WWE has many ideas floating around, but not every concept comes to fruition within the company. One such discarded idea involved a faction inspired by Antifa, which WWE swiftly abandoned.
Mace joined WWE in 2016 and marked his main roster debut in 2020 as part of the Retribution faction. Unfortunately, the plans for this group, led by Mustafa Ali, were inadequately conceived.
During a conversation with Denise Salcedo on Instinct Culture, Mace shed light on the initial concept behind Retribution. He disclosed that WWE initially envisioned the group resembling Antifa but decided against it due to the potential controversy that would have ensued.
“[Where did the pitch come about? When did you think of it? How did you feel being part of Retribution?] There was no pitch. If you remember correctly, the initial appearance of Retribution was a bunch of extras because there were a bunch of like really small guys at the time. That’s why, that’s actually how I ended up being in it. There were a bunch of little small guys that were extras. They had no idea who they wanted them to be from what I understand. And I think they were trying to do an Antifa thing. I think that was the idea.“
“But at the same time, it’s a very big company. There’s not really much room for controversy anymore. So, at some point they were like, ‘Yeah, maybe we shouldn’t. But we already did this big angle and we need to kind of finish it in some capacity.”
What Is Antifa?
Antifa is short for “anti-fascist.” The group emerged with roots in various political ideologies, united by a shared opposition to fascist and far-right ideologies. Operating primarily in response to perceived threats of fascism and white supremacy, Antifa often employs direct action methods to counter such ideologies.
Members of Antifa groups emphasize decentralized, grassroots organization, with no formal leadership structure. The movement’s tactics include protest, direct action, and, at times, confrontations with those they perceive as promoting fascist ideologies.
WWE may have considered making Retribution fall in line with this idea, but they went in a different direction.
WWE’s Wild Booking Of Retribution Stable
WWE didn’t make Retribution a politically-charged angle on television, but that doesn’t mean they had a plan in mind.
WWE started that Retribution angle during the pandemic, with no live crowds or pay-out planned. This stable was a Vince McMahon vision from the beginning, and it did create interest during their early stages.
I was told at the time that Vince McMahon was mostly writing the angle on a week-to-week basis. This is why things changed so much about the faction, how many members there were, and who were even under the masks, until the big reveal.
Notable members included current AEW talent Mercedes Martinez, NXT standout Dijak, former NJPW star Shane Haste, and SmackDown’s Michin. Despite their introduction in August 2020, the faction disbanded seven months later with very little fanfare, and without giving Mustafa Ali much of a chance to really lead the stable.