Wade Barrett announces his departure from WWE

On Friday King Barrett, AKA Wade Barrett and Bad News Barrett, announced his departure from WWE amid a wave of releases.

Goodbye @WWE.. pic.twitter.com/bYkPYW628Q

— Stu Bennett (@WadeBarrett) May 6, 2016

Of all the releases on Friday, this one was the longest time coming, as Barrett had already given his notice to the company that he would be leaving when his contract was up (it was set to expire this summer).

The 35-year-old, whose real name is Stu Bennett, has been with WWE since 2006, when he was signed to a developmental contract and assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling. He was reassigned to Florida Championship Wrestling in 2008 and debuted on the first season of NXT in 2010.

Barrett was originally positioned as a very big deal in the first season of NXT, paired with Chris Jericho as his mentor and winning the competition. He then became the leader of the Nexus and was riding a wave of momentum before suffering a series of high-profile losses. He later left the Nexus and founded the Corre before setting off on his own.

In 2013, he experienced a resurgence in popularity as he adopted the Bad News Barrett character. In 2015 he became King Barrett (and briefly the Cosmic King) after winning the King of the Ring tournament. Most recently, he was part of the League of Nations stable before being kicked out of the group the day after WrestleMania 32.

Along the way, Barrett became a five-time Intercontinental Champion. His combined 397 days holding the title is the 10th-most in company history. His five reigns have him tied for fourth place, along with Triple H, Edge and current champion The Miz.