WWE: Why Wade Barrett's New Run Will Be His Best

Opportunities are rare in the WWE. 

Fortunately for Wade Barrett, though, he’s been given plenty of chances to make it big in the company, and he’s seized those opportunities like very few would have. 

He won the inaugural season of NXT, led one of the biggest stables in recent history (The Nexus), went on to feud with both John Cena and Randy Orton not even a year after his debut, and ultimately became one of the biggest stars on SmackDown in the latter part of 2011.

Unfortunately for Barrett, however, he was bit by the injury bug on the road to WrestleMania 28, suffering a nasty dislocated elbow that derailed what appeared to be a monster upcoming push. 

That happened roughly six months ago, and Barrett’s still yet to return. 

But on last week’s episode of Monday Night Raw, the WWE began airing vignettes promoting Barrett’s return, and he’s expected to be back on TV in the very near future. 

Whenever that happens, expect the best run of Barrett’s young WWE career to follow. 

As noted before, Barrett has been blessed with plenty of opportunities in just two years on the WWE’s main roster. He’s been involved in major storylines and hovered around both the WWE and World title scenes. 

But it wasn’t until just prior to his untimely injury earlier this year that Barrett seemed like a lock to get the biggest break of his career. 

Before that injury occurred, one of the hottest rumors making waves around the Internet was that the WWE was considering moving the Money in the Bank match back to WrestleMania or perhaps even SummerSlam. 

OK, so what? 

Well, that matters because the main reason that the company was reportedly considering making that big move was specifically for Wade Barrett. 

Company officials apparently wanted Barrett to win that match and go on to challenge for and win a World title down the road. 

That obviously didn’t happen, but the more plans change, the more they stay the same. There was also talk that Barrett would return to win Money in the Bank at the self-titled pay-per-view in July. 

That also didn’t happen, so I know what you might be thinking: The creative team keeps changing its mind, and Barrett’s probably going to wind up getting screwed. 

On the contrary, my friend. It means that creative cares about him. 

We could be hearing nothing about Barrett. He could be one of those stars, like Rey Mysterio, who doesn’t get talked about much during his absence, returns and then almost instantly fades away to the midcard. 

But we’re hearing a lot about Barrett, a potential main-event run and even the possibility of him winning either the WWE or World Heavyweight Championship. 

Any which way you want to look at things, that’s a good sign.

The creative team obviously hasn’t forgotten about Barrett, and at last word, he’s still slated to get a sizeable push upon his return—one that will presumably take him to one of the WWE’s top World titles. 

This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, though. 

Barrett was on arguably the biggest roll of his career prior to his injury, as he was a much more well-rounded talent and much more ready to be thrust into the spotlight than he was during his rookie year in 2010. 

He should pick up right where he left off as one of the best heels in the WWE—a true heel in a WWE that sorely lacks him. 

As always, plans can and will change, and there’s no guarantee that Barrett’s rumored push will continue, much less that he’s going to end up challenging for or winning a World title. 

But all indications prior to Barrett’s injury and even since then were that he figures to be a major player in the WWE’s main-event scene in both the long-term and short-term futures. 

He’s been a huge force in the WWE in the past, and managed to do so as a rookie with very little experience on the grand stage. 

Imagine what Barrett can do now that he’s more seasoned and that he’s coming back fresh with the creative team firmly behind him. 

Forget the Wasteland. He’s headed to the Promised Land. 

Drake Oz is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter and ask him any wrestling-related questions on Formspring.