eliminating Cena. The feud between Cena and the Nexus continued at Hell in a Cell
on 3 October, when Barrett defeated Cena to force Cena to become a member of the Nexus. The following night on Raw, Barrett, with the help of the rest of the Nexus, won a battle royal to determine the number one contender to the WWE Championship, when Cena eliminated himself on Barrett's orders. Barrett received his championship match against Randy Orton at the Bragging Rights
pay-per-view. After ordering Cena to help him win, Cena interfered in the match causing Barrett to win via disqualification, which meant that Orton retained the championship. The following night, Barrett was granted a rematch at the Survivor Series
pay-per-view, and allowed to choose a guest referee. He chose Cena, stating that if Barrett won the match and the WWE Title, Cena would be allowed to leave the Nexus, but if Barrett failed to win the title, Cena would be fired. At Survivor Series, Barrett was unsuccessful in winning the WWE Championship from Orton after Cena pushed him into an RKO by Orton. Cena was fired as per the match stipulation after Survivor Series.
Due to Cena's interference, Barrett received a rematch for the championship the following night on Raw, but was attacked by the fired Cena, costing him the match. After Cena attacked several members of the Nexus over the next few weeks, they demanded that Barrett re-instate him, or be exiled from the group. On the 13 December episode of Raw, Barrett agreed and rehired Cena. As a condition of his rehiring, Cena had to face Barrett in a Chairs match at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs
pay-per-view, which Barrett lost.
Barrett made his first appearance since the TLC pay-per-view on the 3 January 2011 episode of Raw, where he confronted CM Punk
, who had taken over the leadership of the Nexus in his absence. Punk gave Barrett the opportunity to regain the leadership, stating that if he won a three-way steel cage match involving Orton, Sheamus and Barrett to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship, Punk would give up the leadership. However, during the match, Punk came down to ringside, attacked Barrett as he was about to win and took off Barrett's Nexus armband, symbolically removing him from the Nexus. Barrett went on to lose the match.
. Barrett later qualified for the WWE Elimination Chamber
match for the World Heavyweight Championship
, but came up short after being the first man eliminated by The Big Show. On 22 March, at the tapings of the 25 March episode of SmackDown, Barrett defeated Kofi Kingston
to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship
. At WrestleMania XXVII
, The Corre were defeated in an eight-man tag team match by the team of Kingston, The Big Show, Kane
, and Santino Marella. Barrett went on to successfully defend his championship against Kingston on the 22 April episode of SmackDown. On the 6 May episode of SmackDown, Barrett, Gabriel, and Slater attacked Jackson, removing him from the group. On the 13 May episode of SmackDown, Barrett then challenged Jackson to a match for the Intercontinental Championship at the Over the Limit
pay-per-view, and Jackson accepted. At the event, Gabriel and Slater attacked Jackson during the match, causing Barrett to lose by disqualification, but Barrett retained his Intercontinental Championship. He would then have to defend his Intercontinental Title
against Jackson again on the 3 June episode of SmackDown. During the match, Jackson threw Barrett out of the ring, resulting in Barrett losing by countout, but Barrett still retained his Intercontinental Title as a title cannot change hands via countout. Barrett then instructed the Corre to attack Jackson, but then abandoned Gabriel and Slater, whom Jackson fended off. On the 10 June episode of SmackDown, The Corre dissolved after Barrett, fleeing from Jackson, walked out on Gabriel and Slater in a 6-man tag team match against Jackson and The Usos
, causing them to lose the match. At WWE Capitol Punishment
, Barrett lost the Intercontinental Championship to Jackson. He invoked his rematch clause against Ezekiel Jackson for the Intercontinental Champion on the 24 June episode of SmackDown, but lost.
pay-per-view, facing Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, Kane
, Sin Cara
, Daniel Bryan
, Cody Rhodes and Sheamus, but the match was won by Bryan. On the 22 July edition of SmackDown, Barrett faced Sheamus and both men were counted out. The following week Wade Barrett came to talk about how he was deserved to be Mr. Money in the Bank, Daniel Bryan came out and put him on the LeBell Lock. The week after, he was commentating in Bryan's match. Then on the following week on the last episode of SmackDown before SummerSlam, he attacked Bryan after the latter's loss to Alberto Del Rio. At SummerSlam
, Barrett defeated Bryan. He then had a short feud with Sheamus, where he lost on three occasions. On September 23rd edition of Smackdown, Barrett defeated another former Nexus and Corre teammate, Justin Gabriel.
On the October 21 edition of SmackDown held in Mexico, Barrett dismissed his past alliances with a "legion of parasites", claiming that the only person he needed for him to succeed was himself, and he vowed that "The Barrett Barrage" was beginning. Barrett followed this announcement by beating Daniel Bryan. The next week, he would obtain wins over John Morrison on Raw and Trent Barreta on SmackDown.
Barrett's winning streak continued as Barrett and Cody Rhodes defeated the WWE Tag Team Champions
Evan Bourne and
Kofi Kingston
on the October 31 edition of WWE Raw
and continued on the November 4, 2011 edition of Smackdown when he defeated Sheamus, with a little help from Christian in the process, and again the next week, against Randy Orton. Barrett's winning streak was broken on the November 14, 2011 episode of Raw (Raw Gets Rocked) when he was defeated by Orton via disqualification after Team Barrett attacked Orton. At Survivor Series
Team Barrett defeated Team Orton, with Barrett and Cody Rhodes being the sole survivors in the match.On Smackdown he lost a Fatal-4-Way match to determine the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship
(Won by Daniel Bryan
) which also included Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton
.
and lived in Preston, Lancashire
until the age of six, when he moved to Wales
with his family. He has an older brother named Martin. As a child, Bennett was a fan of "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith
. He supports Preston North End. Before becoming a professional wrestler, Bennett was a bareknuckle boxer while living in Liverpool
. Bennett has a degree in marine biology
from University of Liverpool
. He worked in a science laboratory and later as a Recruitment Consultant at Venn Group's London Office, whilst training to become a wrestler.
On 15 June 2008, Bennett was arrested in Tampa
, Florida
and charged with battery on a law enforcement officer (a felony) and obstructing an officer (a misdemeanor). The arrest took place outside of Champps Restaurant and Bar (2223 West Shore Boulevard North) at 2 am. Bennett was released the next day. According to FCW sources, all charges were subsequently dropped by police.
Bennett has two tattoos. The first is a barbwire tattoo on his left deltoid. He later expanded it to cover the entire deltoid. The second is a tribal design directly underneath the former tattoo.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
. He is currently signed to WWE where he performs on its SmackDown brand
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
under the ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
Wade Barrett. He won the first season of NXT
WWE NXT
WWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
in 2010 and made his Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
debut in June of that year, rising to prominence as the leader of the Nexus
Nexus (professional wrestling)
The Nexus was a villainous professional wrestling stable in the professional wrestling promotion, WWE, that competed on its Raw brand. The group originally consisted of all eight rookies of NXT season one and shifted their roster several times throughout their existence...
, a villainous
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
stable composed of the NXT contestants. Barrett headlined five WWE pay-per-view events during the remainder of 2010, challenging for the WWE Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
in three of those, headlining SummerSlam
SummerSlam (2010)
SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on August 15, 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California for the second consecutive year...
, Night of Champions
Night of Champions (2010)
Night of Champions was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on September 19, 2010 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. It was the third annual event to be promoted solely under the Night of Champions name and the tenth...
, Bragging Rights
Bragging Rights (2010)
Bragging Rights was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on October 24, 2010 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was the second and final Bragging Rights event. Seven matches took place at the event...
, 2010
Survivor Series (2010)
Survivor Series was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on November 21, 2010 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida...
Survivor Series
Survivor Series
The Survivor Series is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event held in November by WWE. It is one of the "Big Four" events, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble and SummerSlam, as It is one of the original four pay-per-views produced by WWE....
, and TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2010)
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on December 19, 2010 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. It was the second annual TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs event...
, as well as challenging for the WWE Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
at Night of Champions, Bragging Rights and Survivor Series.
After moving to SmackDown in January 2011, Barrett formed a new stable known as The Corre
The Corre
The Corre was a professional wrestling heel stable that performed on WWE's SmackDown brand in 2011. The stable was formed after Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater left the Nexus and allied with Ezekiel Jackson.-Formation:...
, which included former Nexus members. He challenged for the World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
at the 2011
Elimination Chamber (2011)
Elimination Chamber was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on February 20, 2011 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California...
WWE Elimination Chamber
WWE Elimination Chamber
Elimination Chamber was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on February 21, 2010 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the first Elimination Chamber event...
and won his first singles championship, the WWE Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
, in March. Prior to his WWE debut, Barrett competed in various independent promotions under his own name, and the ring names of Stu Sanders and Lawrence Knight.
Debut
Bennett decided to become a professional wrestlerProfessional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
at the age of 21, and was trained by Jon Ritchie and Al Snow
Al Snow
Allen Ray Sarven is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment and currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a road agent.-Early career:Sarven...
. He made his professional wrestling debut in June 2004, using the ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
"Stu Sanders", as a surprise entrant in a 30-man battle royal
Battle royal (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...
held by NWA UK Hammerlock Wrestling
NWA UK Hammerlock
NWA UK Hammerlock was a British professional wrestling promotion based in Kent.-History:Established in 1993 by former wrestler turned promoter Andre "Sledgehammer" Baker, it is one of the National Wrestling Alliance's territories...
. Sanders also performed at numerous Dropkixx Wrestling and All Star Wrestling
All Star Wrestling
All Star Wrestling is a British Professional wrestling promotion also known as All Star Promotions, Superslam Wrestling and Big Time Wrestling and originally known as Wrestling Enterprises , run by Brian Dixon and based in Liverpool, England...
events, as well as wrestling in Wales for Welsh Wrestling.
Developmental territories and NXT (2007-2010)
Bennett participated in a tryout with WWE in 2007, and signed a developmental contract with them in October. He was assigned to Ohio Valley WrestlingOhio Valley Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. OVW is run by owner Danny Davis and was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1997 until 2000...
(OVW) under his Stu Sanders ring name, where he was defeated by Ace Steel
Ace Steel
Chris Guy is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Ace Steel. He is perhaps best known for his time with Ring of Honor and occasional appearances for World Wrestling Entertainment, as well as his stint with its Ohio Valley Wrestling developmental territory...
in a dark match. He later formed a tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
with Paul Burchill
Paul Burchill
Paul Birchill , better known by his ring name Paul Burchill, is an English professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment , where he signed after training and debuting for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance in his home country.-Frontier Wrestling Alliance...
and the pair faced the Major Brothers
Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder
Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder were a American professional wrestling tag team who appeared on the independent circuit and WWE under a variety of evolving names....
in several matches. On 2 January 2008 Sanders and Burchill defeated Colt Cabana and Charles Evans in the final of a tournament for the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship
OVW Southern Tag Team Championship
The OVW Southern Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles of Ohio Valley Wrestling. Created in 1997, the first champions were Nick Dinsmore and Flash Flanagan. As of 2011, the current champions are Ted McNaler and Adam Revolver, known as The Elite in their fourth reign...
. Sanders and Burchill held the title for nearly two months before losing it to Los Locos (Ramón and Raúl) in a four-way match also involving The Insurgency (Ali and Omar Akbar) and The Mobile Homers (Ted McNaler and Adam Revolver).
After WWE ended their relationship with OVW as a developmental territory, Sanders was moved to Florida Championship Wrestling
Florida Championship Wrestling
Championship Wrestling from Florida was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as Florida Championship Wrestling...
(FCW) with several other wrestlers. On 6 May 2008, Sanders and Drew McIntyre, collectively known as The Empire, defeated The Puerto Rican Nightmares
The Puerto Rican Nightmares
The Puerto Rican Nightmares were a professional tag team. The team consisted of Eddie Colón and Eric Pérez. -Florida Championship Wrestling :...
(Eddie Colón
Eddie Colon
Edwin "Eddie" Carlos Colón is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is currently signed by WWE wrestling on its Raw brand as Primo. He is the son of Carlos Colón, Sr. and the younger brother of wrestlers Stacy and Carly Colón, better known as Carlito in WWE...
and Eric Pérez
Eric Perez
Eric Alexander Pérez is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler who currently performs under the ring name Eric Escobar. He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment , where he spent most of his career in developmental territories...
) to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship
FCW Florida Tag Team Championship
The Florida Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned and promoted by Florida Championship Wrestling , the developmental territory of WWE. It is contested for in their tag team division...
. They lost the titles back to the Nightmares at FCW's first TV taping on 17 July. The team broke up after the loss, and Sanders began wrestling under his real name before changing it to Lawrence Knight at the 9 October FCW television taping. On 19 February 2009, Knight announced that he was the new FCW commentator, alongside Dusty Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes (wrestler)
Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr. , better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler currently working for WWE...
. He became colour commentator due to an injury, in which he tore his Latissimus dorsi muscle
Latissimus dorsi muscle
The latissimus dorsi , meaning 'broadest muscle of the back' , is the larger, flat, dorso-lateral muscle on the trunk, posterior to the arm, and partly covered by the trapezius on its median dorsal region.The latissimus dorsi is responsible for extension,...
and required surgery. In August 2009, Bennett was renamed yet again to Wade Barrett, partially named for Wade Dooley
Wade Dooley
Wade Dooley is a former England rugby union international who played lock forward. He played for his country 55 times and was known as the "Blackpool Tower", as a result of being 6 feet 8 inches tall and a police officer with Lancashire Constabulary in Blackpool.Dooley was born in Warrington,...
. Bennett describes the character of Barrett as being "an extension of his dark side". He returned to in-ring competition in FCW in December 2009.
It was announced on 16 February 2010 that Barrett would be competing on the first season of WWE NXT
WWE NXT
WWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
, with Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
as his storyline mentor. His first appearance for NXT was on the inaugural episode of NXT on 23 February, when he acted as Jericho's ring announcer
Ring announcer
A ring announcer is a paid in-ring employee for a boxing, professional wrestling, or mixed martial arts event or promotion...
. Barrett made his in-ring debut on the following episode of NXT, defeating Daniel Bryan
Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
. On the 13 April episode of NXT, Barrett won the "talk the talk" challenge and was awarded his own custom made entrance theme. On 11 May, Barrett was ranked in first place in the Pros Poll. On the 1 June episode of NXT, Barrett won the overall competition, and a WWE contract, by defeating David Otunga
David Otunga
David Daniel Otunga is a professional wrestler and former reality television actor. He is signed to WWE, appearing on the Raw brand under his real name. He's a two-time WWE Tag Team Champion, having one reign each with Michael McGillicutty and John Cena. He was the runner-up on the first season...
and Justin Gabriel in the season finale.
The Nexus and feud with John Cena (2010)
On the 7 June episode of RawWWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, Barrett was at the forefront of an attack by the NXT rookies, as they interfered in the main event match between John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
and CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
, attacking both competitors, the Straight Edge Society
Straight Edge Society
The Straight Edge Society was a villainous alliance in the professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment that appeared on its SmackDown brand....
, the announce team, the timekeeper and the ring announcer, before they destroyed the ring area and surrounding equipment. Cena in particular was heavily targeted by the rookies, who hit him with their finishing moves. On the next episode of Raw, Barrett and the other rookies (minus Daniel Bryan) demanded full-time contracts from Raw General Manager Bret Hart
Bret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
, who instead fired Barrett and had the rookies removed from the building. Later in the show the rookies attacked Hart and gave him until the Fatal 4-Way
WWE Fatal 4-Way
Fatal 4-Way was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on June 20, 2010 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York...
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
to decide on their contracts. At Fatal 4-Way, the rookies interfered in the main event for the WWE Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
, costing John Cena the championship in the process. The following night on Raw, Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
fired Hart and announced that a new 'anonymous' General Manager had been hired and the seven rookies received WWE contracts. The group of rookies continued their path of disrupting main events, as they attacked both Cena and McMahon, who had been acting as the referee
Referee (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling referee is the official figure that makes sure that wrestling matches move smoothly in an attempt to maintain kayfabe. The referee also has the ultimate power in the ring...
. The following week, the group was named The Nexus
Nexus (professional wrestling)
The Nexus was a villainous professional wrestling stable in the professional wrestling promotion, WWE, that competed on its Raw brand. The group originally consisted of all eight rookies of NXT season one and shifted their roster several times throughout their existence...
. That same week, Barrett was absent on Raw as his work visa had expired and he had to return to the United Kingdom to apply for a new one. With his visa situation cleared up, Barrett returned the following week. On the 12 July episode of Raw, the Nexus, sans Darren Young, competed in their first match together and defeated John Cena in a six–on–one handicap match. The following week, Barrett made his singles match debut on Raw by defeating Mark Henry
Mark Henry
Mark Jerrold Henry is an American professional wrestler signed with WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. He is a 1992 Olympian, and winner of the 2002 Arnold Strongman Classic...
. the Nexus continued to feud with Cena and the Raw roster, resulting in a seven-on-seven elimination tag team match at SummerSlam
SummerSlam (2010)
SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on August 15, 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California for the second consecutive year...
. Barrett was the final member of the Nexus but submitted to Cena, causing the Nexus to lose the match. After Darren Young was exiled from the group and Skip Sheffield was injured, the Nexus faced Cena, Edge, Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
, Sheamus and Jericho in a five-on-five elimination match on the 900th episode of Raw on 30 August. Barrett won the match for his team by last eliminating Orton.
Barrett received his guaranteed championship match from winning NXT at Night of Champions
Night of Champions (2010)
Night of Champions was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on September 19, 2010 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. It was the third annual event to be promoted solely under the Night of Champions name and the tenth...
, where he was unsuccessful in a six-pack challenge match for the WWE Championship, despite eliminating Cena. The feud between Cena and the Nexus continued at Hell in a Cell
Hell in a Cell (2010)
Hell in a Cell was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that took place on October 3, 2010 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. It was the second annual Hell in a Cell event. Like the 2009 event, the event featured the Hell in a Cell...
on 3 October, when Barrett defeated Cena to force Cena to become a member of the Nexus. The following night on Raw, Barrett, with the help of the rest of the Nexus, won a battle royal to determine the number one contender to the WWE Championship, when Cena eliminated himself on Barrett's orders. Barrett received his championship match against Randy Orton at the Bragging Rights
Bragging Rights (2010)
Bragging Rights was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on October 24, 2010 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was the second and final Bragging Rights event. Seven matches took place at the event...
pay-per-view. After ordering Cena to help him win, Cena interfered in the match causing Barrett to win via disqualification, which meant that Orton retained the championship. The following night, Barrett was granted a rematch at the Survivor Series
Survivor Series (2010)
Survivor Series was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on November 21, 2010 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida...
pay-per-view, and allowed to choose a guest referee. He chose Cena, stating that if Barrett won the match and the WWE Title, Cena would be allowed to leave the Nexus, but if Barrett failed to win the title, Cena would be fired. At Survivor Series, Barrett was unsuccessful in winning the WWE Championship from Orton after Cena pushed him into an RKO by Orton. Cena was fired as per the match stipulation after Survivor Series.
Due to Cena's interference, Barrett received a rematch for the championship the following night on Raw, but was attacked by the fired Cena, costing him the match. After Cena attacked several members of the Nexus over the next few weeks, they demanded that Barrett re-instate him, or be exiled from the group. On the 13 December episode of Raw, Barrett agreed and rehired Cena. As a condition of his rehiring, Cena had to face Barrett in a Chairs match at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2010)
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on December 19, 2010 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. It was the second annual TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs event...
pay-per-view, which Barrett lost.
Barrett made his first appearance since the TLC pay-per-view on the 3 January 2011 episode of Raw, where he confronted CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
, who had taken over the leadership of the Nexus in his absence. Punk gave Barrett the opportunity to regain the leadership, stating that if he won a three-way steel cage match involving Orton, Sheamus and Barrett to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship, Punk would give up the leadership. However, during the match, Punk came down to ringside, attacked Barrett as he was about to win and took off Barrett's Nexus armband, symbolically removing him from the Nexus. Barrett went on to lose the match.
The Corre and Intercontinental Champion (2011)
At the television tapings of the 7 January episode of SmackDown the next day, Barrett made his SmackDown debut by attacking The Big Show. The following week he was joined by Ezekiel Jackson and his former Nexus stablemates Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater, who had left the group the previous Monday, the group named themselves as the CorreThe Corre
The Corre was a professional wrestling heel stable that performed on WWE's SmackDown brand in 2011. The stable was formed after Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater left the Nexus and allied with Ezekiel Jackson.-Formation:...
. Barrett later qualified for the WWE Elimination Chamber
WWE Elimination Chamber
Elimination Chamber was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on February 21, 2010 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the first Elimination Chamber event...
match for the World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
, but came up short after being the first man eliminated by The Big Show. On 22 March, at the tapings of the 25 March episode of SmackDown, Barrett defeated Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
. At WrestleMania XXVII
WrestleMania XXVII
WrestleMania XXVII was the twenty-seventh annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , held on April 3, 2011 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia...
, The Corre were defeated in an eight-man tag team match by the team of Kingston, The Big Show, Kane
Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
, and Santino Marella. Barrett went on to successfully defend his championship against Kingston on the 22 April episode of SmackDown. On the 6 May episode of SmackDown, Barrett, Gabriel, and Slater attacked Jackson, removing him from the group. On the 13 May episode of SmackDown, Barrett then challenged Jackson to a match for the Intercontinental Championship at the Over the Limit
Over the Limit (2011)
Over the Limit was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on May 22, 2011 at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington. It was the second Over the Limit event...
pay-per-view, and Jackson accepted. At the event, Gabriel and Slater attacked Jackson during the match, causing Barrett to lose by disqualification, but Barrett retained his Intercontinental Championship. He would then have to defend his Intercontinental Title
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
against Jackson again on the 3 June episode of SmackDown. During the match, Jackson threw Barrett out of the ring, resulting in Barrett losing by countout, but Barrett still retained his Intercontinental Title as a title cannot change hands via countout. Barrett then instructed the Corre to attack Jackson, but then abandoned Gabriel and Slater, whom Jackson fended off. On the 10 June episode of SmackDown, The Corre dissolved after Barrett, fleeing from Jackson, walked out on Gabriel and Slater in a 6-man tag team match against Jackson and The Usos
The Usos
The Usos are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of twin brothers Jimmy and Jey Uso. The Usos appear in WWE, competing on the SmackDown brand. The pair were previously managed by Tamina...
, causing them to lose the match. At WWE Capitol Punishment
WWE Capitol Punishment
Capitol Punishment was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on June 19, 2011 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C....
, Barrett lost the Intercontinental Championship to Jackson. He invoked his rematch clause against Ezekiel Jackson for the Intercontinental Champion on the 24 June episode of SmackDown, but lost.
The Barrett Barrage (2011-Present)
On the 1 July episode of SmackDown, Barrett was announced to be one of the participants for the SmackDown Money in the Bank match at the Money in the BankMoney in the Bank (2011)
Money in the Bank was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on July 17, 2011 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. It was the second annual Money in the Bank pay-per-view...
pay-per-view, facing Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, Kane
Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
, Sin Cara
Místico
Luis Ignascio Urive Alvirde is a Mexican luchador enmascarado, or masked professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE, working on its SmackDown brand under the name Sin Cara...
, Daniel Bryan
Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
, Cody Rhodes and Sheamus, but the match was won by Bryan. On the 22 July edition of SmackDown, Barrett faced Sheamus and both men were counted out. The following week Wade Barrett came to talk about how he was deserved to be Mr. Money in the Bank, Daniel Bryan came out and put him on the LeBell Lock. The week after, he was commentating in Bryan's match. Then on the following week on the last episode of SmackDown before SummerSlam, he attacked Bryan after the latter's loss to Alberto Del Rio. At SummerSlam
SummerSlam (2011)
SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE that took place on August 14, 2011. For the third consecutive year, SummerSlam was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, and it was the 24th annual SummerSlam event...
, Barrett defeated Bryan. He then had a short feud with Sheamus, where he lost on three occasions. On September 23rd edition of Smackdown, Barrett defeated another former Nexus and Corre teammate, Justin Gabriel.
On the October 21 edition of SmackDown held in Mexico, Barrett dismissed his past alliances with a "legion of parasites", claiming that the only person he needed for him to succeed was himself, and he vowed that "The Barrett Barrage" was beginning. Barrett followed this announcement by beating Daniel Bryan. The next week, he would obtain wins over John Morrison on Raw and Trent Barreta on SmackDown.
Barrett's winning streak continued as Barrett and Cody Rhodes defeated the WWE Tag Team Champions
WWE Tag Team Championship
The WWE Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship in WWE. It was established as a second title for tag teams in WWE in 2002 to complement the original World Tag Team Championship...
Evan Bourne and
Air Boom
Air Boom is a WWE professional wrestling tag team consisting of Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston, both of whom compete on WWE's Raw brand where they are the current reigning WWE Tag Team Champions. Their team name "Air Boom" was voted upon by fans on WWE's website...
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
on the October 31 edition of WWE Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
and continued on the November 4, 2011 edition of Smackdown when he defeated Sheamus, with a little help from Christian in the process, and again the next week, against Randy Orton. Barrett's winning streak was broken on the November 14, 2011 episode of Raw (Raw Gets Rocked) when he was defeated by Orton via disqualification after Team Barrett attacked Orton. At Survivor Series
Survivor Series (2011)
Survivor Series was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE that took place on November 20, 2011 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was the 25th annual Survivor Series event and the first one to take place in Madison Square Garden since the 2002 event...
Team Barrett defeated Team Orton, with Barrett and Cody Rhodes being the sole survivors in the match.On Smackdown he lost a Fatal-4-Way match to determine the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship
The World Heavyweight Championship is the name given to certain championships in professional wrestling. Although various professional wrestling promotions have used the term "world heavyweight championship", it is almost exclusively used as a moniker for the championship that is under competition...
(Won by Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan
Colonel Dan Bryan was an officer in the Irish Army and head of G2 during World War II, known in neutral Ireland as "The Emergency"....
) which also included Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
.
Personal life
Bennett was born in PenworthamPenwortham
-Landmarks:Penwortham Priory was built for the Rawsthorne family and redesigned by the Cumbrian architect George Webster. The priory was demolished due to the rapid expansion of the area and the need for new housing...
and lived in Preston, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
until the age of six, when he moved to Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
with his family. He has an older brother named Martin. As a child, Bennett was a fan of "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling...
. He supports Preston North End. Before becoming a professional wrestler, Bennett was a bareknuckle boxer while living in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. Bennett has a degree in marine biology
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
from University of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
. He worked in a science laboratory and later as a Recruitment Consultant at Venn Group's London Office, whilst training to become a wrestler.
On 15 June 2008, Bennett was arrested in Tampa
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and charged with battery on a law enforcement officer (a felony) and obstructing an officer (a misdemeanor). The arrest took place outside of Champps Restaurant and Bar (2223 West Shore Boulevard North) at 2 am. Bennett was released the next day. According to FCW sources, all charges were subsequently dropped by police.
Bennett has two tattoos. The first is a barbwire tattoo on his left deltoid. He later expanded it to cover the entire deltoid. The second is a tribal design directly underneath the former tattoo.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Wasteland (Forward fireman's carry slam) – 2010–present
- Signature moves
- Back kick
- Big boot, sometimes to rope hung opponent
- Belly-to-belly suplex
- Diving elbow drop
- Double underhook suplex
- European uppercut
- Headbutt
- Leaping elbow smash
- PowerbombPowerbombA powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted up and then slammed back-first down to the mat. The standard powerbomb sees an opponent first placed in a standing headscissors position...
, sometimes dropped into a sitout position - Pendulum backbreaker
- Pumphandle slam
- NeckbreakerNeckbreakerIn professional wrestling a neckbreaker is any throw or slam that focuses its attack on the opponent’s neck. One type of neckbreaker involves the wrestler slamming an opponent's neck against a part of the wrestler's body, usually the knee, head or shoulder...
- Slingshot backbreakerBackbreakerA backbreaker refers to professional wrestling moves which see a wrestler dropping an opponent so that the opponent's back impacts or is bent backwards against a part of the wrestler's body, usually the knee...
- Spinebuster
- Spinning side slam
- ManagersManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- Byron Saxton
- Chris JerichoChris JerichoChristopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
- Wrestlers Managed
- The NexusNexus (professional wrestling)The Nexus was a villainous professional wrestling stable in the professional wrestling promotion, WWE, that competed on its Raw brand. The group originally consisted of all eight rookies of NXT season one and shifted their roster several times throughout their existence...
(Daniel BryanBryan DanielsonBryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
, Michael Tarver, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, Darren Young, Skip Sheffield, Husky Harris, David OtungaDavid OtungaDavid Daniel Otunga is a professional wrestler and former reality television actor. He is signed to WWE, appearing on the Raw brand under his real name. He's a two-time WWE Tag Team Champion, having one reign each with Michael McGillicutty and John Cena. He was the runner-up on the first season...
, & Michael McGillicutty)-2010-2011 - The CorreThe CorreThe Corre was a professional wrestling heel stable that performed on WWE's SmackDown brand in 2011. The stable was formed after Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater left the Nexus and allied with Ezekiel Jackson.-Formation:...
(Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, & Ezekiel Jackson)-2011
- The Nexus
- Nicknames
- "The Bare-Knuckle Brawler"
- "The Jackal"
- "The Pinnacle"
- Entrance themesMusic in professional wrestlingMusic in professional wrestling serves a variety of purposes. The most common uses of music in professional wrestling is that of the entrance theme, a song or piece of instrumental music which plays as a performer approaches the ring...
- "We Are OneThe Only Easy Day Was YesterdayThe Only Easy Day Was Yesterday is an EP from the American rock band 12 Stones. It was released on July 20, 2010 by Wind-up Records and debuted at #103 on the Billboard 200....
" by 12 Stones12 Stones12 Stones is a rock band that was formed in 2000 in Mandeville, Louisiana. They have collectively sold more than 2 million records.-History:The four band members met in Mandeville, Louisiana, a small suburb north of New Orleans, and within 15 months were signed to a record deal with Wind-up Records...
(June 7, 2010 – January 3, 2011) - "End of Days" by Jim Johnston featuring 9 Electic, Emphatic, and Matty McCloskey (January 7, 2011–present)
- "We Are One
Championships and accomplishments
- Dropkixx
- Dropkixx IWC European Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Florida Championship WrestlingFlorida Championship WrestlingChampionship Wrestling from Florida was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as Florida Championship Wrestling...
- FCW Florida Tag Team ChampionshipFCW Florida Tag Team ChampionshipThe Florida Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned and promoted by Florida Championship Wrestling , the developmental territory of WWE. It is contested for in their tag team division...
(1 time) – with Drew McIntyre
- FCW Florida Tag Team Championship
- Ohio Valley WrestlingOhio Valley WrestlingOhio Valley Wrestling is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. OVW is run by owner Danny Davis and was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1997 until 2000...
- OVW Southern Tag Team ChampionshipOVW Southern Tag Team ChampionshipThe OVW Southern Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles of Ohio Valley Wrestling. Created in 1997, the first champions were Nick Dinsmore and Flash Flanagan. As of 2011, the current champions are Ted McNaler and Adam Revolver, known as The Elite in their fourth reign...
(1 time) – with Paul BurchillPaul BurchillPaul Birchill , better known by his ring name Paul Burchill, is an English professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment , where he signed after training and debuting for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance in his home country.-Frontier Wrestling Alliance...
- OVW Southern Tag Team Championship
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI Feud of the Year (2010) –
- PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2010) –
- PWI ranked him #19 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2011
- Pro Wrestling ReportPro Wrestling ReportThe Pro Wrestling Report is a weekly sports talk radio/television program, first broadcast on March 18, 1998. PWR is produced by Dameon Nelson. PWR primarily covers the three largest professional wrestling promotions in the United States: WWE Ring of Honor and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. The...
- Breakthrough Star of the Year (2010)
- World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
- WWE Intercontinental ChampionshipWWE Intercontinental ChampionshipThe WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
(1 time)
- WWE Intercontinental Championship
Stuart Alexander "Stu" Bennett (born August 10, 1980) is an English professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
. He is currently signed to WWE where he performs on its SmackDown brand
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
under the ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
Wade Barrett. He won the first season of NXT
WWE NXT
WWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
in 2010 and made his Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
debut in June of that year, rising to prominence as the leader of the Nexus
Nexus (professional wrestling)
The Nexus was a villainous professional wrestling stable in the professional wrestling promotion, WWE, that competed on its Raw brand. The group originally consisted of all eight rookies of NXT season one and shifted their roster several times throughout their existence...
, a villainous
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
stable composed of the NXT contestants. Barrett headlined five WWE pay-per-view events during the remainder of 2010, challenging for the WWE Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
in three of those, headlining SummerSlam
SummerSlam (2010)
SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on August 15, 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California for the second consecutive year...
, Night of Champions
Night of Champions (2010)
Night of Champions was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on September 19, 2010 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. It was the third annual event to be promoted solely under the Night of Champions name and the tenth...
, Bragging Rights
Bragging Rights (2010)
Bragging Rights was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on October 24, 2010 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was the second and final Bragging Rights event. Seven matches took place at the event...
, 2010
Survivor Series (2010)
Survivor Series was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on November 21, 2010 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida...
Survivor Series
Survivor Series
The Survivor Series is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event held in November by WWE. It is one of the "Big Four" events, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble and SummerSlam, as It is one of the original four pay-per-views produced by WWE....
, and TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2010)
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on December 19, 2010 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. It was the second annual TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs event...
, as well as challenging for the WWE Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
at Night of Champions, Bragging Rights and Survivor Series.
After moving to SmackDown in January 2011, Barrett formed a new stable known as The Corre
The Corre
The Corre was a professional wrestling heel stable that performed on WWE's SmackDown brand in 2011. The stable was formed after Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater left the Nexus and allied with Ezekiel Jackson.-Formation:...
, which included former Nexus members. He challenged for the World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
at the 2011
Elimination Chamber (2011)
Elimination Chamber was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on February 20, 2011 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California...
WWE Elimination Chamber
WWE Elimination Chamber
Elimination Chamber was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on February 21, 2010 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the first Elimination Chamber event...
and won his first singles championship, the WWE Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
, in March. Prior to his WWE debut, Barrett competed in various independent promotions under his own name, and the ring names of Stu Sanders and Lawrence Knight.
Debut
Bennett decided to become a professional wrestlerProfessional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
at the age of 21, and was trained by Jon Ritchie and Al Snow
Al Snow
Allen Ray Sarven is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment and currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a road agent.-Early career:Sarven...
. He made his professional wrestling debut in June 2004, using the ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
"Stu Sanders", as a surprise entrant in a 30-man battle royal
Battle royal (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...
held by NWA UK Hammerlock Wrestling
NWA UK Hammerlock
NWA UK Hammerlock was a British professional wrestling promotion based in Kent.-History:Established in 1993 by former wrestler turned promoter Andre "Sledgehammer" Baker, it is one of the National Wrestling Alliance's territories...
. Sanders also performed at numerous Dropkixx Wrestling and All Star Wrestling
All Star Wrestling
All Star Wrestling is a British Professional wrestling promotion also known as All Star Promotions, Superslam Wrestling and Big Time Wrestling and originally known as Wrestling Enterprises , run by Brian Dixon and based in Liverpool, England...
events, as well as wrestling in Wales for Welsh Wrestling.
Developmental territories and NXT (2007-2010)
Bennett participated in a tryout with WWE in 2007, and signed a developmental contract with them in October. He was assigned to Ohio Valley WrestlingOhio Valley Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. OVW is run by owner Danny Davis and was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1997 until 2000...
(OVW) under his Stu Sanders ring name, where he was defeated by Ace Steel
Ace Steel
Chris Guy is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Ace Steel. He is perhaps best known for his time with Ring of Honor and occasional appearances for World Wrestling Entertainment, as well as his stint with its Ohio Valley Wrestling developmental territory...
in a dark match. He later formed a tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
with Paul Burchill
Paul Burchill
Paul Birchill , better known by his ring name Paul Burchill, is an English professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment , where he signed after training and debuting for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance in his home country.-Frontier Wrestling Alliance...
and the pair faced the Major Brothers
Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder
Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder were a American professional wrestling tag team who appeared on the independent circuit and WWE under a variety of evolving names....
in several matches. On 2 January 2008 Sanders and Burchill defeated Colt Cabana and Charles Evans in the final of a tournament for the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship
OVW Southern Tag Team Championship
The OVW Southern Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles of Ohio Valley Wrestling. Created in 1997, the first champions were Nick Dinsmore and Flash Flanagan. As of 2011, the current champions are Ted McNaler and Adam Revolver, known as The Elite in their fourth reign...
. Sanders and Burchill held the title for nearly two months before losing it to Los Locos (Ramón and Raúl) in a four-way match also involving The Insurgency (Ali and Omar Akbar) and The Mobile Homers (Ted McNaler and Adam Revolver).
After WWE ended their relationship with OVW as a developmental territory, Sanders was moved to Florida Championship Wrestling
Florida Championship Wrestling
Championship Wrestling from Florida was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as Florida Championship Wrestling...
(FCW) with several other wrestlers. On 6 May 2008, Sanders and Drew McIntyre, collectively known as The Empire, defeated The Puerto Rican Nightmares
The Puerto Rican Nightmares
The Puerto Rican Nightmares were a professional tag team. The team consisted of Eddie Colón and Eric Pérez. -Florida Championship Wrestling :...
(Eddie Colón
Eddie Colon
Edwin "Eddie" Carlos Colón is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is currently signed by WWE wrestling on its Raw brand as Primo. He is the son of Carlos Colón, Sr. and the younger brother of wrestlers Stacy and Carly Colón, better known as Carlito in WWE...
and Eric Pérez
Eric Perez
Eric Alexander Pérez is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler who currently performs under the ring name Eric Escobar. He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment , where he spent most of his career in developmental territories...
) to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship
FCW Florida Tag Team Championship
The Florida Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned and promoted by Florida Championship Wrestling , the developmental territory of WWE. It is contested for in their tag team division...
. They lost the titles back to the Nightmares at FCW's first TV taping on 17 July. The team broke up after the loss, and Sanders began wrestling under his real name before changing it to Lawrence Knight at the 9 October FCW television taping. On 19 February 2009, Knight announced that he was the new FCW commentator, alongside Dusty Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes (wrestler)
Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr. , better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler currently working for WWE...
. He became colour commentator due to an injury, in which he tore his Latissimus dorsi muscle
Latissimus dorsi muscle
The latissimus dorsi , meaning 'broadest muscle of the back' , is the larger, flat, dorso-lateral muscle on the trunk, posterior to the arm, and partly covered by the trapezius on its median dorsal region.The latissimus dorsi is responsible for extension,...
and required surgery. In August 2009, Bennett was renamed yet again to Wade Barrett, partially named for Wade Dooley
Wade Dooley
Wade Dooley is a former England rugby union international who played lock forward. He played for his country 55 times and was known as the "Blackpool Tower", as a result of being 6 feet 8 inches tall and a police officer with Lancashire Constabulary in Blackpool.Dooley was born in Warrington,...
. Bennett describes the character of Barrett as being "an extension of his dark side". He returned to in-ring competition in FCW in December 2009.
It was announced on 16 February 2010 that Barrett would be competing on the first season of WWE NXT
WWE NXT
WWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
, with Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
as his storyline mentor. His first appearance for NXT was on the inaugural episode of NXT on 23 February, when he acted as Jericho's ring announcer
Ring announcer
A ring announcer is a paid in-ring employee for a boxing, professional wrestling, or mixed martial arts event or promotion...
. Barrett made his in-ring debut on the following episode of NXT, defeating Daniel Bryan
Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
. On the 13 April episode of NXT, Barrett won the "talk the talk" challenge and was awarded his own custom made entrance theme. On 11 May, Barrett was ranked in first place in the Pros Poll. On the 1 June episode of NXT, Barrett won the overall competition, and a WWE contract, by defeating David Otunga
David Otunga
David Daniel Otunga is a professional wrestler and former reality television actor. He is signed to WWE, appearing on the Raw brand under his real name. He's a two-time WWE Tag Team Champion, having one reign each with Michael McGillicutty and John Cena. He was the runner-up on the first season...
and Justin Gabriel in the season finale.
The Nexus and feud with John Cena (2010)
On the 7 June episode of RawWWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, Barrett was at the forefront of an attack by the NXT rookies, as they interfered in the main event match between John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
and CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
, attacking both competitors, the Straight Edge Society
Straight Edge Society
The Straight Edge Society was a villainous alliance in the professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment that appeared on its SmackDown brand....
, the announce team, the timekeeper and the ring announcer, before they destroyed the ring area and surrounding equipment. Cena in particular was heavily targeted by the rookies, who hit him with their finishing moves. On the next episode of Raw, Barrett and the other rookies (minus Daniel Bryan) demanded full-time contracts from Raw General Manager Bret Hart
Bret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
, who instead fired Barrett and had the rookies removed from the building. Later in the show the rookies attacked Hart and gave him until the Fatal 4-Way
WWE Fatal 4-Way
Fatal 4-Way was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on June 20, 2010 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York...
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
to decide on their contracts. At Fatal 4-Way, the rookies interfered in the main event for the WWE Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
, costing John Cena the championship in the process. The following night on Raw, Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
fired Hart and announced that a new 'anonymous' General Manager had been hired and the seven rookies received WWE contracts. The group of rookies continued their path of disrupting main events, as they attacked both Cena and McMahon, who had been acting as the referee
Referee (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling referee is the official figure that makes sure that wrestling matches move smoothly in an attempt to maintain kayfabe. The referee also has the ultimate power in the ring...
. The following week, the group was named The Nexus
Nexus (professional wrestling)
The Nexus was a villainous professional wrestling stable in the professional wrestling promotion, WWE, that competed on its Raw brand. The group originally consisted of all eight rookies of NXT season one and shifted their roster several times throughout their existence...
. That same week, Barrett was absent on Raw as his work visa had expired and he had to return to the United Kingdom to apply for a new one. With his visa situation cleared up, Barrett returned the following week. On the 12 July episode of Raw, the Nexus, sans Darren Young, competed in their first match together and defeated John Cena in a six–on–one handicap match. The following week, Barrett made his singles match debut on Raw by defeating Mark Henry
Mark Henry
Mark Jerrold Henry is an American professional wrestler signed with WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. He is a 1992 Olympian, and winner of the 2002 Arnold Strongman Classic...
. the Nexus continued to feud with Cena and the Raw roster, resulting in a seven-on-seven elimination tag team match at SummerSlam
SummerSlam (2010)
SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on August 15, 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California for the second consecutive year...
. Barrett was the final member of the Nexus but submitted to Cena, causing the Nexus to lose the match. After Darren Young was exiled from the group and Skip Sheffield was injured, the Nexus faced Cena, Edge, Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
, Sheamus and Jericho in a five-on-five elimination match on the 900th episode of Raw on 30 August. Barrett won the match for his team by last eliminating Orton.
Barrett received his guaranteed championship match from winning NXT at Night of Champions
Night of Champions (2010)
Night of Champions was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on September 19, 2010 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. It was the third annual event to be promoted solely under the Night of Champions name and the tenth...
, where he was unsuccessful in a six-pack challenge match for the WWE Championship, despite eliminating Cena. The feud between Cena and the Nexus continued at Hell in a Cell
Hell in a Cell (2010)
Hell in a Cell was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that took place on October 3, 2010 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. It was the second annual Hell in a Cell event. Like the 2009 event, the event featured the Hell in a Cell...
on 3 October, when Barrett defeated Cena to force Cena to become a member of the Nexus. The following night on Raw, Barrett, with the help of the rest of the Nexus, won a battle royal to determine the number one contender to the WWE Championship, when Cena eliminated himself on Barrett's orders. Barrett received his championship match against Randy Orton at the Bragging Rights
Bragging Rights (2010)
Bragging Rights was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on October 24, 2010 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was the second and final Bragging Rights event. Seven matches took place at the event...
pay-per-view. After ordering Cena to help him win, Cena interfered in the match causing Barrett to win via disqualification, which meant that Orton retained the championship. The following night, Barrett was granted a rematch at the Survivor Series
Survivor Series (2010)
Survivor Series was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on November 21, 2010 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida...
pay-per-view, and allowed to choose a guest referee. He chose Cena, stating that if Barrett won the match and the WWE Title, Cena would be allowed to leave the Nexus, but if Barrett failed to win the title, Cena would be fired. At Survivor Series, Barrett was unsuccessful in winning the WWE Championship from Orton after Cena pushed him into an RKO by Orton. Cena was fired as per the match stipulation after Survivor Series.
Due to Cena's interference, Barrett received a rematch for the championship the following night on Raw, but was attacked by the fired Cena, costing him the match. After Cena attacked several members of the Nexus over the next few weeks, they demanded that Barrett re-instate him, or be exiled from the group. On the 13 December episode of Raw, Barrett agreed and rehired Cena. As a condition of his rehiring, Cena had to face Barrett in a Chairs match at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2010)
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on December 19, 2010 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. It was the second annual TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs event...
pay-per-view, which Barrett lost.
Barrett made his first appearance since the TLC pay-per-view on the 3 January 2011 episode of Raw, where he confronted CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
, who had taken over the leadership of the Nexus in his absence. Punk gave Barrett the opportunity to regain the leadership, stating that if he won a three-way steel cage match involving Orton, Sheamus and Barrett to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship, Punk would give up the leadership. However, during the match, Punk came down to ringside, attacked Barrett as he was about to win and took off Barrett's Nexus armband, symbolically removing him from the Nexus. Barrett went on to lose the match.
The Corre and Intercontinental Champion (2011)
At the television tapings of the 7 January episode of SmackDown the next day, Barrett made his SmackDown debut by attacking The Big Show. The following week he was joined by Ezekiel Jackson and his former Nexus stablemates Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater, who had left the group the previous Monday, the group named themselves as the CorreThe Corre
The Corre was a professional wrestling heel stable that performed on WWE's SmackDown brand in 2011. The stable was formed after Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater left the Nexus and allied with Ezekiel Jackson.-Formation:...
. Barrett later qualified for the WWE Elimination Chamber
WWE Elimination Chamber
Elimination Chamber was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on February 21, 2010 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the first Elimination Chamber event...
match for the World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
, but came up short after being the first man eliminated by The Big Show. On 22 March, at the tapings of the 25 March episode of SmackDown, Barrett defeated Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
. At WrestleMania XXVII
WrestleMania XXVII
WrestleMania XXVII was the twenty-seventh annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , held on April 3, 2011 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia...
, The Corre were defeated in an eight-man tag team match by the team of Kingston, The Big Show, Kane
Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
, and Santino Marella. Barrett went on to successfully defend his championship against Kingston on the 22 April episode of SmackDown. On the 6 May episode of SmackDown, Barrett, Gabriel, and Slater attacked Jackson, removing him from the group. On the 13 May episode of SmackDown, Barrett then challenged Jackson to a match for the Intercontinental Championship at the Over the Limit
Over the Limit (2011)
Over the Limit was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on May 22, 2011 at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington. It was the second Over the Limit event...
pay-per-view, and Jackson accepted. At the event, Gabriel and Slater attacked Jackson during the match, causing Barrett to lose by disqualification, but Barrett retained his Intercontinental Championship. He would then have to defend his Intercontinental Title
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
against Jackson again on the 3 June episode of SmackDown. During the match, Jackson threw Barrett out of the ring, resulting in Barrett losing by countout, but Barrett still retained his Intercontinental Title as a title cannot change hands via countout. Barrett then instructed the Corre to attack Jackson, but then abandoned Gabriel and Slater, whom Jackson fended off. On the 10 June episode of SmackDown, The Corre dissolved after Barrett, fleeing from Jackson, walked out on Gabriel and Slater in a 6-man tag team match against Jackson and The Usos
The Usos
The Usos are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of twin brothers Jimmy and Jey Uso. The Usos appear in WWE, competing on the SmackDown brand. The pair were previously managed by Tamina...
, causing them to lose the match. At WWE Capitol Punishment
WWE Capitol Punishment
Capitol Punishment was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on June 19, 2011 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C....
, Barrett lost the Intercontinental Championship to Jackson. He invoked his rematch clause against Ezekiel Jackson for the Intercontinental Champion on the 24 June episode of SmackDown, but lost.
The Barrett Barrage (2011-Present)
On the 1 July episode of SmackDown, Barrett was announced to be one of the participants for the SmackDown Money in the Bank match at the Money in the BankMoney in the Bank (2011)
Money in the Bank was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on July 17, 2011 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. It was the second annual Money in the Bank pay-per-view...
pay-per-view, facing Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, Kane
Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
, Sin Cara
Místico
Luis Ignascio Urive Alvirde is a Mexican luchador enmascarado, or masked professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE, working on its SmackDown brand under the name Sin Cara...
, Daniel Bryan
Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
, Cody Rhodes and Sheamus, but the match was won by Bryan. On the 22 July edition of SmackDown, Barrett faced Sheamus and both men were counted out. The following week Wade Barrett came to talk about how he was deserved to be Mr. Money in the Bank, Daniel Bryan came out and put him on the LeBell Lock. The week after, he was commentating in Bryan's match. Then on the following week on the last episode of SmackDown before SummerSlam, he attacked Bryan after the latter's loss to Alberto Del Rio. At SummerSlam
SummerSlam (2011)
SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE that took place on August 14, 2011. For the third consecutive year, SummerSlam was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, and it was the 24th annual SummerSlam event...
, Barrett defeated Bryan. He then had a short feud with Sheamus, where he lost on three occasions. On September 23rd edition of Smackdown, Barrett defeated another former Nexus and Corre teammate, Justin Gabriel.
On the October 21 edition of SmackDown held in Mexico, Barrett dismissed his past alliances with a "legion of parasites", claiming that the only person he needed for him to succeed was himself, and he vowed that "The Barrett Barrage" was beginning. Barrett followed this announcement by beating Daniel Bryan. The next week, he would obtain wins over John Morrison on Raw and Trent Barreta on SmackDown.
Barrett's winning streak continued as Barrett and Cody Rhodes defeated the WWE Tag Team Champions
WWE Tag Team Championship
The WWE Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship in WWE. It was established as a second title for tag teams in WWE in 2002 to complement the original World Tag Team Championship...
Evan Bourne and
Air Boom
Air Boom is a WWE professional wrestling tag team consisting of Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston, both of whom compete on WWE's Raw brand where they are the current reigning WWE Tag Team Champions. Their team name "Air Boom" was voted upon by fans on WWE's website...
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
on the October 31 edition of WWE Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
and continued on the November 4, 2011 edition of Smackdown when he defeated Sheamus, with a little help from Christian in the process, and again the next week, against Randy Orton. Barrett's winning streak was broken on the November 14, 2011 episode of Raw (Raw Gets Rocked) when he was defeated by Orton via disqualification after Team Barrett attacked Orton. At Survivor Series
Survivor Series (2011)
Survivor Series was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE that took place on November 20, 2011 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was the 25th annual Survivor Series event and the first one to take place in Madison Square Garden since the 2002 event...
Team Barrett defeated Team Orton, with Barrett and Cody Rhodes being the sole survivors in the match.On Smackdown he lost a Fatal-4-Way match to determine the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship
The World Heavyweight Championship is the name given to certain championships in professional wrestling. Although various professional wrestling promotions have used the term "world heavyweight championship", it is almost exclusively used as a moniker for the championship that is under competition...
(Won by Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan
Colonel Dan Bryan was an officer in the Irish Army and head of G2 during World War II, known in neutral Ireland as "The Emergency"....
) which also included Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
.
Personal life
Bennett was born in PenworthamPenwortham
-Landmarks:Penwortham Priory was built for the Rawsthorne family and redesigned by the Cumbrian architect George Webster. The priory was demolished due to the rapid expansion of the area and the need for new housing...
and lived in Preston, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
until the age of six, when he moved to Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
with his family. He has an older brother named Martin. As a child, Bennett was a fan of "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling...
. He supports Preston North End. Before becoming a professional wrestler, Bennett was a bareknuckle boxer while living in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. Bennett has a degree in marine biology
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
from University of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
. He worked in a science laboratory and later as a Recruitment Consultant at Venn Group's London Office, whilst training to become a wrestler.
On 15 June 2008, Bennett was arrested in Tampa
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and charged with battery on a law enforcement officer (a felony) and obstructing an officer (a misdemeanor). The arrest took place outside of Champps Restaurant and Bar (2223 West Shore Boulevard North) at 2 am. Bennett was released the next day. According to FCW sources, all charges were subsequently dropped by police.
Bennett has two tattoos. The first is a barbwire tattoo on his left deltoid. He later expanded it to cover the entire deltoid. The second is a tribal design directly underneath the former tattoo.
In wrestling
- Signature moves
- Back kick
- Big boot, sometimes to rope hung opponent
- Belly-to-belly suplex
- Diving elbow drop
- Double underhook suplex
- European uppercut
- Headbutt
- Leaping elbow smash
- PowerbombPowerbombA powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted up and then slammed back-first down to the mat. The standard powerbomb sees an opponent first placed in a standing headscissors position...
, sometimes dropped into a sitout position - Pendulum backbreaker
- Pumphandle slam
- NeckbreakerNeckbreakerIn professional wrestling a neckbreaker is any throw or slam that focuses its attack on the opponent’s neck. One type of neckbreaker involves the wrestler slamming an opponent's neck against a part of the wrestler's body, usually the knee, head or shoulder...
- Slingshot backbreakerBackbreakerA backbreaker refers to professional wrestling moves which see a wrestler dropping an opponent so that the opponent's back impacts or is bent backwards against a part of the wrestler's body, usually the knee...
- Spinebuster
- Spinning side slam
- ManagersManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- Byron Saxton
- Chris JerichoChris JerichoChristopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
- Wrestlers Managed
- The NexusNexus (professional wrestling)The Nexus was a villainous professional wrestling stable in the professional wrestling promotion, WWE, that competed on its Raw brand. The group originally consisted of all eight rookies of NXT season one and shifted their roster several times throughout their existence...
(Daniel BryanBryan DanielsonBryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
, Michael Tarver, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, Darren Young, Skip Sheffield, Husky Harris, David OtungaDavid OtungaDavid Daniel Otunga is a professional wrestler and former reality television actor. He is signed to WWE, appearing on the Raw brand under his real name. He's a two-time WWE Tag Team Champion, having one reign each with Michael McGillicutty and John Cena. He was the runner-up on the first season...
, & Michael McGillicutty)-2010-2011 - The CorreThe CorreThe Corre was a professional wrestling heel stable that performed on WWE's SmackDown brand in 2011. The stable was formed after Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater left the Nexus and allied with Ezekiel Jackson.-Formation:...
(Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, & Ezekiel Jackson)-2011
- The Nexus
- Nicknames
- "The Bare-Knuckle Brawler"
- Entrance themesMusic in professional wrestlingMusic in professional wrestling serves a variety of purposes. The most common uses of music in professional wrestling is that of the entrance theme, a song or piece of instrumental music which plays as a performer approaches the ring...
- "We Are OneThe Only Easy Day Was YesterdayThe Only Easy Day Was Yesterday is an EP from the American rock band 12 Stones. It was released on July 20, 2010 by Wind-up Records and debuted at #103 on the Billboard 200....
" by 12 Stones12 Stones12 Stones is a rock band that was formed in 2000 in Mandeville, Louisiana. They have collectively sold more than 2 million records.-History:The four band members met in Mandeville, Louisiana, a small suburb north of New Orleans, and within 15 months were signed to a record deal with Wind-up Records...
(June 7, 2010 – January 3, 2011) - "End of Days" by Jim Johnston featuring 9 Electic, Emphatic, and Matty McCloskey (January 7, 2011–present)
- "We Are One
Championships and accomplishments
- Florida Championship WrestlingFlorida Championship WrestlingChampionship Wrestling from Florida was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as Florida Championship Wrestling...
- FCW Florida Tag Team ChampionshipFCW Florida Tag Team ChampionshipThe Florida Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned and promoted by Florida Championship Wrestling , the developmental territory of WWE. It is contested for in their tag team division...
(1 time) – with Drew McIntyre
- FCW Florida Tag Team Championship
- Ohio Valley WrestlingOhio Valley WrestlingOhio Valley Wrestling is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. OVW is run by owner Danny Davis and was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1997 until 2000...
- OVW Southern Tag Team ChampionshipOVW Southern Tag Team ChampionshipThe OVW Southern Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles of Ohio Valley Wrestling. Created in 1997, the first champions were Nick Dinsmore and Flash Flanagan. As of 2011, the current champions are Ted McNaler and Adam Revolver, known as The Elite in their fourth reign...
(1 time) – with Paul BurchillPaul BurchillPaul Birchill , better known by his ring name Paul Burchill, is an English professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment , where he signed after training and debuting for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance in his home country.-Frontier Wrestling Alliance...
- OVW Southern Tag Team Championship
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- Pro Wrestling ReportPro Wrestling ReportThe Pro Wrestling Report is a weekly sports talk radio/television program, first broadcast on March 18, 1998. PWR is produced by Dameon Nelson. PWR primarily covers the three largest professional wrestling promotions in the United States: WWE Ring of Honor and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. The...
- World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
- WWE Intercontinental ChampionshipWWE Intercontinental ChampionshipThe WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
(1 time)
- WWE Intercontinental Championship
Stuart Alexander "Stu" Bennett (born August 10, 1980) is an English professional wrestlerProfessional wrestlingProfessional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
. He is currently signed to WWE where he performs on its SmackDown brandWWE Brand ExtensionWWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
under the ring nameRing nameA ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
Wade Barrett. He won the first season of NXTWWE NXTWWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
in 2010 and made his RawWWE RAWWWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
debut in June of that year, rising to prominence as the leader of the NexusNexus (professional wrestling)The Nexus was a villainous professional wrestling stable in the professional wrestling promotion, WWE, that competed on its Raw brand. The group originally consisted of all eight rookies of NXT season one and shifted their roster several times throughout their existence...
, a villainousHeel (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
stable composed of the NXT contestants. Barrett headlined five WWE pay-per-view events during the remainder of 2010, challenging for the WWE ChampionshipWWE ChampionshipThe WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
in three of those, headlining SummerSlamSummerSlam (2010)SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on August 15, 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California for the second consecutive year...
, Night of ChampionsNight of Champions (2010)Night of Champions was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on September 19, 2010 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. It was the third annual event to be promoted solely under the Night of Champions name and the tenth...
, Bragging RightsBragging Rights (2010)Bragging Rights was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on October 24, 2010 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was the second and final Bragging Rights event. Seven matches took place at the event...
, 2010Survivor Series (2010)Survivor Series was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on November 21, 2010 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida...
Survivor SeriesSurvivor SeriesThe Survivor Series is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event held in November by WWE. It is one of the "Big Four" events, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble and SummerSlam, as It is one of the original four pay-per-views produced by WWE....
, and TLC: Tables, Ladders & ChairsTLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2010)TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on December 19, 2010 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. It was the second annual TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs event...
, as well as challenging for the WWE ChampionshipWWE ChampionshipThe WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
at Night of Champions, Bragging Rights and Survivor Series.
After moving to SmackDown in January 2011, Barrett formed a new stable known as The CorreThe CorreThe Corre was a professional wrestling heel stable that performed on WWE's SmackDown brand in 2011. The stable was formed after Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater left the Nexus and allied with Ezekiel Jackson.-Formation:...
, which included former Nexus members. He challenged for the World Heavyweight ChampionshipWorld Heavyweight Championship (WWE)The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
at the 2011Elimination Chamber (2011)Elimination Chamber was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on February 20, 2011 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California...
WWE Elimination ChamberWWE Elimination ChamberElimination Chamber was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on February 21, 2010 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the first Elimination Chamber event...
and won his first singles championship, the WWE Intercontinental ChampionshipWWE Intercontinental ChampionshipThe WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
, in March. Prior to his WWE debut, Barrett competed in various independent promotions under his own name, and the ring names of Stu Sanders and Lawrence Knight.
Debut
Bennett decided to become a professional wrestlerProfessional wrestlingProfessional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
at the age of 21, and was trained by Jon Ritchie and Al SnowAl SnowAllen Ray Sarven is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment and currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a road agent.-Early career:Sarven...
. He made his professional wrestling debut in June 2004, using the ring nameRing nameA ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
"Stu Sanders", as a surprise entrant in a 30-man battle royalBattle royal (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...
held by NWA UK Hammerlock WrestlingNWA UK HammerlockNWA UK Hammerlock was a British professional wrestling promotion based in Kent.-History:Established in 1993 by former wrestler turned promoter Andre "Sledgehammer" Baker, it is one of the National Wrestling Alliance's territories...
. Sanders also performed at numerous Dropkixx Wrestling and All Star WrestlingAll Star WrestlingAll Star Wrestling is a British Professional wrestling promotion also known as All Star Promotions, Superslam Wrestling and Big Time Wrestling and originally known as Wrestling Enterprises , run by Brian Dixon and based in Liverpool, England...
events, as well as wrestling in Wales for Welsh Wrestling.
Developmental territories and NXT (2007-2010)
Bennett participated in a tryout with WWE in 2007, and signed a developmental contract with them in October. He was assigned to Ohio Valley WrestlingOhio Valley WrestlingOhio Valley Wrestling is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. OVW is run by owner Danny Davis and was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1997 until 2000...
(OVW) under his Stu Sanders ring name, where he was defeated by Ace SteelAce SteelChris Guy is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Ace Steel. He is perhaps best known for his time with Ring of Honor and occasional appearances for World Wrestling Entertainment, as well as his stint with its Ohio Valley Wrestling developmental territory...
in a dark match. He later formed a tag teamTag teamTag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
with Paul BurchillPaul BurchillPaul Birchill , better known by his ring name Paul Burchill, is an English professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment , where he signed after training and debuting for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance in his home country.-Frontier Wrestling Alliance...
and the pair faced the Major BrothersCurt Hawkins and Zack RyderCurt Hawkins and Zack Ryder were a American professional wrestling tag team who appeared on the independent circuit and WWE under a variety of evolving names....
in several matches. On 2 January 2008 Sanders and Burchill defeated Colt Cabana and Charles Evans in the final of a tournament for the OVW Southern Tag Team ChampionshipOVW Southern Tag Team ChampionshipThe OVW Southern Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles of Ohio Valley Wrestling. Created in 1997, the first champions were Nick Dinsmore and Flash Flanagan. As of 2011, the current champions are Ted McNaler and Adam Revolver, known as The Elite in their fourth reign...
. Sanders and Burchill held the title for nearly two months before losing it to Los Locos (Ramón and Raúl) in a four-way match also involving The Insurgency (Ali and Omar Akbar) and The Mobile Homers (Ted McNaler and Adam Revolver).
After WWE ended their relationship with OVW as a developmental territory, Sanders was moved to Florida Championship WrestlingFlorida Championship WrestlingChampionship Wrestling from Florida was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as Florida Championship Wrestling...
(FCW) with several other wrestlers. On 6 May 2008, Sanders and Drew McIntyre, collectively known as The Empire, defeated The Puerto Rican NightmaresThe Puerto Rican NightmaresThe Puerto Rican Nightmares were a professional tag team. The team consisted of Eddie Colón and Eric Pérez. -Florida Championship Wrestling :...
(Eddie ColónEddie ColonEdwin "Eddie" Carlos Colón is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is currently signed by WWE wrestling on its Raw brand as Primo. He is the son of Carlos Colón, Sr. and the younger brother of wrestlers Stacy and Carly Colón, better known as Carlito in WWE...
and Eric PérezEric PerezEric Alexander Pérez is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler who currently performs under the ring name Eric Escobar. He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment , where he spent most of his career in developmental territories...
) to win the FCW Florida Tag Team ChampionshipFCW Florida Tag Team ChampionshipThe Florida Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned and promoted by Florida Championship Wrestling , the developmental territory of WWE. It is contested for in their tag team division...
. They lost the titles back to the Nightmares at FCW's first TV taping on 17 July. The team broke up after the loss, and Sanders began wrestling under his real name before changing it to Lawrence Knight at the 9 October FCW television taping. On 19 February 2009, Knight announced that he was the new FCW commentator, alongside Dusty RhodesDusty Rhodes (wrestler)Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr. , better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler currently working for WWE...
. He became colour commentator due to an injury, in which he tore his Latissimus dorsi muscleLatissimus dorsi muscleThe latissimus dorsi , meaning 'broadest muscle of the back' , is the larger, flat, dorso-lateral muscle on the trunk, posterior to the arm, and partly covered by the trapezius on its median dorsal region.The latissimus dorsi is responsible for extension,...
and required surgery. In August 2009, Bennett was renamed yet again to Wade Barrett, partially named for Wade DooleyWade DooleyWade Dooley is a former England rugby union international who played lock forward. He played for his country 55 times and was known as the "Blackpool Tower", as a result of being 6 feet 8 inches tall and a police officer with Lancashire Constabulary in Blackpool.Dooley was born in Warrington,...
. Bennett describes the character of Barrett as being "an extension of his dark side". He returned to in-ring competition in FCW in December 2009.
It was announced on 16 February 2010 that Barrett would be competing on the first season of WWE NXTWWE NXTWWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
, with Chris JerichoChris JerichoChristopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
as his storyline mentor. His first appearance for NXT was on the inaugural episode of NXT on 23 February, when he acted as Jericho's ring announcerRing announcerA ring announcer is a paid in-ring employee for a boxing, professional wrestling, or mixed martial arts event or promotion...
. Barrett made his in-ring debut on the following episode of NXT, defeating Daniel BryanBryan DanielsonBryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
. On the 13 April episode of NXT, Barrett won the "talk the talk" challenge and was awarded his own custom made entrance theme. On 11 May, Barrett was ranked in first place in the Pros Poll. On the 1 June episode of NXT, Barrett won the overall competition, and a WWE contract, by defeating David OtungaDavid OtungaDavid Daniel Otunga is a professional wrestler and former reality television actor. He is signed to WWE, appearing on the Raw brand under his real name. He's a two-time WWE Tag Team Champion, having one reign each with Michael McGillicutty and John Cena. He was the runner-up on the first season...
and Justin Gabriel in the season finale.
The Nexus and feud with John Cena (2010)
On the 7 June episode of RawWWE RAWWWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, Barrett was at the forefront of an attack by the NXT rookies, as they interfered in the main event match between John CenaJohn CenaJohn Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
and CM PunkCM PunkPhillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
, attacking both competitors, the Straight Edge SocietyStraight Edge SocietyThe Straight Edge Society was a villainous alliance in the professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment that appeared on its SmackDown brand....
, the announce team, the timekeeper and the ring announcer, before they destroyed the ring area and surrounding equipment. Cena in particular was heavily targeted by the rookies, who hit him with their finishing moves. On the next episode of Raw, Barrett and the other rookies (minus Daniel Bryan) demanded full-time contracts from Raw General Manager Bret HartBret HartBret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
, who instead fired Barrett and had the rookies removed from the building. Later in the show the rookies attacked Hart and gave him until the Fatal 4-WayWWE Fatal 4-WayFatal 4-Way was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on June 20, 2010 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York...
pay-per-viewPay-per-viewPay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
to decide on their contracts. At Fatal 4-Way, the rookies interfered in the main event for the WWE ChampionshipWWE ChampionshipThe WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
, costing John Cena the championship in the process. The following night on Raw, Vince McMahonVince McMahonVincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
fired Hart and announced that a new 'anonymous' General Manager had been hired and the seven rookies received WWE contracts. The group of rookies continued their path of disrupting main events, as they attacked both Cena and McMahon, who had been acting as the refereeReferee (professional wrestling)A professional wrestling referee is the official figure that makes sure that wrestling matches move smoothly in an attempt to maintain kayfabe. The referee also has the ultimate power in the ring...
. The following week, the group was named The NexusNexus (professional wrestling)The Nexus was a villainous professional wrestling stable in the professional wrestling promotion, WWE, that competed on its Raw brand. The group originally consisted of all eight rookies of NXT season one and shifted their roster several times throughout their existence...
. That same week, Barrett was absent on Raw as his work visa had expired and he had to return to the United Kingdom to apply for a new one. With his visa situation cleared up, Barrett returned the following week. On the 12 July episode of Raw, the Nexus, sans Darren Young, competed in their first match together and defeated John Cena in a six–on–one handicap match. The following week, Barrett made his singles match debut on Raw by defeating Mark HenryMark HenryMark Jerrold Henry is an American professional wrestler signed with WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. He is a 1992 Olympian, and winner of the 2002 Arnold Strongman Classic...
. the Nexus continued to feud with Cena and the Raw roster, resulting in a seven-on-seven elimination tag team match at SummerSlamSummerSlam (2010)SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on August 15, 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California for the second consecutive year...
. Barrett was the final member of the Nexus but submitted to Cena, causing the Nexus to lose the match. After Darren Young was exiled from the group and Skip Sheffield was injured, the Nexus faced Cena, Edge, Randy OrtonRandy OrtonRandal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
, Sheamus and Jericho in a five-on-five elimination match on the 900th episode of Raw on 30 August. Barrett won the match for his team by last eliminating Orton.
Barrett received his guaranteed championship match from winning NXT at Night of ChampionsNight of Champions (2010)Night of Champions was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on September 19, 2010 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. It was the third annual event to be promoted solely under the Night of Champions name and the tenth...
, where he was unsuccessful in a six-pack challenge match for the WWE Championship, despite eliminating Cena. The feud between Cena and the Nexus continued at Hell in a CellHell in a Cell (2010)Hell in a Cell was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that took place on October 3, 2010 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. It was the second annual Hell in a Cell event. Like the 2009 event, the event featured the Hell in a Cell...
on 3 October, when Barrett defeated Cena to force Cena to become a member of the Nexus. The following night on Raw, Barrett, with the help of the rest of the Nexus, won a battle royal to determine the number one contender to the WWE Championship, when Cena eliminated himself on Barrett's orders. Barrett received his championship match against Randy Orton at the Bragging RightsBragging Rights (2010)Bragging Rights was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on October 24, 2010 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was the second and final Bragging Rights event. Seven matches took place at the event...
pay-per-view. After ordering Cena to help him win, Cena interfered in the match causing Barrett to win via disqualification, which meant that Orton retained the championship. The following night, Barrett was granted a rematch at the Survivor SeriesSurvivor Series (2010)Survivor Series was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on November 21, 2010 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida...
pay-per-view, and allowed to choose a guest referee. He chose Cena, stating that if Barrett won the match and the WWE Title, Cena would be allowed to leave the Nexus, but if Barrett failed to win the title, Cena would be fired. At Survivor Series, Barrett was unsuccessful in winning the WWE Championship from Orton after Cena pushed him into an RKO by Orton. Cena was fired as per the match stipulation after Survivor Series.
Due to Cena's interference, Barrett received a rematch for the championship the following night on Raw, but was attacked by the fired Cena, costing him the match. After Cena attacked several members of the Nexus over the next few weeks, they demanded that Barrett re-instate him, or be exiled from the group. On the 13 December episode of Raw, Barrett agreed and rehired Cena. As a condition of his rehiring, Cena had to face Barrett in a Chairs match at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & ChairsTLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2010)TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on December 19, 2010 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. It was the second annual TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs event...
pay-per-view, which Barrett lost.
Barrett made his first appearance since the TLC pay-per-view on the 3 January 2011 episode of Raw, where he confronted CM PunkCM PunkPhillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
, who had taken over the leadership of the Nexus in his absence. Punk gave Barrett the opportunity to regain the leadership, stating that if he won a three-way steel cage match involving Orton, Sheamus and Barrett to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship, Punk would give up the leadership. However, during the match, Punk came down to ringside, attacked Barrett as he was about to win and took off Barrett's Nexus armband, symbolically removing him from the Nexus. Barrett went on to lose the match.
The Corre and Intercontinental Champion (2011)
At the television tapings of the 7 January episode of SmackDown the next day, Barrett made his SmackDown debut by attacking The Big Show. The following week he was joined by Ezekiel Jackson and his former Nexus stablemates Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater, who had left the group the previous Monday, the group named themselves as the CorreThe CorreThe Corre was a professional wrestling heel stable that performed on WWE's SmackDown brand in 2011. The stable was formed after Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater left the Nexus and allied with Ezekiel Jackson.-Formation:...
. Barrett later qualified for the WWE Elimination ChamberWWE Elimination ChamberElimination Chamber was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on February 21, 2010 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the first Elimination Chamber event...
match for the World Heavyweight ChampionshipWorld Heavyweight Championship (WWE)The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
, but came up short after being the first man eliminated by The Big Show. On 22 March, at the tapings of the 25 March episode of SmackDown, Barrett defeated Kofi KingstonKofi KingstonKofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
to win the WWE Intercontinental ChampionshipWWE Intercontinental ChampionshipThe WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
. At WrestleMania XXVIIWrestleMania XXVIIWrestleMania XXVII was the twenty-seventh annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , held on April 3, 2011 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia...
, The Corre were defeated in an eight-man tag team match by the team of Kingston, The Big Show, KaneKane (wrestler)Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
, and Santino Marella. Barrett went on to successfully defend his championship against Kingston on the 22 April episode of SmackDown. On the 6 May episode of SmackDown, Barrett, Gabriel, and Slater attacked Jackson, removing him from the group. On the 13 May episode of SmackDown, Barrett then challenged Jackson to a match for the Intercontinental Championship at the Over the LimitOver the Limit (2011)Over the Limit was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on May 22, 2011 at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington. It was the second Over the Limit event...
pay-per-view, and Jackson accepted. At the event, Gabriel and Slater attacked Jackson during the match, causing Barrett to lose by disqualification, but Barrett retained his Intercontinental Championship. He would then have to defend his Intercontinental TitleWWE Intercontinental ChampionshipThe WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
against Jackson again on the 3 June episode of SmackDown. During the match, Jackson threw Barrett out of the ring, resulting in Barrett losing by countout, but Barrett still retained his Intercontinental Title as a title cannot change hands via countout. Barrett then instructed the Corre to attack Jackson, but then abandoned Gabriel and Slater, whom Jackson fended off. On the 10 June episode of SmackDown, The Corre dissolved after Barrett, fleeing from Jackson, walked out on Gabriel and Slater in a 6-man tag team match against Jackson and The UsosThe UsosThe Usos are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of twin brothers Jimmy and Jey Uso. The Usos appear in WWE, competing on the SmackDown brand. The pair were previously managed by Tamina...
, causing them to lose the match. At WWE Capitol PunishmentWWE Capitol PunishmentCapitol Punishment was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on June 19, 2011 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C....
, Barrett lost the Intercontinental Championship to Jackson. He invoked his rematch clause against Ezekiel Jackson for the Intercontinental Champion on the 24 June episode of SmackDown, but lost.
The Barrett Barrage (2011-Present)
On the 1 July episode of SmackDown, Barrett was announced to be one of the participants for the SmackDown Money in the Bank match at the Money in the BankMoney in the Bank (2011)Money in the Bank was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on July 17, 2011 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. It was the second annual Money in the Bank pay-per-view...
pay-per-view, facing Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, KaneKane (wrestler)Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
, Sin CaraMísticoLuis Ignascio Urive Alvirde is a Mexican luchador enmascarado, or masked professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE, working on its SmackDown brand under the name Sin Cara...
, Daniel BryanBryan DanielsonBryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
, Cody Rhodes and Sheamus, but the match was won by Bryan. On the 22 July edition of SmackDown, Barrett faced Sheamus and both men were counted out. The following week Wade Barrett came to talk about how he was deserved to be Mr. Money in the Bank, Daniel Bryan came out and put him on the LeBell Lock. The week after, he was commentating in Bryan's match. Then on the following week on the last episode of SmackDown before SummerSlam, he attacked Bryan after the latter's loss to Alberto Del Rio. At SummerSlamSummerSlam (2011)SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE that took place on August 14, 2011. For the third consecutive year, SummerSlam was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, and it was the 24th annual SummerSlam event...
, Barrett defeated Bryan. He then had a short feud with Sheamus, where he lost on three occasions. On September 23rd edition of Smackdown, Barrett defeated another former Nexus and Corre teammate, Justin Gabriel.
On the October 21 edition of SmackDown held in Mexico, Barrett dismissed his past alliances with a "legion of parasites", claiming that the only person he needed for him to succeed was himself, and he vowed that "The Barrett Barrage" was beginning. Barrett followed this announcement by beating Daniel Bryan. The next week, he would obtain wins over John Morrison on Raw and Trent Barreta on SmackDown.
Barrett's winning streak continued as Barrett and Cody Rhodes defeated the WWE Tag Team ChampionsWWE Tag Team ChampionshipThe WWE Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship in WWE. It was established as a second title for tag teams in WWE in 2002 to complement the original World Tag Team Championship...
Evan Bourne andAir BoomAir Boom is a WWE professional wrestling tag team consisting of Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston, both of whom compete on WWE's Raw brand where they are the current reigning WWE Tag Team Champions. Their team name "Air Boom" was voted upon by fans on WWE's website...
Kofi KingstonKofi KingstonKofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
on the October 31 edition of WWE RawWWE RAWWWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
and continued on the November 4, 2011 edition of Smackdown when he defeated Sheamus, with a little help from Christian in the process, and again the next week, against Randy Orton. Barrett's winning streak was broken on the November 14, 2011 episode of Raw (Raw Gets Rocked) when he was defeated by Orton via disqualification after Team Barrett attacked Orton. At Survivor SeriesSurvivor Series (2011)Survivor Series was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE that took place on November 20, 2011 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was the 25th annual Survivor Series event and the first one to take place in Madison Square Garden since the 2002 event...
Team Barrett defeated Team Orton, with Barrett and Cody Rhodes being the sole survivors in the match.On Smackdown he lost a Fatal-4-Way match to determine the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight ChampionshipWorld Heavyweight ChampionshipThe World Heavyweight Championship is the name given to certain championships in professional wrestling. Although various professional wrestling promotions have used the term "world heavyweight championship", it is almost exclusively used as a moniker for the championship that is under competition...
(Won by Daniel BryanDaniel BryanColonel Dan Bryan was an officer in the Irish Army and head of G2 during World War II, known in neutral Ireland as "The Emergency"....
) which also included Cody Rhodes and Randy OrtonRandy OrtonRandal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
.
Personal life
Bennett was born in PenworthamPenwortham-Landmarks:Penwortham Priory was built for the Rawsthorne family and redesigned by the Cumbrian architect George Webster. The priory was demolished due to the rapid expansion of the area and the need for new housing...
and lived in Preston, LancashireLancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
until the age of six, when he moved to WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
with his family. He has an older brother named Martin. As a child, Bennett was a fan of "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy SmithDavey Boy SmithDavey Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling...
. He supports Preston North End. Before becoming a professional wrestler, Bennett was a bareknuckle boxer while living in LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. Bennett has a degree in marine biologyMarine biologyMarine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
from University of LiverpoolUniversity of LiverpoolThe University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
. He worked in a science laboratory and later as a Recruitment Consultant at Venn Group's London Office, whilst training to become a wrestler.
On 15 June 2008, Bennett was arrested in TampaTampa, FloridaTampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and charged with battery on a law enforcement officer (a felony) and obstructing an officer (a misdemeanor). The arrest took place outside of Champps Restaurant and Bar (2223 West Shore Boulevard North) at 2 am. Bennett was released the next day. According to FCW sources, all charges were subsequently dropped by police.
Bennett has two tattoos. The first is a barbwire tattoo on his left deltoid. He later expanded it to cover the entire deltoid. The second is a tribal design directly underneath the former tattoo.
In wrestling
- Signature moves
- Back kick
- Big boot, sometimes to rope hung opponent
- Belly-to-belly suplex
- Diving elbow drop
- Double underhook suplex
- European uppercut
- Headbutt
- Leaping elbow smash
- PowerbombPowerbombA powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted up and then slammed back-first down to the mat. The standard powerbomb sees an opponent first placed in a standing headscissors position...
, sometimes dropped into a sitout position - Pendulum backbreaker
- Pumphandle slam
- NeckbreakerNeckbreakerIn professional wrestling a neckbreaker is any throw or slam that focuses its attack on the opponent’s neck. One type of neckbreaker involves the wrestler slamming an opponent's neck against a part of the wrestler's body, usually the knee, head or shoulder...
- Slingshot backbreakerBackbreakerA backbreaker refers to professional wrestling moves which see a wrestler dropping an opponent so that the opponent's back impacts or is bent backwards against a part of the wrestler's body, usually the knee...
- Spinebuster
- Spinning side slam
- ManagersManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- Byron Saxton
- Chris JerichoChris JerichoChristopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
- Wrestlers Managed
- The NexusNexus (professional wrestling)The Nexus was a villainous professional wrestling stable in the professional wrestling promotion, WWE, that competed on its Raw brand. The group originally consisted of all eight rookies of NXT season one and shifted their roster several times throughout their existence...
(Daniel BryanBryan DanielsonBryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
, Michael Tarver, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, Darren Young, Skip Sheffield, Husky Harris, David OtungaDavid OtungaDavid Daniel Otunga is a professional wrestler and former reality television actor. He is signed to WWE, appearing on the Raw brand under his real name. He's a two-time WWE Tag Team Champion, having one reign each with Michael McGillicutty and John Cena. He was the runner-up on the first season...
, & Michael McGillicutty)-2010-2011 - The CorreThe CorreThe Corre was a professional wrestling heel stable that performed on WWE's SmackDown brand in 2011. The stable was formed after Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater left the Nexus and allied with Ezekiel Jackson.-Formation:...
(Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, & Ezekiel Jackson)-2011
- The Nexus
- Nicknames
- "The Bare-Knuckle Brawler"
- Entrance themesMusic in professional wrestlingMusic in professional wrestling serves a variety of purposes. The most common uses of music in professional wrestling is that of the entrance theme, a song or piece of instrumental music which plays as a performer approaches the ring...
- "We Are OneThe Only Easy Day Was YesterdayThe Only Easy Day Was Yesterday is an EP from the American rock band 12 Stones. It was released on July 20, 2010 by Wind-up Records and debuted at #103 on the Billboard 200....
" by 12 Stones12 Stones12 Stones is a rock band that was formed in 2000 in Mandeville, Louisiana. They have collectively sold more than 2 million records.-History:The four band members met in Mandeville, Louisiana, a small suburb north of New Orleans, and within 15 months were signed to a record deal with Wind-up Records...
(June 7, 2010 – January 3, 2011) - "End of Days" by Jim Johnston featuring 9 Electic, Emphatic, and Matty McCloskey (January 7, 2011–present)
- "We Are One
Championships and accomplishments
- Florida Championship WrestlingFlorida Championship WrestlingChampionship Wrestling from Florida was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as Florida Championship Wrestling...
- FCW Florida Tag Team ChampionshipFCW Florida Tag Team ChampionshipThe Florida Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned and promoted by Florida Championship Wrestling , the developmental territory of WWE. It is contested for in their tag team division...
(1 time) – with Drew McIntyre
- FCW Florida Tag Team Championship
- Ohio Valley WrestlingOhio Valley WrestlingOhio Valley Wrestling is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. OVW is run by owner Danny Davis and was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1997 until 2000...
- OVW Southern Tag Team ChampionshipOVW Southern Tag Team ChampionshipThe OVW Southern Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles of Ohio Valley Wrestling. Created in 1997, the first champions were Nick Dinsmore and Flash Flanagan. As of 2011, the current champions are Ted McNaler and Adam Revolver, known as The Elite in their fourth reign...
(1 time) – with Paul BurchillPaul BurchillPaul Birchill , better known by his ring name Paul Burchill, is an English professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment , where he signed after training and debuting for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance in his home country.-Frontier Wrestling Alliance...
- OVW Southern Tag Team Championship
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- Pro Wrestling ReportPro Wrestling ReportThe Pro Wrestling Report is a weekly sports talk radio/television program, first broadcast on March 18, 1998. PWR is produced by Dameon Nelson. PWR primarily covers the three largest professional wrestling promotions in the United States: WWE Ring of Honor and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. The...
- World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
- WWE Intercontinental ChampionshipWWE Intercontinental ChampionshipThe WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
(1 time)- NXT
WWE NXTWWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
(Season one)- Slammy Award for Shocker of the Year (2010) –
- NXT
- WWE Intercontinental Championship
External links
- Entrance themes
- "The Bare-Knuckle Brawler"
- Entrance themes
- "The Bare-Knuckle Brawler"