"I knew it was going to be bad" - Former WWE Superstar reacts to being renamed by Vince McMahon
The members of RETRIBUTION had the potential to be huge stars in WWE. However, one of the apparent issues with the group was their names, which were handed to them by Vince McMahon.
The faction (led by Mustafa Ali) featured five superstars: Mace, Slapjack, T-Bar, Reckoning and Retaliation. Although the stars had potential individually and the stable looked promising on paper, RETRIBUTION didn't achieve success on the main roster.
As part of a recent appearance on the Two Man Powertrip Podcast, former WWE Superstar Shane Thorne (AKA Slapjack) opened up about being handed his new name.
"We were in the opening segment, it could have been the first time we had the masks,'' said Thorne. ''We were running through it. We had to run backstage and as we run backstage, we get pulled aside and were like, ‘here are your new names; SLAPJACK, T-BAR, MACE, RECKONING.’ We were just like…the wheels are off. I know what a slapjack is, but I wanted to hear it from them. ‘What a slapjack?’ ‘It’s this badass weapon.’ I knew it was going to be bad." (via Fightful.com)
Vince McMahon opted to split RETRIBUTION up in March 2021
RETRIBUTION began as an unruly group who appeared to be invading the main roster from NXT. The initial vignettes showed the group with several more members before the group was officially announced, and Mercedes Martinez later went on to quit.
Vince McMahon didn't book the group strongly against The Hurt Business and they went on to split at Fastlane in 2021. The four remaining members of the group finally turned on Mustafa Ali, as they believed that he was the one holding the team back.
I’m gonna love turning Retribution into THE top stable in WWE 2K22. https://t.co/9QRMhhq0hS
The former members of the group haven't been pushed on TV since their split almost a year ago. Mia Yim and Shane Thorne were recently released.
Mustafa Ali has requested his WWE release, whilst T-Bar and Mace remain employed by the company but haven't been used effectively on WWE TV in a number of months.
What are your thoughts on Thorne's comments? Do you believe RETRIBUTION could've been more successful? Give us your thoughts in the comments below!