The WWE has been under attack the last weeks from a secret faction know a Retribution, and fans have been guessing at who they are.
They’re a mix of several previous factions the WWE has ushered in over the years.
This one reeks of when Vince McMahon brought in the nWo to destroy the WWE when Ric Flair bought half the company (storyline), as well as the Invasion angle after McMahon acquired WCW and ECW.
Invasion 2.0
In early July, it was announced that the WWE purchased Evolve Wrestling, adding their talent to the WWE’s depleted roster.
Evolve had long been a source of talent for the WWE to sign and cultivate, which would put them on the level of the enhancement talent used in the audience (we’re assuming this is how they’re viewed) with a few exceptions here and there.
Some of the rumors going around is that the Evolve wrestlers are a large part of the Retribution group that will also have a few well-known names involved to legitimize them as a whole.
At the moment, it’s anyone’s guess, but we’re thinking the group will be made up of malcontents some of the names may be familiar.
They include Johnny Gargano, Tomanso Ciampa, Aleister Black, and even Joe Gacy from CZW (Combat Zone Wrestling) and Evolve. Drake Maverick is another fan favorite pick.
This is all pure speculation as we really have no clue, but it does feel right to be a combination of Evolve and WWE talent that feels ignored, and Ciampa didn’t sound too pleased on Instagram the other week.
Plus, Aleister Black was rumored to be getting a new gimmick about this time as it’s been reported that Vince McMahon doesn’t think his old one can go long term (they did away with his rising entrance a while ago).
But this doesn’t answer who’s in charge, and that can be just as interesting.
Two heads are better than one
Last week in our Raw previews, we mentioned how we think Shane McMahon and the faction are together.
While Shane may have introduced Raw Underground, it doesn’t mean it’s separate. In fact, it may be wise to check this week for any faces we might recognize during those segments that aren’t known WWE.
Does this prove anything? Nope. But it sure is fun.
There is a name no one seems to be mentioning that could be behind this, and it’s the former head of Evolve and Paul Heyman’s former assistant at ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) — Gabe Sapolsky.
Gabe has been mentioned prominently by Daniel Bryan for being the only person to ever pick him as a promotion’s top guy (in Ring of Honor). He also helped develop one of AEW’s top talents, Darby Alin.
As a former show runner and creative genius in his own right, playing off the idea that he’s not happy about selling to McMahon and the WWE would be a fun storyline.
And if he and Shane put their heads together in this, we’re definitely looking at Invasion 2.0.
The biggest problem with this is Retribution’s actions too closely resembled the riots many are suffering from, so this storyline may be scrapped by SummerSlam.
We’ll just have to wait and see what happens, but in the meantime, who do you think are in and running Retribution? Let us know in the comments below.
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