Wade Barrett makes first public appearance since his summer exit from the WWE - The Sun

BARRETT'S BACK

British wrestler appears on podcast as Finn Balor reveals when he is likely to return to the ring

FORMER Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett has made his first wrestling related appearance since leaving WWE in June, surprising UK fans at a special live anniversary edition of the Gorilla Position podcast.

Barrett – real name Stu Bennett – fooled fans by arriving to the sound of Shinsuke Nakamura’s trademark violins while disguised as the Japanese star, before revealing his true identity and cutting a classic “Bad News Barrett” promo, complete with lectern and gavel.

Wade Barrett made his first public appearance since leaving WWE

Barrett also mocked some of his own WWE tenure by discarding merchandise from his Nexus, Corre, and King Barrett gimmicks. It was the first time WWE fans have seen him since he was cast out of the League of Nations faction on television by teammates Sheamus, Rusev, and Alberto Del Rio.

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The Gorilla Position podcast was recorded in front of a live audience at the Indigo, O2 in London to celebrate its 100 th episode and is available to download tomorrow. Regular hosts James Delow, Ash Rose, and Ryan Skillit were also joined by WWE Superstar guests Finn Balor and Bayley, who took questions from the audience.

Balor has been out of action since suffering a torn labrum at SummerSlam back in August, the night he became the very first Universal Champion. Fans have been hoping the Irish star would be fit in time for WrestleMania in April.

When asked about his injury, Balor said: “The shoulder is feeling good. The target and goal the whole time since the accident happened has been WrestleMania, and that hasn’t changed.

“There’s a possibility I may be ready a week or two before that, but as of now the target is WrestleMania.”

Some will be disappointed that he’s not looking towards the Royal Rumble in January.

Barrett, who clashed with Wayne Rooney earlier this year, left WWE in June Finn Balor is targeting a return from injury before WrestleMania Balor has been sidelined with a shoulder injury

After vacating the Universal Championship prematurely, it would make a perfect story if Balor made a surprise return at the Rumble then went on to win and reclaim his title at ‘Mania. But Balor hasn’t ruled out the Rumble.

He said: “I really believe in the power of positive thinking and the collective power of people’s thoughts spawning something into becoming reality.

“So if everyone does believe I can win the Royal Rumble, then I guess it’s not impossible.”

Bayley is another Superstar who fans will be hoping to take a step closer to championship gold with the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania just around the corner.

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With the Sasha Banks versus Charlotte feud set to end with a climatic Iron Man match at the Roadblock pay-per- view, Bayley is top choice to enter the title picture. Like Bálor, she got her WWE start in NXT. And according to Bayley, the NXT talent are key to the success of current era.

Speaking on the Gorilla Position podcast, she said: “I think it’s one of the best times to be involved and to be a fan – especially if you’re a fan of NXT.

“I grew up with the Attitude Era, which was incredible and you can never compare anything to that. But I feel like this is a different kind of Attitude Era that we’re going through right now. Especially with what we did in NXT and what’s going on there.

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“Everyone is so different and there are so many unique characters and such a drive, as so many of us grew up as wrestling fans. What we grew up watching is what we strive to be, only better. I think that’s what’s going on right now. We are all such fans and want to take it to a level that we remember falling in love with.”

The podcast also features comments from Balor on his dream WrestleMania opponent, Conor McGregor and living as a wrestler in Japan. Bayley talks about her NXT matches with Sasha Banks, women headlining WrestleMania, and Glasgow WWE hijacking Raw with the “Hey Bayley” song.

Download the full Gorilla Position Live podcast from iTunes tomorrow and follow @WWEGP