Barrett Talks Possible In-Ring Return, Roode Discusses WWE Hiatus, Foley on Ali

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Barrett Talks Desire to Face McIntyre for WWE Title

Wade Barrett made his return to WWE several weeks ago as an announcer for NXT, but many fans are inevitably wondering if he would ever consider an in-ring return.

In an interview with Digital Spy (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), Barrett divulged that a feud with Drew McIntyre over the WWE Championship would be tempting to him:

"In truth, if I was to come back as a full-time in-ring guy, I really would be chasing the sunset of my career. I don't think there's that many more years left in me. So the question is, what would I want to achieve?

"The only thing I didn't achieve in WWE that I always wanted to achieve was to become the WWE champion, and that title is now held by an old friend of mine, Drew McIntyre. So taking him on for that title is something that certainly might tempt me back for a match or two."

Barrett has not wrestled a match since leaving WWE in 2016. He has had involvement in wrestling since that time as an announcer and authority figure, but it has been well over four years since his last match.

At 40 years of age, Barrett would be considered over the hill in most sports, but with more and more wrestlers competing into their 50s, it stands to reason that Barrett could have plenty of good years left in him.

Should WWE decide to give him the opportunity to go for the WWE Championship, a rivalry with McIntyre would make plenty of sense due to the fact that they rose through the ranks together in Europe before joining WWE.

There would be plenty of meat on the bone in terms of telling a compelling story, and given their size and strength, Barrett and McIntyre would likely put on an entertaining, hard-hitting affair in the ring as well.

It's great to have Barrett and his wealth of knowledge and experience back in WWE in any capacity, but his journey back home would truly be complete with an in-ring return, especially against someone the caliber of McIntyre.

Roode Discusses Long Hiatus from WWE TV

On last week's episode of Raw, Robert Roode made his return to WWE programming for the first time in seven months.

In an interview with TV Insider (h/t Upton), Roode discussed the circumstances surrounding his absence and how it felt to be away from the ring for so long:

"I had a lot of free time on my hands. The travel ban made it difficult for me to get to work every week, [so] I've been a fan. I've been sitting at home on my couch watching WWE Monday Night Raw, Friday Night SmackDown and catching some NXT here and there. It was a long layoff, around seven months. [There was] a lot of downtime to heal up physically and mentally and [a lot of] just wanting to get back to work. Thankfully, last week was my opportunity.

"It was definitely different. I've been in this business for more than 20 years. This is the longest period of time I've been off and at home. When your lifestyle is like this for 15, 20 years, it's a hard adjustment. In a way, it was enjoyable to not live out of a suitcase and get to spend time with family. [But] the circumstances [were] different this time with the pandemic and being forced to stay home. It wasn't because of injury. The first couple of months, I definitely missed doing what I'm used to doing every week. This business is in my blood. It's a passion. You miss the camaraderie, the schedule and life on the road, in a weird way. I'm happy to be back."

Due to Canada's travel ban during COVID-19, Roode was unable to get back and forth to work for several months, which essentially resulted in him being written off television and Dolph Ziggler going solo.

Roode made a surprise return last week, challenging McIntyre for the WWE Championship in the main event. McIntyre won and retained the title, but Roode looked great despite having been away for so long.

On this week's Raw, Roode teamed with Ziggler and Randy Orton in a winning effort against McIntyre and The Street Profits.

By virtue of that win, it stands to reason that Roode and Ziggler could be in line to feud with The Street Profits over the Raw Tag Team Championships, which would be quality usage of all involved.

Foley Gives Take on Ali-Retribution Angle

The wrestling world was buzzing Monday night when Mustafa Ali was shockingly revealed to be the leader of Retribution on Raw.

WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley expressed support for the angle based on the assumption that it will mean bigger and better things for Ali:

Ali wasn't doing much prior to Monday's reveal, as he was teaming with Apollo Crews and Ricochet against The Hurt Business and seemingly going nowhere fast.

It was widely believed that Ali was poised to be revealed as the mystery hacker on SmackDown, but the storyline was dropped and Ali was moved to Raw. Now, WWE could use the new angle to tie up some loose ends.

Since Ali was able to hack into WWE's system previously, Retribution's ability to get inside the building and wreak havoc prior to officially signing with WWE can be chalked up to Ali pulling the strings.

Ali is among WWE's best all-around talents in terms of in-ring and mic work, so leading a faction is a perfect spot for him, and given how much Retribution has been featured over the past several weeks, it stands to reason that Ali will receive plenty of television time.

Most fans seemed to be down on the Retribution gimmick and storyline prior to Monday, but Ali unquestionably breathes new life into it and could be the main factor that makes the stable a success.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).