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On the latest edition of Monday Night RAW, RETRIBUTION's arc entered its next phase. The anti-establishment faction's key members signed contracts with WWE in an unusual move.
Their identities were revealed as well. Four of the five members were confirmed as Mia Yim, Dominik Dijakovic, Dio Maddin, and Mercedes Martinez. The fifth member seemed more elusive, but Shane Thorne is most probably a part of RETRIBUTION as well.
SLAPJACK (Thorne), T-BAR (Dijakovic), and MACE (Madden) were the hilarious names given to these RETRIBUTION stars by WWE.
RETRIBUTION battled The Hurt Business in the main event of this week's RAW. The match ended with a disqualification in the favor of MVP's Hurt Business.
Now that WWE's anti-establishment faction will be a major part of the red brand, here are five things you need to know about the core members.
#5: RETRIBUTION's SLAPJACK had aligned himself with MVP a few months before The Hurt Business was formed
In NXT, Shane Thorne debuted with Nick Miller as TM-61, a tag team that didn't quite work out in WWE. The latter was released by the company and Thorne didn't have solid creative plans for a while.
In March 2020, Thorne began appearing on RAW alongside his former TMDK stablemate, Brendan Vink. Both of them lost on the red brand initially, until MVP came along and associated himself with Vink and Thorne.
The duo was able to defeat Cedric Alexander and Ricochet back in May when MVP challenged them on Vink and Thorne's behalf. Despite their victories, Vink and Thorne weren't able to become a staple tag team on RAW. Meanwhile, MVP managed to re-invent himself as the mouthpiece of The Hurt Business.
As mentioned above, Shane Thorne (SLAPJACK) is now a part of RETRIBUTION. Now that the faction is involved in a feud with The Hurt Business, WWE could use this fact as a part of their storyline.
#4 RETRIBUTION's Mercedes Martinez appeared on a major AEW pay-per-view before signing with WWE
Interestingly, before appearing on AEW, RETRIBUTION's Mercedes Martinez was a part of two Mae Young Classic tournaments in WWE. The first time around, she was eliminated by Shayna Baszler in the semi-finals. Martinez didn't even make it past the second round the next time.
As a result, Martinez appeared at All Elite Wrestling's second major pay-per-view event, All Out, in 2019. She was a part of AEW's staple Casino Battle Royale at All Out, but Martinez didn't stay long in Tony Khan's promotion.
Eventually, Martinez signed a contract with WWE in January 2020. She became a relatively well-known star, but Martinez still couldn't become a top name in NXT. She aligned with the Robert Stone brand in February.
Ironically, the Robert Stone character is supposed to be a parody of the president of All Elite Wrestling, Tony Khan. Martinez dissociated with the Robert Stone brand after losing to Rhea Ripley in a Steel Cage match on NXT recently.
It should be evident by now that Mercedes Martinez didn't quite reach the top circles in AEW or NXT, which gave her a good motive to join RETRIBUTION as a key member.
#3 RETRIBUTION's MACE was involved in an infamous confrontation with Brock Lesnar as part of RAW's commentary team
Dio Maddin was an integral part of Monday Night RAW at one point in time. Trained by Booker T, the former football star and current RETRIBUTION member was signed by WWE in 2016.
Maddin doesn't just resemble Booker T in terms of his overall look, but he also joined WWE commentary. Booker T has frequently been a part of WWE's broadcast team over the years, and Maddin could have become a commentary mainstay. That's if it weren't for an infamous moment on Monday Night RAW.
After a few months of joining RAW's commentary desk, Maddin's tenure ended in November 2019 when he was sent back to NXT to train. On WWE TV, Maddin's absence was explained as he got F-5ed by Brock Lesnar through the announcer's table.
Maddin stood up to The Beast Incarnate when the latter threatened Jerry Lawler on commentary back in November. Maddin wouldn't be involved with the red brand in a big capacity until he was revealed as MACE of RETRIBUTION.
Out of all the key members of this anti-establishment faction, Maddin has the most newsworthy arc in terms of why he joined RETRIBUTION in the first place.
#2 RETRIBUTION's T-BAR was partly trained by Ivar of The Viking Raiders
WWE fans have been quick to point out how RETRIBUTION's T-BAR resembles Tom Hardy's Bane from 'The Dark Knight Rises'.
Dominik Dijakovic has the most dominating presence in RETRIBUTION, which is why many have said that he is the ultimate leader of this faction.
Dijakovic started earning some notoriety in the independent wrestling scene when he joined Chaotic Wrestling. He trained under Brian Fury and Todd Hanson, the latter of which wrestles under the in-ring name Ivar in WWE today.
In NXT, Dijakovic was involved in several feuds with Velveteen Dream and Keith Lee for the NXT North American Championship. However, he would come up short every time an opportunity presented itself.
Dominik Dijakovic has been in WWE for three years, which is a long time to spend in one promotion without earning some championship gold. Ivar of The Viking Raiders has been portraying a more comical side of his character in recent memory.
If Dijakovic needs to establish himself as a strong leader, WWE could book him in an intense feud with his former mentor, Ivar.
#1 RETRIBUTION's Mia Yim is in a relationship with current RAW star Keith Lee
RETRIBUTION's Mia Yim and current Monday Night RAW star Keith Lee were already a couple when they signed for WWE. Interestingly, a couple of months before his NXT debut, Lee would face Yim in an intergender bout at Beyond Wrestling.
Lee lost against Yim in what would be his final indie match. Since then, the couple has been officially recognized in NXT as well.
Keith Lee and Mia Yim faced off against Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae in a couple vs. couple match on NXT back in June.
So it's a bit odd that both of them are on RAW in two completely opposite roles right now. Keith Lee has lived up to his moniker as The Limitless One by immediately getting involved with the WWE title picture. As implied in the title, Mia Yim recently showed up as a key member of RETRIBUTION.
Although Keith Lee was a one-time NXT Champion and one-time NXT North American Champion, Yim hasn't won any titles in WWE.
It will be interesting to see how WWE address this equation if they acknowledge it at all on the main roster.
