Last year WWE introduced Retribution, a group hellbent on destroying WWE. In the storyline, the members were unhappy with how they’d been treated in the WWE system and were out for revenge. It wasn’t a terrible idea on paper, but fans mocked the group after WWE botched the execution and gave the members awful outfits and bizarre names.
It was a bad sign when Mercedes Martinez, who was to go by the name Retaliation, requested to be removed from the stable, saying being part of the group didn’t fit with her career goals. Despite this, the remaining members would try and make the best of it and were subsequently joined by Mustafa Ali as the group’s leader. Nevertheless, the faction remained a laughingstock, and WWE pulled the plug during the Fastlane pre-show by having members T-Bar and Mace double chokeslammed Ali.
While Ali has now returned to the singles competition, likely hoping he can distance himself from the group, T-Bar (Dominik Dijakovic) and Mace (Dio Maddin) remain together with WWE currently teasing them joining The Hurt Business. This had left Slapjack (Shane Thorne) and Reckoning (Mia Yim) out in the cold. However, today it has been reported by PWInsider that the pair are now considered to be part of the SmackDown roster.
It wasn’t stated if either will continue with their Retribution names and outfits or be allowed to return to their previous NXT characters. Although given how both were treated as secondary members of the failed stable, it’s most likely the change of brands is considered a fresh start.
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