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One has to admit that the shock and awe of Mustafa Ali being revealed as the leader of the outlaw faction RETRIBUTION was the biggest takeaway from WWE RAW earlier this week. Now that the smoke has cleared, one has the ability to gauge the development from an objective viewpoint and answer the question about whether it was really the right call to have Mustafa Ali revealed as the leader of RETRIBUTION.
Even though there is no doubt at all that Mustafa Ali will do a great job as the face of the faction, the WWE roster is so stacked that several other contenders would have made much more formidable faction leaders. And there is also the question of RETRIBUTION's actions and how Mustafa Ali's character thus now has been on the other end of the spectrum, as he has been portrayed thus far, as the ultimate babyface.
Could these 5 individuals have made better leaders for RETRIBUTION?
#5 Triple H could have tapped into his heel persona as the leader of RETRIBUTION
Let's get the obvious one out of the way first. Many people believe that Vince McMahon is out of touch and Triple H is doing a far better job in the NXT brand, by booking talent in such a manner that their strengths are highlighted a lot more organically. RETRIBUTION could have been a faction started by Triple H because if an NXT invasion was indeed happening, who better to lead the charge than The Game?
Could this actually be the plan going forward, when, as the weeks and months go by, Triple H's involvement becomes clearer and we find out that he was pulling the strings in RETRIBUTION? It would just take the storyline to a new level!
#4 Samoa Joe could have been a better leader for RETRIBUTION than Mustafa Ali
As good as Samoa Joe is as an announcer for the RAW brand, one has to wonder if his abilities would have been better served as the leader of RETRIBUTION because when it's time to be serious, Samoa Joe is dead-serious. There is just a sense of frivolity when it comes to RETRIBUTION and it's very hard to take them seriously when they have names such as T-Bar and Slapjack and Mace, but if Samoa Joe was part of the mix as well, the damage caused due to the nomenclature could be potentially been negated.
It would have been the perfect transition to bring Samoa Joe from the commentary desk to the ring once again, and while we do not know much about his current situation, Joe could merely cut promos and basically participate in segments until he was feeling alright. One wonders if Mustafa Ali could have also been a good sidekick for Samoa Joe within the RETRIBUTION stable, the yang to his yin!
#3 Tommaso Ciampa could have led RETRIBUTION, leading an invasion from NXT
Sportskeeda recently had a chance to catch up with Randy Orton and talk about WWE NXT Superstar Tommaso Ciampa at great length, with whom he has had several heated Twitter exchanges. One has to wonder if the storyline of Tommaso Ciampa leading a charge from NXT to attack Randy Orton would have worked, especially if paired with RETRIBUTION. And it would have made all the sense in the world because Randy Orton would get a chance to work with several young guys from NXT and put them on the map, as part of the whole RETRIBUTION storyline.
And while the twist of Mustafa Ali turning was good, it would have been far more organic to have someone from NXT lead the charge. Ciampa is a great promo and he could have channeled his inherent darkness to take RETRIBUTION to new heights. Eventually, it could have led to Randy Orton assembling his own team at Survivor Series to take on Tommaso Ciampa and the rest of RETRIBUTION in a heated contest.
#2 Zelina Vega would have actually been an interesting choice as the RETRIBUTION leader
Zelina Vega has been on the losing end to Asuka, and it makes all the sense in the world because Asuka is on fire right now and it should not be extinguished. However, it begs the question of what Zelina Vega will do now that her feud with Asuka is over, and one has to believe that she could have been a very interesting mouthpiece for RETRIBUTION. One has to remember that there are female members in RETRIBUTION too, and so the idea of a woman leading the pack of heels is not out of the question.
Mustafa Ali is just too much of a babyface, to be honest, and Zelina Vega has that inherent nastiness that it takes to lead a collective such as RETRIBUTION.
Another interesting choice for RETRIBUTION would have been Aleister Black who has been misused in the roster, or rather the pair of Black and Vega leading the heel team as a power couple, wreaking chaos upon the roster.
#1 Kurt Angle would have been a really interesting choice to lead RETRIBUTION to newer heights
A very long time ago, Kurt Angle had expressed his admiration for the NXT brand in an interview with Sportskeeda and so many years later, it would have made perfect sense for him to be leading the charge after he was let go during the course of the pandemic. RETRIBUTION needs a name that everyone in the wrestling world knows as its face, and Kurt Angle is one of the biggest household names to come out of WWE over the last two decades. Also, he has reason to be upset with the WWE system, because he was let go during the pandemic. Someone like him definitely seeks RETRIBUTION.
Another reason for him to seek RETRIBUTION is that his sendoff match was such a disappointment. He has been very vocal about wanting to face John Cena in his final match, but Vince McMahon thought otherwise and Kurt Angle's final performance was against King Corbin. Honestly, is there a better leader for RETRIBUTION?
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