Before finding a home at the WWE NXT commentary desk, Wade Barrett had a healthy run inside the ring, infamously leading The NEXUS who attacked big names like John Cena and Vince McMahon. Barrett was also bestowed the title of King of The Ring in 2015 and held the Intercontinental Championship on five occasions.
As the leader of NEXUS, Barrett helped introduce to the world a handful of talents that have gone on to become notable names in the industry. The most notable of those names is arguably Daniel Bryan, who now goes by the name Bryan Danielson in AEW, and just headlined Forbidden Door 2 last night in a winning effort against Kazuchika Okada. Danielson was infamously only a member of the faction for one night because he choked now-AEW ring announcer Justin Roberts with his tie during the group’s initial chaotic WWE debut, a big no-no at the time.
In an interview with WhatCulture Wrestling, Barrett reflected on a big match he was in that involved Danielson around the same time and how he nearly picked up a big win over The American Dragon.
“Yeah, actually, I think it was Money In The Bank 2011, the one Daniel Bryan won; we actually went in the day before,” he said. “That’s one of the rare matches we rehearse because there are all the ladders involved and timing and stuff have to be perfect. So, we actually went in the day before and rehearsed that, and the rehearsal had me actually winning that match.
“And then about an hour before we went live on that Money In The Bank pay-per-view, they came out of the meeting, ‘Okay. Vince has changed his mind. He wants Daniel Bryan up,’ so, obviously pretty disappointing for me at the time, but Daniel Bryan did a great job with it. So, fair play to him, but at one point, I was winning.”
If you use any quotes from this article, please give a h/t to Haus of Wrestling for the transcription and credit WhatCulture Wrestling