Wade Barrett Clarifies WWE Status After Report Suggests He's Off Commentary

Last week reports circulated that Wade Barrett would be stepping away from the commentary team for "WWE SmackDown," with Michael Cole and Corey Graves being the official team going forward for both main roster brands. Additionally, there was speculation that Barrett was taken off due to comments made about Nikki Bella at Clash in Paris, citing the response Bella shared on her podcast.

However, Barrett has since responded to the reports, claiming that they were inaccurate. "I usually ignore BS reports like this, but it's causing needless hate to be spewed towards people I work with. WWE have kindly given me a couple of weeks off for personal time (booked nine months ago), and then I'm back to business as usual. A complete non-story. The end," he posted on X. 

The report Barrett responded to was initially claimed to be sourced from "PWInsider," however, the outlet quickly responded to the post shared by the WWE commentator. "It is a BS report. I never ever reported @StuBennett was done as an announcer or done with the company. Absolute trash aggregation," came the comment from PWInsider's Mike Johnson.

Based on the response from Barrett, it seems like the theory that him stepping back is because of Bella is nothing but assumption. Additionally, Barrett's absence from the commentary team for "SmackDown," while temporary, is the second major shift in the commentary teams of WWE this year, with Pat McAfee stepping away last month and being replaced by Graves on "WWE Raw." Interestingly, Graves was seemingly "demoted" earlier this year, but now the former pro wrester is currently one of the two voices for both "SmackDown" and "Raw."