After several weeks away from WWE television, Wade Barrett is set to return to the commentary desk this weekend. According to PWInsider.com, Barrett is internally listed as part of the broadcast team for the inaugural Wrestlepalooza premium live event in Indianapolis.
Barrett’s absence sparked speculation after WWE recently shifted its SmackDown announce team. Michael Cole announced that he and Corey Graves would handle commentary duties on the blue brand for the coming months, leaving fans to wonder about Barrett’s future. Some reports even suggested he was “off the road going forward.”
Barrett himself shut down those rumors earlier this month. In a post on X, he explained that his time off had been pre-planned and not the result of any shakeup.
“I usually ignore BS reports like this, but it’s causing needless hate to be spewed towards people I work with,” Barrett wrote. “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.”
Now that his return has been confirmed, it remains unclear how WWE will structure the Wrestlepalooza commentary team. A three-man booth featuring Cole, Graves, and Barrett is a possibility, though the company has not yet made the official lineup public.
