King Barrett and the Best WWE Mic Mastery for Week of November 9

King Barrett earned a rare chance to show off just how much of a slimy, smug heel he is. And WWE's King of the Ring milked a series of brief moments under the spotlight, hitting bull's-eyes each time the company handed him a dart.

Barrett went 0-1 in the ring this week. His victories, though, came in the form of garnering media attention and deftly playing his brash character when the camera pointed his way.

It was as Sheamus' cornerman that his most notable opportunity came to pass.

The Celtic Warrior stepped into the ring against Cesaro, each man looking to advance in the tournament to decide the next WWE world heavyweight champ. Barrett took it upon himself to stir up trouble with Wayne Rooney of Manchester United, who was in attendance for Monday's Raw.

Barrett had a narrow window in which to get his verbal jabs in. He made sure they all made an impact.

Disdain shaping his expression, he looked down from the ring as he jawed at Rooney. He talked of Manchester United's captain stepping in there with him so they could "fight this out like men."

As the announcers were quick to point out, Rooney and Barrett had been squabbling with each other on Twitter beforehand.

Barrett expertly dismissed the striker as both a fighter and a soccer player. "I would hate for your little boy to watch his own father fail. Because, let's face it: He gets to experience that every time you step on the football pitch," he said.

This could have been just a silly, throwaway scene, but Barrett treated it like the pivotal moment of a high-profile feud. He looked as if he truly did have animosity for Rooney. There was no hint of a tongue-in-cheek tone; Barrett played this straight, as something significant.

During the match, Barrett egged Rooney on, getting in his face before the soccer star smacked him in the jaw. 

Credit: WWE.com

That slap went viral. BBC Sport, the New York Daily News and the Washington Post were among the mainstream media outlets to pick up the story. It was also a big reason WWE chose Barrett to represent the company on Tuesday's SportsCenter with Jonathan Coachman.

Any sports fans not familiar with WWE who tuned in would have no idea that Barrett was a bottom feeder. He looked and sounded like a star villain.

Barrett made sure to keep showing off his crown, reminding Coachman of his supposed royalty. Of the incident with Rooney, he said, "I'm a king. I don't know what he's playing at."

The British bruiser did well to act as a WWE spokesperson, being both articulate and intriguing. It doesn't hurt that he plugged the WWE Network for good measure. 

In true heel fashion, he revealed just how much he overvalues himself and his contributions. In a bit of rewritten history, he told Coachman of NXT's surging success, "The only reason it's a huge hit is because I was the Season 1 winner."

Given such little promo time on Raw and SmackDown, he made ESPN his stage. One of his final lines was pure arrogant perfection: "I am the King of the Ring, the king of England, the king of wrestling. In fact, I'm the king of the whole world."

To follow up on the Rooney slap, WWE had Barrett visit Old Trafford, home of Manchester United, and try to track down the striker for payback. Barrett looked to be having fun with the moment, getting to both wander the halls of the famous stadium and have even more time to play his role as agitator and braggart.

He sat in the locker room, glaring at the camera, promising Rooney an elbow "right between the eyes."

WWE is clearly happy to use Barrett when his nationality is an asset. But the rest of the year, when the company isn't traveling through Great Britain, he doesn't get nearly this amount of camera time.

That remains one of the biggest head-scratchers in today's WWE.

Barrett is an excellent heel. His mic work is equal parts fluid, emphatic and convincing. As he showed this week in this series of short stops in the limelight, he has all the charisma required for a higher position on the card.

And as he displayed in pounding on Neville in their tournament match on Thursday's SmackDown, he nails it come match time as well.

But Barrett lost that bout. He won't be garnering any momentum in this chase to crown a new champ. That's been the case too often with him.

After becoming King of the Ring, Barrett has had no big feuds. Since that win, he has had exactly one pay-per-view match (not counting the pre-show), a loss.

WWE has Barrett spinning his wheels, playing the victim more often than what he should be: the villain cackling on center stage.