Wade Barrett Explains How Mental Transition Helped Him Move From Active Wrestler To Commentator


Wade Barrett recently appeared as a guest on Busted Open Radio for an in-depth interview covering all things pro wrestling.

During the promotional interview for the NXT Worlds Collide and WWE Clash At The Castle special events this weekend, the NXT commentator spoke about making the transition from an active wrestler to a full-time announcer.

Featured below is an excerpt from the interview where he touches on this topic with his thoughts.

“In terms of my transition from being an in ring guy to being a commentator, I think at the back of my head, I always knew I wanted to do commentary one day. So that’s probably part of it. I think I always felt it was something I really wanted to gravitate towards as I got older. The most difficult thing probably is accepting that you are no longer the star of the show. As you know from your time in the ring, anytime you were on camera, anytime you got an opportunity, you wanted to pull as much of that spotlight towards you, and hang on to it and direct it in whatever way you can. You realize now when you’re on the commentary desk, it’s no longer about you. I’m a backing dancer for whatever talents are in the ring, Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, Mandy Rose. It’s never about me anymore. Anytime I’m talking about myself on the show, I’m trying to do it to bring in some experience from my career to explain what’s going on with these younger talents who are coming through now. So I had to accept that as soon as I decided to move on to the desk. This isn’t about me. I’m no longer the star. So that was a mental transition as much as anything else, and once I accepted that, the whole situation got a lot easier for me.”

Check out the complete Wade Barrett interview from Busted Open Radio by visiting Apple.com. H/T to WrestlingNews.co for transcribing the above quotes.