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Retribution (professional wrestling)

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Retribution
The logo of Retribution
Stable
Leader(s)Mustafa Ali
Members
Name(s)Retribution
Combined
billed weight		1,231 lb (558 kg)
DebutAugust 3, 2020
DisbandedMarch 21, 2021
Years active2020–2021

Retribution (stylized in all caps) was a stable of professional wrestlers who performed in the WWE for the Raw brand. The group, led by Mustafa Ali, featured Mace, Slapjack, T-Bar, Reckoning, and Retaliation. The heel team were first portrayed on television in August 2020, disbanding in March the following year.

In the group's early months, masked henchman appeared on Raw, being presented as a group of spurned performers whose goal was to destroy the company. They made their debut on August 3, 2020, then fully masked with hoods; the identities of most members, along with their new ring names, would be revealed on September 21, with Ali revealed as the group's final member and previously unseen leader on October 5. The team disbanded at Fastlane in March 2021 after Mace and T-Bar rebelled against Ali; all former members with the exception of T-Bar and Reckoning would be released by the company by the end of 2023.

From its debut to its dissolution, Retribution was consistently met with negative reaction from critics, fans and industry figures. Although the performers were considered talented, their booking, attires, ring names and personas were all universally panned, being referred to as "hideous" and "hastily thrown together." Some critics considered the group irrevocably doomed from the beginning and damaging to the careers of its members. They were the recipient of the 2020 Gooker Award, awarded to the worst gimmick, storyline, match or event of the year in wrestling.

History

[edit]
Photo of Mustafa Ali
Mustafa Ali was the leader of the group.

On the August 3, 2020, episode of Raw, lights in the WWE Performance Center began flickering on and off and a masked group of vigilante-hood esque gimmick set fire to a generator.[1] Four days later, on the August 7 (taped on August 4) episode of SmackDown, members of the group attacked the announcers and the audience. The group would end their attack by using a chainsaw to cut the ring ropes down.[2] As the weeks progressed, the group began to explain their actions, referring to perceived unfair treatment as they came up through the WWE system, and the desire to upend said system.[3][4]

On the September 21 episode of Raw, it was revealed that NXT wrestlers Dominik Dijakovic, Dio Maddin, Shane Thorne, Mercedes Martinez, and Mia Yim were the primary members of the stable, being subsequently revealed as going under the new ring names of T-Bar, Mace, Slapjack, Retaliation, and Reckoning respectively. That same night, T-Bar, Mace, and Slapjack made their in-ring debut against The Hurt Business (Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, and Cedric Alexander) in the main event, losing by disqualification.[5][6][7] On the October 5 episode of Raw, Mustafa Ali was revealed as the leader of the stable as he ordered them to attack The Hurt Business during his match with MVP.[8] Shortly thereafter, Martinez requested her removal from the group, and was quietly returned to NXT.[9][10] On the October 19 episode of Raw, Retribution lost a 4 vs 4 tag team match to the Hurt Business after T-Bar submitted to Lashley's Full Nelson. Afterwards, they all would be attacked by "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt.[11]

At the Hell in a Cell Kickoff Show, Mustafa Ali challenged any member of The Hurt Business to face one member of Retribution.[12] On the main show, MVP confirmed that Bobby Lashley would face off against Slapjack. All members of each faction were not allowed to be present at ringside and it was a WWE United States Championship match. Bobby Lashley then defeated Slapjack to retain the United States Championship. Retribution then attacked Lashley, but retreated when the rest of The Hurt Business came.[13] On the October 26 episode of Raw, Ali, T-Bar, Mace and Slapjack competed in a 4 on 4 elimination tag team match against The Hurt Business, losing by disqualification after Ali hit Alexander with a chair.[14]

Retribution picked up their first win in WWE, defeating Keith Lee, Braun Strowman, Sheamus and Riddle of Raw's Survivor Series team on the November 16, 2020 edition of Raw, with Ali pinning Riddle.[15] On November 17, Retribution (kayfabe) hacked the WWE Twitter account and released a set of Twitter fleets of members T-Bar, Mace, Slapjack and Reckoning explaining their motives for being in the group.[16] On the November 26th edition of Main Event, Retribution appeared as a guest on Miz TV explaining their motives and attacked The Gobbledy Gooker. They then began feuding with Ricochet with every member defeating him in singles matches in order to try to convince him to join their group. However, Ricochet would reject their offer.[17][18][19] Following this, Retribution began feuding with The New Day with Ali targeting Kofi Kingston for taking his spot in the Elimination Chamber which led to KofiMania. On the February 22, 2021 episode of Raw, after T-Bar and Mace lost a tag team match to New Day, the first signs of a potential split occurred when Ali began to show frustration, criticizing the whole group for having lost the majority of their matches.[20][21] The team disbanded at the Fastlane Kickoff Show, where Reckoning and Slapjack walked out on Ali, then T-Bar and Mace double chokeslammed him after he lost a match for the United States Championship to Riddle.[22]

Post-disbandment

[edit]

After the group dissolved, Ali formed a tag team with Mansoor while Mace & T-Bar continued on as a tag team using the Retribution aesthetic. Reckoning and Slapjack would not return to WWE television. In the 2021 WWE Draft, Mace and T-Bar were split up as T-Bar stayed on Raw while Mace was drafted to SmackDown. Reckoning was referred to by her previous ring name, Mia Yim, effectively dropping her Retribution persona.[23][24] Retaliation, Yim and Slapjack were subsequently released from their WWE contracts in 2021.[25]

Yim returned a year later and aligned with The O.C. to battle against The Judgment Day. Mace was repackaged into a new tag team with Mansoor as Maximum Male Models managed by Max Dupri. Mace's and Mansoor's names were tweaked as ma.çé" and mån.sôör respectively and Maximum Male Models made their debut on the July 1, 2022 episode of SmackDown. On the October 25, 2022 episode of NXT, a vignette was shown of T-Bar's Retribution mask being tossed into a fire. T-Bar would later return as Dijak. On September 21, 2023, Ali, ma.çé and mån.sôör were released from their WWE contracts.[26] Dijak was drafted to Raw in April 2024 as part of the 2024 WWE Draft. However, on June 27, he left WWE after his contract expired and the company elected not to renew it.[27][28]

Reception

[edit]

Retribution met with immediate mockery upon their debut in August 2020.[29] Pro Wrestling Torch journalist Zack Heydorn felt the group did not deliver on WWE's preceding hype, saying "Nothing about Retribution's current presentation screams danger, fear, or evil. They are like gnats that presumably could get swatted away with a flick of the wrist."[30] Adam Silverstein of CBSSports.com wrote of the group's second appearance "Mostly, they just jumped around and yelled, 'Yeah!' like a bunch of teenagers making trouble after school. It is clear this faction was rushed and not thought out well. Perhaps next week with a new set of tapings there will be a clearer direction, but right now, it's terrible."[31] Shortly after their debut, Blake Oestriecher of Forbes.com reported that the group had received widespread criticism from WWE fans on social media who noted the similarities between Retribution and the Antifa movement in the United States, though WWE stated that the group was not meant to be political in nature.[32]

Negative critical response would continue over the next few months. Kevin Berge of Bleacher Report commented on the group's "awful" identity reveal: "Retribution took charge of the September 21 edition of Monday Night Raw. While this had potential to change many people's perception of the group, instead the entire night fell woefully flat. Retribution came out in goofy masks... Talented stars are lost in an angle that may never recover."[33] PWTorch reporter Frank Peteani called Retribution a "hideous angle on many levels", and suggested that the stable's fan interaction on social media may be an effort to mitigate the negative audience response.[34] Dave LaGreca, host of Sirius XM's Busted Open, found WWE's awarding contracts to the outlaw group to be nonsensical.[35]

In October, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful noted that the group had faced unfavorable comparisons to The Dark Order of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and called it "a hastily thrown together project after Vince McMahon was repeatedly questioned about declining viewership, lack of creative direction and an absence of new stars." He lambasted the storyline, writing, "The rollout of Retribution sucked... It didn't make any sense, and really still doesn't. Why were they allowed in the venue? Why weren't they arrested?"[36] During a November Q&A, PWInsider's Dave Scherer was asked if Retribution can recover, to which he said, "They have been booked sooooo badly I don't think they can ever be more than just there." Scherer lamented that Ali, being the only member not to have his "[identity] mostly hidden", will "have permanent stink on him".[37] On another Q&A in December, Scherer said that the faction was "a bunch of losers [...] They have totally blown that whole faction. It's epically bad."[38] In 2021, Retribution was voted by Wrestling Observer Newsletters readers as the second Worst Character, behind Bray Wyatt.[39]

Retribution's presentation has also received negative reactions from past and present industry figures. Former World Championship Wrestling (WCW) announcer Mark Madden and AEW wrestler Chris Jericho expressed confusion as to why WWE would hire the faction, with the former saying that "wrestling can be so stupid sometimes".[40][35] Then-retired wrestler CM Punk joked that the mask worn by Slapjack was a consequence of his being "bored in catering" near "an abundance of paper plates".[41] Former WCW and WWE executive Eric Bischoff also commented "Could you possibly screw up an invasion storyline any more in such a short period of time?"[42]

Fightful reported that they had discussed the stable with several WWE talents: the members' ring names were unanimously criticized, with one wrestler likening them to "something out of a bad movie or [video] game". A female talent lamented the casting of Martinez and Yim as Retribution members, saying that those women were "facing a battle to not make this look as dumb as it is".[29] Following Martinez (Retaliation)'s sudden removal from the group, retired wrestler Lance Storm called her a "survivor", and suggested she would be "breathing a sigh of relief".[43] Former WWE creative writer Vince Russo was critical of Retribution "for looking like a bunch of kids running around the neighborhood causing hi-jinks like Dennis The Menace".[44] Former WWE writer Andrew Goldstein commented that the idea of the gimmick was flawed. "If you're going to name an infiltrating group 'RETRIBUTION', you need to have a thesis in your promos. There needs to be some sort of grievance that you're fighting against, and they've yet to name a grievance." He also commented that if it was written to contain recently released performers there would be a reason to support the group."[45][46][47]

Members

[edit]
L Leader
Member Joined Left
Mustafa Ali (L) October 5, 2020 March 21, 2021
T-Bar September 21, 2020
Mace
Slapjack
Reckoning
Retaliation October 8, 2020


Awards and accomplishments

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Powell, Jason (August 3, 2020). "8/3 WWE Raw Results: Powell's live review of Shane McMahon returns, Apollo Crews vs. MVP for the U.S. Championship, Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton meet face to face, the arrival of a new faction, the SummerSlam build continues". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  2. ^ Powell, Jason (August 7, 2020). "8/7 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Barnett's review of Matt Riddle vs. Sheamus, Jeff Hardy vs. King Corbin, The Dirt Sheet with special correspondent Sonya Deville, the latest on Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman on the road to SummerSlam". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  3. ^ Powell, Jason (August 15, 2020). "8/14 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of the latest Retribution attacks, a Triple Brand Battle Royal for a shot at the Smackdown Women's Championship at SummerSlam, Big E vs. John Morrison, Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  4. ^ Powell, Jason (August 24, 2020). "8/24 WWE Raw Results: Powell's live review of Keith Lee's debut, Drew McIntyre's opening segment, Apollo Crews vs. Bobby Lashley in an arm wrestling contest officiated by Mark Henry, SummerSlam fallout and WWE Payback hype". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  5. ^ Powell, Jason (September 21, 2020). "9/21 WWE Raw Results: Powell's live review of Drew McIntyre vs. Keith Lee in a non-title match, Seth Rollins and Murphy vs. Angel Garza and Andrade vs. Dominik Mysterio and Humberto Carrillo for a shot at the Raw Tag Titles, Braun Strowman vs. Dabba Kato at Raw Underground, final hype for Clash of Champions". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  6. ^ "WWE Officially Signs RETRIBUTION, Members Get New Names". Fightful. September 23, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  7. ^ Johnson, Mike (September 25, 2020). "SPOILER: NEW RETRIBUTION MEMBER NAMES REVEALED". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  8. ^ "Mustafa Ali Revealed As Leader Of RETRIBUTION On WWE Raw". Fightful. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  9. ^ "WWE STAR REMOVED FROM RAW ROSTER". PWInsider.com. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  10. ^ Lee, Joseph (November 6, 2020). "No Plans For Another Female Member On Retribution, Note On Mercedes Martinez's Removal". 411Mania. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  11. ^ Powell, Jason (October 19, 2020). "10/19 WWE Raw Results: Powell's live review of the season premiere featuring Keith Lee vs. Braun Strowman, Asuka vs. Lana for the Raw Women's Championship, AJ Styles vs. Matt Riddle, Hurt Business vs. Retribution, Kofi Kingston vs. Sheamus, the final push for WWE Hell in a Cell". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  12. ^ Powell, Jason (October 25, 2020). "WWE Hell in a Cell Kickoff Show results: Powell's review of R-Truth vs. Drew Gulak for the WWE 24/7 Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  13. ^ Powell, Jason (October 25, 2020). "WWE Hell in a Cell results: Powell's review of Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton in a Hell in a Cell match for the WWE Championship, Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso in an I Quit Hell in a Cell match for the WWE Universal Championship, Bayley vs. Sasha Banks in a Hell in a Cell match for the Smackdown Women's Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  14. ^ Mueller, Chris (October 26, 2020). "WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from October 26". Bleacher Report. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  15. ^ Powell, Jason (November 16, 2020). "11/16 WWE Raw Results: Powell's live review of Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods vs. Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin for the Raw Tag Titles, Team Raw vs. Retribution, the final push for Survivor Series". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  16. ^ Fulgado, Nathan (November 18, 2020). "Retribution Delivers Strong Message by Hacking WWE's Twitter Account". EssentiallySports. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  17. ^ Cook, Ryan (November 30, 2020). "WWE Raw 11/30/20 Results: A #1 Contender Is Crowned, Reckoning's In-Ring Debut & More!". Fightful. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  18. ^ Cook, Ryan (December 14, 2020). "WWE RAW Results for 12/14/20 AJ Styles vs Sheamus, Lana vs Nia Jax". Fightful. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  19. ^ Cook, Ryan (December 28, 2020). "WWE RAW Results for 12/28/20 Keith Lee vs Sheamus, Charlotte vs Nia Jax". Fightful. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  20. ^ Cook, Ryan (February 8, 2021). "WWE RAW Results for 2/8/21 Randy Orton vs Drew McIntyre, Riddle vs Keith Lee". Fightful. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  21. ^ Cook, Ryan (February 22, 2021). "WWE RAW Results for 2/22/21 A New Champion Begins His Reign". Fightful. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  22. ^ Moore, John (March 21, 2021). "WWE Fastlane Kickoff Show results: Moore's live review of the pre-show". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  23. ^ "See all the results from the 2021 Draft". WWE.
  24. ^ Powell, Jason (October 4, 2021). "10/4 WWE Raw Results: Powell's live review of the WWE Draft night two, Goldberg returns, the build to WWE Crown Jewel continues". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  25. ^ "WWE Releases Karrion Kross, Scarlett, Ember Moon, Keith Lee, Nia Jax, Franky Monet, And More | Fightful News". fightful.com. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  26. ^ Yanofsky, Daniel (September 21, 2023). "WWE releases and roster cuts 2023: Dolph Ziggler, Mustafa Ali, Elias headline full list after TKO Group takeover". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  27. ^ @DijakWWE (April 30, 2024). "DIJAK on X: "Hey I just got drafted to Raw btw"" (Tweet). Retrieved April 30, 2024 – via Twitter.
  28. ^ Chiari, Mike. "Photo: Dijak Reveals He's Leaving WWE; Shoots on Backstage Contract Talks and Rumors". Bleacher Report. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  29. ^ a b Sapp, Sean Ross; DeFelice, Robert (October 3, 2020). "Backstage Reaction to the Debut of Retribution and the New Names Given to the Five Members". Fightful. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  30. ^ Heydorn, Zack (August 12, 2020). "Get to the point with Retribution". PWTorch. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  31. ^ Silverstein, Adam (August 10, 2020). "WWE Raw results, recap, grades: Randy Orton punts Ric Flair, Retribution and Raw Underground disappoint". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  32. ^ Oestriecher, Blake (August 11, 2020). "WWE Plans For The Controversial RETRIBUTION Stable". Forbes. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  33. ^ Berge, Kevin (September 22, 2020). "WWE Raw results, recap, grades: Randy Orton punts Ric Flair, Retribution and Raw Underground disappoint". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  34. ^ Peteani, Frank (September 28, 2020). "WWE Monday Night Raw Primer 9/28". PWTorch. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  35. ^ a b Harris, Jeffrey (September 26, 2020). "T-Bar Reveals Why WWE Gave Retribution Contracts, Confuses Chris Jericho". 411Mania. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  36. ^ Sapp, Sean Ross (October 10, 2020). "WWE Has a Real Chance for Retribution... with Retribution". Fightful. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  37. ^ "The Drop In Wwe Ratings, Bad Branding, Is It Over For Retribution And More". PWInsider.com. November 2, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  38. ^ "Going Where The Money Is, The Talents Are Who Wwe Says They Are, Leaving The Bubble And More". PWInsider.com. December 8, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  39. ^ Meltzer, Dave. "March 1, 2021, Wrestling Observer Newsletter 2020 awards issue, Elimination Chamber". F4WOnline. Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  40. ^ @MarkMaddenX (September 22, 2020). "Retribution was terrorizing WWE..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  41. ^ McCarthy, Alex (September 24, 2020). "CM Punk rips on WWE's Retribution stable – the new group's leader responds". Talksport. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  42. ^ Lovell, Blake (September 29, 2020). "Eric Bischoff On T-BAR's Twitter Comments About Him, How WWE Has Screwed Up Retribution Storyline". 411Mania. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  43. ^ "Lance Storm on Retribution: "I Wouldn't be the Most Excited if I Was in the Group"". WrestlingINC. October 24, 2020.
  44. ^ "Vince Russo Takes Shot At WWE's Retribution Faction". News Dome. August 11, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  45. ^ "Former WWE Writer Andrew Goldstein Breaks Down The RETRIBUTION and Hurt Business Factions, Explains What RETRIBUTION Is Lacking". October 10, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  46. ^ "Former WWE Writer On Why The Hurt Business Has Clicked (And Why Retribution Has Not)". Mandatory. October 10, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  47. ^ "Former WWE creative team member Andrew Goldstein on the possibility of The Rock vs. Roman Reigns, why Retribution has not clicked, why the Hurt Business is doing better". Prowrestling.net. October 7, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  48. ^ O'Donnell, Art. "RETRIBUTION | The Worst of WWE". WrestleCrap. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
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