He was a competitor in the first season WWE Next and was mentored by Chris Jericho. He won the NXT competition and a WWE contract. Barrett was the leader of a group of NXT rookies called The Nexus. He headlined five WWE pay per views in 2010. Barrett went on to form another faction called the Corre that was short lived. As a member of that group he won his first of four WWE Intercontinental Championships. Barrett had complications arise due to work visa issues. He returned to the WWE under the persona Bad News Barrett. He appeared in the 2013 film Dead Man Down.