Bad News Barrett Struggling Without a True Gimmick

What's the Bad News Barrett character without any bad news?

Over the past few months, Barrett's unique gimmick steadily evaporated, reducing him to a generic heel. The Bad News moniker is nothing more than a nickname rather than the promising character that stole the show at the 2014 WWE Hall of Fame.

In an interview last month with Sky Sports (h/t WrestlingInc.com), Barrett claimed he stopped delivering bad news because fans were cheering him and joining in on the catchphrase.

Fan enjoyment is a valid reason for any heel to adjust his or her act, but it is not justification to drop it entirely.

There are plenty of variations of the Bad News gimmick Barrett could use while still operating as a heel. His charisma and top-five abilities on the microphone give a lot of range and a chance to ultimately evolve. On this week's edition of the PodNasty Wrestling Podcast, I discussed Barrett's potential as a great heel based on his mic work alone.

Barrett was on to something with a short-lived TMZ takeoff as BNZ. To many, the popular gossip website represents everything that's wrong with the modern world. TMZ represents a growing lack of privacy among celebrities and a culture where the 24-hour news cycle begets an endless string of public shaming.

For Barrett to embody all of these qualities as a loudmouth heel would solve the problem of receiving cheers while staying true to his character.

Barrett could portray the cable news anchor of today, who builds his brand on outlandish statements optimized for ratings rather than objectivity. With this gimmick, his bad news can come from behind a news desk rather than a podium. Barrett could be every bit the polarizing figure in WWE that we see on many political TV programs today.

Without a character, the only bad news is he's just another guy. In WWE, it is of the utmost importance to stand out, be different and take chances. Some wrestlers do so through ring attire, others through their promos. Simply operating as a villain with no personal motivation renders Barrett in danger of disappearing into the black hole of WWE's midcard.

He no longer has bad news for anybody. Just words. Words that any bad guy with a script can memorize and recite. Despite his elite talents as a talker, Barrett does his best work when given a strong gimmick to work with.

As leader of The Nexus, Barrett flirted with the world title picture through promises of a hostile takeover. The Nexus would later spin off into The Corre, which was just another group that promised little and threatened less.

Barrett finds himself in the same predicament, this time as a singles star. Fans will find it difficult to root against him if he doesn't give them a reason past a standard antagonistic promo.

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @ThisIsNasty and listen to his weekly wrestling podcast.