Vince McMahon Was Pitched As The Leader Of Retribution

Retribution was a major thing during the summer of 2020, since it was the group’s closest angle in years since the Nexus. Supporters were highly enthusiastic about the group’s potential, but despite all of the turbulence, it fell apart. The stable began by destroying the WWE Performance Center from the inside out, but quickly devolved into simply another group.

Several NXT stars, including Dominik Dijakovic (T-Bar), Dio Maddin (Mace), Shane Thorne (Slap Jack), Mercedes Martinez (Retaliation), and Mia Yim (Reckoning), were all in the group, but they were all wearing masks. Mustafa Ali was eventually identified as the leader, but the faction is no more.

During an appearance on the Two Man Power Trip podcast, Shane Thorne discussed about the group. Thorne began by stating that his theory for why the group came apart was due to the angle’s timing, as WWE was operating with a restricted roster in the Performance Center at the time.

However, as time passed, WWE moved to the ThunderDome and the big stars began to return to television. As a result, he believes McMahon returned to playing with the big names rather than trying something new. They apparently suggested names like Shane McMahon, Edge, and Vince McMahon to be the group’s original leader.

So, that was the thing, we kept — we pitched ideas to have a lot of different people as the leader. We wanted Shane McMahon or Edge or just someone higher, as high as possible, we went as high as possible. We pitched for Vince to be the leader as well. We went as high as possible for who the leader would be. So, we wanted to be attached to one of the main characters and I guess at the start, we were. We were doing stuff with Bray Wyatt and Hurt Business which you know, was [Bobby] Lashley so…

Last year, the group finally disbanded. Martinez, Thorne, and Yim were released by WWE, however Dijakovic and Maddin remain under contract. Mustafa Ali would like for WWE to release him, but they have not honored that request.

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