Remember Retribution?
Considered one of the worst factions of the modern generation (or ever), the short-lived faction was reportedly a response to low television ratings. The faction made their debut on August 23, 2020 and was instantly criticized due to the group’s presentation.
But it only got worse as the weeks went on.
The more Retribution unraveled, the more of a joke they became. Whether it was the horrendous nicknames to the laughable masks, it is clear that WWE never really had a direction for Retribution. That’s where Mustafa Ali came in.
The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion was soon revealed as the leader of the now defunct group. Officials tried to tie Ali’s hacking vignettes they showcased earlier in the Summer as the first introduction to Retribution, but it didn’t help the faction in the slingset. Retribution lost most of their matches and remained directionless until they disbanded in March 2021.
While the members of the WWE group has certainly chastised the terrible faction, Ali spoke out at the virtual signing for K & S WrestleFest and explains why they ultimately failed (Transcript courtesy of Fightful).
“I don’t think RETRIBUTION had a why, and that’s why it failed, and yes, the masks sucked, the names sucked. But once I kind of identified that being the issue, I went to work with pitching, ‘Here’s the why.
This is why we’re wearing masks, this is why we have these silly names,’ and the ideas were always well received but just never put on TV, so then we went the social media route, and it kind of got some traction and people were like, ‘Oh! This makes sense.’ But at the end of the day, it’s gotta be part of the show. It’s gotta be on TV… Because Vince’s thing was this wasn’t a knock on antifa. He insisted to me that it wasn’t. Whether it was or it wasn’t, I wouldn’t know. I just gotta take his word at that point…”
Retribution harmed the career of every member who took part in it. While Michin was able to recover and Ali was on his way to bouncing back thanks to his move down to NXT, none of the other members could get over because of the horrendous gimmick that overshadowed their careers.
Retribution definitely had the talent to make the faction work, but story and character are crucial pieces that were clearly lacking throughout their entire run.