On Monday, the NXT invasion was the talk of the wrestling world. By week's end, paranoia and realization over one perpetrator of the attack has engulfed the talk. Sweeping the wrestling world of course is the news that Daniel Bryan has been released. With Bryan being the internet darling of the NXT group, this news shocked and upset many fans, who have been more than vocal about their displeasure regarding the news. However, seemingly forgotten in the Bryan hoopla are the rest of the NXT rookies/invaders, mainly the one who, unlike the rest, earned a contract to the main roster. That man is Wade Barrett, and of all the participants last Monday, Barrett stands to benefit the most from it.
It was almost a couple of months ago that Wade Barrett first uttered the ominous phrase "the winds of change are blowing in the WWE". At the time, it seemed to be nothing more than a creative play on words, as the rookies were engaged in a promo contest, and Barrett's given word was "wind". Impressed as we all were that Barrett was about to take a simple word and turn it into a solid phrase with deep meaning, no one thought anything more of it than just a solid job by a solid performer. As the NXT competition drew to a close, the phrase began to pop up again, and most took it to mean that Barrett was ready to be a competitor on the main roster, given the liklihood of his victory. Once that victory was achieved, Barrett again used the line in what will now be known as the precursor to the big attack on June 7,2010. In that interview, Barrett told Savannah to talk to him next week when he will have done something never before done in the WWE. Most people, including myself, took this as either a title challenge or a title victory to be achieved in one week's time. In reality, it was so much bigger than just that.
As we now know, Barrett came out during the main event on Raw, staring at John Cena the whole way. Adonned with an "N" armband, most ignored that and figured that Barrett was at least thinking about challenging Cena for his belt, which would be the first time in my lifetime that a wrestler's debut match in the WWE would be a WWE title match (I could be wrong, but I cannot remember this ever happening), and perhaps a WWE title victory in a debut match which I KNOW has never happened. Of course, this dream looked closer to reality when Barrett's NXT bretheren joined him in dismantling the champion along with anything else in sight. The carnage was both disturbing and metaphoric. Would the site of the ringside come to represent the effect these NXT rookies will have on the WWE?
Certainly, Wade Barrett will have a major effect. As of now, he is the only NXT rookie with a main roster contract, thus making him eligible to compete legally with anyone. It would seem that the target at this point is John Cena, which would seem quite lofty, but with the help of his NXT pals, it suddenly doesn't seem so insane to believe that Barrett could challenge and beat John Cena. Not only is this the predicted feud based on Monday's show, but my sources have claimed that plans are in fact in the works for a summer program between Wade Barrett and John Cena, so it would appear that this attack is leading to major things, and Barrett could be hotshotted to the main event in an even quicker fashion than Sheamus. Granted Sheamus didn't have the backing of 7 other men, but it's still quite the feat nonetheless.
So forget Daniel Bryan. Whether he's gone or not, the star of this invasion is Wade Barrett. That is, until a leader and mouthpiece emerges to shock the world. Even then though, a wrestler is needed to compete with the best the WWE has to offer, and it's quite clear that Barrett will be that man. I expect Barrett to be fully in the spotlight come Monday, just where he belongs.
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