Barrett Talks About Heath Slater, Injury and More

The new issue of WWE Magazine features an interview with Wade Barrett. Here are a few highlights:

WWE Magazine: Take us back to that night when you injured your arm on Raw (Feb. 20, 2012). What do you remember about that moment?

Wade Barrett:I remember Big Show picking up Dolph Ziggler and throwing him down on top of me. I’d guess Ziggler would be about 12 feet in the air being thrown down on me. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to catch him with both hands, so I figured I’d catch him with one hand because of the angle of his trajectory, so all that weight landed squarely on one of my arms, which just snapped at the elbow joints and, unfortunately, required surgery to fix it. It was initially diagnosed as a partially dislocated elbow, but after MRIs, we discovered it was completely dislocated, with additional tearing of two ligaments that go between the bones of the arm. They had been completely severed, which required surgery immediately. It looked fine initially, but I was aware how far out of place the bone was. Then obviously, my whole arm went numb. That’s when I realized I was going to be out for a long time.

WWE Mag: Describe the recovery process a little bit. Is it difficult for a young Superstar to be away from the ring for so long?

Barrett: I took myself away from wrestling for a while. A lot of people think when you’re off you need to study wrestling nonstop. At that point in time, that was completely the wrong thing for me. The worst thing was being around wrestling. Such as, I had to go to WrestleMania this year and do a lot of signings and AXXESS, and I hated every second of it simply because I don’t want to be at WrestleMania unless I’m there to compete. I really was working on my rehab and doing a WWE Studios film, “Dead Man Down,” with Colin Farrell and Terrence Howard. That was a great thing to get involved with while I was out. But really, the whole time I was out, I was pretty furious about how things had happened.

WWE Mag: Was it painful to see your former Nexus and Corre cohorts enjoying success in your absence? Are you looking forward to restoring the pecking order now that you’ve returned?

Barrett: It doesn’t bother me at all. I’m actually a big supporter of the majority of the guys from The Nexus. Heath Slater has done a great job. I’ve always found him entertaining, so it’s not shocking to me. Justin Gabriel is a great performer, too. It comes as no surprise to me that I feel no jealousy, really. I was always very pleased to see their success.

WWE Mag: Those are some rare kind words for The One-Man Band, a Superstar you described as an “imbecile” in the past. Have you changed your mind about Heath Slater?

Barrett: I don’t know about changing my mind regarding The One-Man Band. I’ve always personally found him incredibly entertaining, which is one of the reasons why, in the past, I surrounded myself with guys like him. I think he’s a complete buffoon, don’t get me wrong, but personally, I find him very funny.

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