WWE over the Limit 2011: Why Wade Barrett Has the Most to Prove This Sunday

Wade Barrett, winner of the inaugural season of NXT, had a banner year in 2010.

As a rookie, he led Nexus in their invasion of Monday Night Raw and in their quest to eliminate John Cena from WWE. He was involved in several high-profile pay-per-view contests and was the most visible main event heel on the company’s number one television program.

Barrett was poised to become the next breakout star, one who would shatter the glass ceiling and capture the WWE Championship.

Then, the long-running program with John Cena came to an end at WWE’s December pay-per-view event—TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs—as did Wade’s momentum.

The last five months have been hard for Barrett and the rest of the original Nexus group. No longer the focal point of the product that they were through the summer, fall, and winter of last year, the newly-dubbed "Corre" has floundered on SmackDown.

They have been outmatched, overpowered, and embarrassed on numerous occasions by the likes of Kofi Kingston, Kane, and Big Show. And while Barrett and his fellow Corre-mates immediately collected gold upon their arrival to the Friday night show, there is something about the way in which they have been booked that leaves this writer, and the fans, feeling apathetic.

Post-Wrestlemania, it appears as though more focus has been put on the Corre, with teased dissension between Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel, and Heath Slater, as well as the exit from the group of Ezekiel Jackson. For the first time since arriving on the scene on SmackDown, Wade Barrett and company appears to be back in the spotlight.

While it would seem as though the impending Intercontinental Championship match between Jackson and Barrett would be the launching point for bigger and better things for Ezekiel, it is Wade Barrett that has the most to gain from an impressive performance.

Ezekiel Jackson is a raw in-ring performer. While he is an impressive physical specimen, with muscles built onto other muscles, he has yet to fully grasp the wrestling aspect of the profession. Barrett, on the other hand, has the experience of working in main event matches, with main event talents, and will be expected to guide Jackson to, at the very least, a decent match at Sunday’s pay-per-view.

A quality in-ring performance from Barrett at Over the Limit could prove the reaffirmation of Barrett as a headline performer that head writer Michael Hayes and owner Vince McMahon have been searching for since the Nexus angle wrapped up at the end of 2010. He has proved countless times in the past that he has exceptional speaking skills and has the appearance of a main event star.

The main event scene on Friday Night SmackDown is bare. Outside of Christian, Randy Orton, Sheamus and, maybe, Mark Henry, the brand is devoid of main event talent. For a superstar of Wade Barrett’s stature, this is his opportunity to do what is necessary to elevate himself to the top of the brand.

If he cannot seize that opportunity and "reach up and grab that brass ring," then a main event, championship run for the former Nexus leader may not have been his destiny.