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Wade Barrett has signed a contract with WWE, becoming a a weekly fixture on the NXT broadcast team.
Barrett spoke with Sports Illustrated, revealing he has signed a one-year deal with the company, and will be joining Beth Phoenix and and Vic Joseph on the weekly broadcast of NXT on USA. He will also be taking part of NXT Takeover events. The contract does have an option to extend following the first year.
He joined the broadcast team as a special guest during the August 26 episode of NXT. He returned the following week, while continuing negotiations with the WWE for a full-time deal.
“We don’t want to be a carbon copy of what you hear on Raw or SmackDown. I’ve known Beth for years, and she is incredibly talented, and I am just getting to know Vic. I’m excited to learn from and work with both of them, and I’m really excited to develop this into a really tight unit.”
Barrett spoke on people on social media wondering if he would be revealed as a member of Retribution, stating he won’t kill the rumor, as he enjoys people blowing up his Twitter.
“My focus is on commentary and NXT,” Barrett stated. “But you know what, I’m not going to kill that Retribution rumor. My Twitter hasn’t stopped blowing up since they first appeared. People seem to be happy accusing me of being under that mask, so I’ll let them carry on.”
Wade Barrett signed a developmental deal with WWE in 2006, working for the company for close to a decade. Following his departure in 2015, Barrett worked a number of independent promotions, more recent the National Wrestling Alliance as a member of the broadcast team.