Before becoming a commentator on WWE NXT and NWA Powerrr, Wade Barrett actually had a brief stint doing commentary in WWE's old developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling. He spoke about this on WWE's The Bump.

“Yes, my initial avenue in the commentary world came in 2008 – 2009 in Florida Championship Wrestling in Tampa… I was wrestling in there with the likes of Sheamus and Drew McIntyre and quite a few others you see on your TV now. At one point, Dusty Rhodes, who was the head of the creative team, decided that he liked the way I talked, and the way I presented [myself], so he threw me on the commentary team to see how I did. It was a sink or swim moment for me.”

“Fortunately, I think I managed to swim. I was working alongside with Dusty and Byron Saxton. I had a lot of fun doing it, and I got a lot of great reports. But, word came down from WWE management that they loved my commentary, but they wanted me in the ring; they wanted me to continue my in-ring career. I always knew that one day, when I was done in the ring, I wanted to move back to the commentary role. [In] 2008 – 2009, that was the happiest period of my career.”