Bad News Barrett Returns to WWE Programming During Raw

After several months on the shelf due to injury, Bad News Barrett made his anticipated return to WWE programming on Monday night on the final Raw of 2014.

WWE had the news as he battled Cesaro right away:

Barrett would go on to be victorious in his first match back, finishing Cesaro with the Bull Hammer. 

Brooklyn Brawler snapped a picture of the winner standing triumphantly on the second rope:

After Raw, BNB addressed his return: 

WrestlingINC.com thought Cesaro was a great opponent for Barrett to face in his return:

Dolph Zigger took to Twitter to offer his thoughts on the match: 

The 34-year-old Superstar was quickly becoming one of WWE's top characters before being put out of action in late June. Barrett injured his shoulder after being thrown into the barricade by Jack Swagger and was forced to undergo surgery to repair the damage, according to WWE.com.

"Bad News Barrett underwent a ligament reconstruction in his shoulder, as well as a distal clavicle resection, where the end of the collar bone is shaved off," WWE physician Dr. Chris Amann said. "The operation went very well, he's resting comfortably."

No immediate timetable was given for Barrett's return, but the injury couldn't have come at a much worse time. Barrett was picking up steam due to his innovative gimmick, which featured him delivering bad news to his opponents as well as the WWE Universe.

In addition to that, Barrett was in the midst of his fourth reign as intercontinental champion.

Barrett was forced to relinquish the title at Battleground, but not before bidding it adieu backstage, as seen in this photo courtesy of the Englishman's Instagram account:

Barrett faded into the background after that as he focused on rehabbing his injury. He provided his fans with some hope in September, however, as he revealed when he might possibly return in an interview with Sportskeeda during a visit to India.

"I'm going through my recovery phase right now," Barrett said. "It has been great, I'm feeling great. I will be back probably by December, with WWE doing their European tour this winter."

That was welcome news because injuries to the likes of Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns had decimated WWE's roster depth since Barrett was put out of commission.

WWE fans got a taste of Barrett on Nov. 23 when he appeared on the Survivor Series Kickoff show. Although BNB wasn't quite ready to return to action, his involvement signaled that it was only a matter of time before he was back on the active roster.

Barrett has the potential to reach main event status at some point, but he made it clear to Sportskeeda prior to his return that he wanted the IC title back around his waist:

"

Definitely. Since I didn't really lose the title, and was stripped off from it. I hope I'll come back and beat him up, because nobody likes The Miz. Everyone wants to beat Miz up. But, Dolph has it now, Dolph Ziggler. He is another guy who I think is a very talented performer; had some good matches with him in the past. And, if he is still the champion when I come back, I'll go straight for him. I enjoy wrestling him, but I want my title back.

"

Ziggler would eventually go on to drop the strap to Luke Harper, but Barrett could still be a candidate to chase the title.

Although the Intercontinental Championship has certainly lost some of its luster over the years, Barrett was doing a good job of making it relevant again before getting injured. With only one world title existing in WWE currently, there is room for the IC title's prestige to grow.

WWE can always benefit from a star of Barrett's caliber returning to the fold. He also received a favorable reaction since fans haven't seen him for a while, and it will be interesting to see if he can parlay that into some momentum and ultimately some championship success.

Barrett has been on the verge of greatness ever since he started on WWE programming in 2010 as the leader of Nexus. He was instantly thrust into the main event spotlight and proved capable of handling it despite limited experience.

As good as Barrett was back then, he has improved in all facets over the past few years and seems ready to take that next step.

Now that he has some fan support behind him, it will be interesting to see how the creative team handles him moving forward.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.