YMMV / Wade Barrett

• Awesome Music: The second version of "Just Don't Care Anymore", as well as the unused alternative lyrical version of "Rebel Son" otherwise known as "I Did My Time".
• Badass Decay: Started out on WWE-TV as the brutal, charismatic leader of the NXT Riot, spearheading a movement that blazed a path of destruction that included everything from gang beatings of some of WWE's top names to clocking timekeepers and vandalizing wrestling ring setups. He participated in several title and title-relevant matches and even had kayfabe control over the company's most recognizable face. From there, he went to a Squash Match, having his own stable hijacked by CM Punk, and switching brands. He bounced back a bit to lead the Corre, which proceeded to run roughshod over Smackdown's most intimidating superstars, and at one point had possession of both the Intercontinental and Tag Team titles. Then his greed got the best of him and he exiled one member and alienated the other two. Between the Corre breaking up & declaring himself the Barrett Barrage, about half his exploits involved trying to ambush fellow superstars and failing horribly.
  • At least until after he protested it, beat Daniel Bryan, declared the Barrett Barrage, and went on a tear through Smackdown that ended up in taking out Randy Orton.
• Draco in Leather Pants: A lot of female fans have been noted to swoon over him at ringside.
  • The fact that there are plenty of stories out there from people who have met him who describe him as very friendly and charming only encourage this.
  • The Bad News Barrett troll gimmick has gotten him even more Draco love due to being somewhat hilarious, a large part of which stems from the sheer enjoyment he seems to be getting out of doing it.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: As well as the usual charismatic heel based following from internet fans, Barrett has been receiving louder and louder positive reactions from live crowds, including having "Let's Go, Barrett!" chanted for him over faces like Kofi Kingston and Rey Mysterio. His 'Bad News Barrett' persona has multipled his popularity significantly, mostly for how amusing the gimmick and his delivery is.
• Every Year They Fizzle Out: It's been obvious from his debut with the Nexus that WWE really wanted to push Barrett. And they've tried. Several times. It's just that each time he gets some momentum behind him, there's either an injury or a questionable booking decision that takes his legs out from under him. It's frustrating to watch if you're a fan of a guy that once came within a victory of being a World Champion. Though, to be fair, his resume isn't exactly empty, with several IC Title reigns and now a King of the Ring win to his credit.
• Fan Nickname:
  • A lot of his fellow Brits refer to him affectionately as "Bazza".
  • Woi Barrah, due to both his naturally thick accent and the extra exaggeration to score a few Foreign Wrestling Heel points.)
• Fountain of Memes: Bad News Barrett.
• Ham and Cheese: Bad News Barrett.
• Heartwarming Moments: He had two last acts as the GM of Defiant Wrestling before departing the company: putting over Rampage Brown (who just finished winning the Defiant World Title from Austin Aries) as "the greatest wrestler of the UK" and Passing the Torch to "the artist formerly known as Primate", a wrestler with a caveman gimmick who had to retire due to undergoing surgery originated by a broke jaw at a Defiant Hardcore Title match.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: As Wade Barrett, he led the Nexus invasion on the WWE after NXT season 1. Seven years later, as the GM of Defiant Wrestling, he's on the receiving end of such an invasion, with Austin Aries leading it.
• Memetic Mutation: If you think this is a tired trope, I'm afraid I've got some bad news.
• Misaimed Fandom: The WWE wants so badly to get Barrett over as a huge heel with his "Bad News" gimmick. But given his popularity as an in-ring performer and the fact that most people think his gimmick (or at least his delivery) is funny, he tends to get more cheers than boos.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: His re-recorded version of "Just Don't Care Anymore" is arguably a huge improvement over the first version.
• Strawman Has a Point: Despite their villainous methods, Barrett and the Nexus did have legitimate complaints against WWE management.
  • Revisited following the end of both Nexus and Corre. Barrett's been a glorified midcarder since then, had a terrible losing streak against established superstars going on until he beat Daniel Bryan on pay-per-view, and found himself facing no-name enhancement talent more than he'd like as of late. When he addressed the disgrace of being expected to wrestle nobodies despite his orchestrated attacks on everybody from John Cena to Vince McMahon in the past year and walked away in utter disgust from such a match, he wasn't alone in the sentiment.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Before the Bad News gimmick, many people believed that the bookers should have kept for more time the club-fighter gimmick Barrett brought upon his return in 2012, as he was the first "true" shooter wrestler the company had had in years.
• Too Dumb to Live: At one point in 2013, he interrupted a promo by Triple H in favor of his own ring entrance for a match that was immediately following. (Keep in mind that Trips, both in and out of Kayfabe, is Barrett's boss - not to mention he's in a bit of a fighting mood.) After Trips walked up the ramp to meet Barrett (wearing a face of incredulity at Barrett's gall, naturally), Barrett topped it off by giving Trips a jerk of the head that clearly said, "Yeah, that's all well and good. Get outta here so I can have my match." Of course, depending on your point of view, one might call that pure Brass Balls on Barrett's part. Triple H responded by immediately testing that theory with his foot.