WWE: 7 Ways Wade Barrett's Push Will Impact SmackDown

The Barrett Barrage is officially in full effect.

After months of relative irrelevance on Smackdown, Wade Barrett has quickly ascended up the card and has become one of the WWE's breakout stars of 2011.

Barrett's feud with Randy Orton has him right on the cusp of that main event and World Heavyweight Championship scene, and it appears as if it's just a matter of time (and proper booking, of course) before he makes it there.

Whether Barrett is your cup of tea or not, he's undoubtedly in the midst of his biggest push as a Smackdown superstar, and there's really no telling how far it will take him.

Let's take a look at seven ways Barrett's current big push could impact Friday Night Smackdown.

7. A Reduced Role for Christian

Christian is currently sidelined with an ankle injury and should be returning sometime in the near future.

The only problem for Captain Charisma is that I think he's going to come back to a reduced role on Friday Night Smackdown.

He spent most of 2011 working with Smackdown's top two baby faces, feuding with Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship and then transitioning into a rivalry with Sheamus.

But in Christian's absence, we've seen Mark Henry emerge as Smackdown's clear-cut No. 1 heel, while both Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett have stepped up their games big time.

With only a few spots at or near the top of the card for Smackdown's best heels and Barrett getting a solid push at the moment, I think we could unfortunately see Christian returning to a mid-card role in early 2012.

After all, there is already only so much room for Christian, and it's getting smaller by the week.

6. The Decline of Mark Henry

Mark Henry has had a great 2011, going from a boring, purposeless baby face to a World Heavyweight Champion and the top heel on Smackdown. 

But it looks like the sun could be setting on Henry's fairytale year.

He's nursing a legitimate injury, he just lost his World Heavyweight Championship and he's trying to fend off a number of young heels as they make their way up the blue brand.

Heels like Wade Barrett.

While Henry's run at the top may not officially be over yet, you can see that his monster push has tailed off a bit, while Barrett's seems to be doing the exact opposite.

Henry is going down, Barrett is going up, and eventually, Barrett will pass up the World's Strongest Man on Smackdown's heeling pecking order.

5. A Bigger Emphasis on Promos

Smackdown is generally considered to be the WWE's "wrestling" show, meaning that it focuses more on in-ring action and less on promos and entertainment.

But that may change if Wade Barrett continues to creep his way up the card.

Barrett is not a bad wrestler by any means—in fact, I think he's very good for a big man—but his strong point is not his what he does on the ring. It's what he does on the mic.

He is one of the WWE's top talkers, a very charismatic speaker who commands the attention of everyone in the arena whenever he opens his mouth.

If Barrett is working a main event storyline, he will certainly do his part in the ring. But on the mic is where he makes his money at.

Expect to see a bigger emphasis on promos on Smackdown, especially from Barrett himself, as long as he's participating in a major angle.

In other words, Smackdown may look a little more like Raw at some points in 2012. 

4. No Heel Turn for Big Show or Daniel Bryan

There are numerous reports out there stating that either The Big Show or Daniel Bryan will be turning heel in the near future, including this one from PWTorch.com:

"

WWE is considering turning Daniel Bryan or Big Show heel leading into WrestleMania season. Bryan's heel turn would likely be based on cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase on fan favorite Big Show at TLC. Show's heel turn would likely be based on losing his cool with Bryan for "taking the World Title" from him. Show is currently the more likely candidate in order to set up a potential celebrity match against Shaquille O'Neal at WrestleMania 28 in April. Unlike WrestleMania 24 when Show was the face against heel Floyd Mayweather, Shaq would be viewed as the face.

"

I just don't see that happening at the moment.

Bryan should not be a heel anytime soon because he's getting more and more over as a baby face these days and is less believable as a heel anyway. Meanwhile, all a Big Show heel turn would do is prevent some of Smackdown's younger heels from rising up the card.

I think WWE officials realize that and, rather than elect to turn Bryan or Show heel, will elevate a younger heel to the main event scene.

Wade Barrett's push and recent improved performance—as well as that of someone like Cody Rhodes—will allow the creative team to do that.

3. It Will Delay Cody Rhodes' Elevation to the Main Event Scene

Cody Rhodes is the future of the WWE and, at least in my view, the most complete WWE star who has never won a World Championship.

His biggest problem at the moment, though, is—like Dolph Ziggler recently experienced on Raw—he is stuck with the Intercontinental Championship and will likely have his rise to the World title scene delayed as a result.

Rhodes also has one other big obstacle in his way: Wade Barrett.

I thought Rhodes would get elevated to the World title scene once his feud with Orton was over, but at least with the recent booking, it looks like Barrett has leapfrogged Rhodes on Smackdown's heel pecking order.

Barrett now appears to be the No. 2 active heel behind Mark Henry, while Rhodes is sitting at No. 3.

I have no doubt that Rhodes will eventually make it to the World title/main event scene in 2012, but his massive push is going to come a little later because of the current push of Barrett.

2. Either Barrett or Orton Will Win the Royal Rumble

Wade Barrett's current push and feud with Randy Orton has caused me to re-shift my thinking a little bit.

I originally thought that a Raw heel like Dolph Ziggler or The Miz would win the 2012 Royal Rumble, but the rivalry between Orton and Barrett has grown so intense that I could easily picture one of those two winning the Rumble instead.

My thought process is this: If there were no plans for something huge to go down between Barrett and Orton in the 30-Man Royal Rumble match, then why even bother extending the feud through the pay-per-view?

"The Barrett Barrage" reminds me a lot of Alberto Del Rio's "destiny" last year. It was ADR's "destiny" to win the Royal Rumble, and he delivered on that promise.

Now, the sole purpose of the Barrett Barrage is to win the World Heavyweight Championship, and I think his current push indicates that there's a good chance of that happening. It starts with Barrett winning the Royal Rumble.

If not, then his feud with Orton is a good way to setup a showdown between those two at the end of the Royal Rumble, with Orton coming out on top.  

1. A Possible Showdown with the Undertaker

If Wade Barrett's current push isn't leading toward a Royal Rumble win and/or a World Heavyweight Championship match, then a feud with The Undertaker could be a possibility.

Just like Mark Henry's "Hall of Pain" has wreaked havoc on the Smackdown roster, Barrett's "Barrage could very well do the same thing.

And who will emerge to stop it? The Undertaker, that's who.

Let's not forget that Barrett was the one who helped Kane bury The Undertaker alive way back at Bragging Rights in 2010, so the WWE could easily use that as Taker's motivation during a feud with Barrett.

I'm not really sold on the idea of another Triple H vs. Undertaker match at Wrestlemania, but Barrett vs. Taker? Count me in.

Barrett's getting pushed, Taker's coming back and someone needs to stop the Barrett Barrage eventually. Thus, the cards are, in my view, lining up for these two to face off on the grandest stage of them all.