Mercedes Martinez speaks on her time as "Retaliation."
Mercedes Martinez was briefly in RETRIBUTION as "Retaliation." However, as reported by Fightful Select, when it was time for RETRIBUTION to get drafted to Raw, she was removed, and shortly thereafter returned to NXT where she's now hunting down Io Shirai and the NXT Women's Championship.
Speaking with Mike Johnson of PWInsider, Martinez revealed that she simply had a different vision for her character than the one provided to her, and she left the group with no hard feelings.
"I can dive into that and let people know what was going on. It's pretty much, I was given an opportunity and I took the opportunity, not knowing what the outcome would be. You have to make the best of everything you can, but when that opportunity came, it wasn't for me. When you hit this pinnacle of your career like I did after almost 20 years, you want to make the most of your career and part of a legacy and what you want to be for your career, I think being part of that group -- it's no hidden fact that it was me. I don't mention it because it was a small part of the bigger picture.
She continued, "It was a thing of this is what Mercedes is, but maybe it doesn't fit the mold or career or trajectory of what I want my legacy to be. It was no hard feelings, we just had two different plans and I wanted something to go one way and they had a different outlook, maybe they were still working on their outlook. I said, 'Hey, I know where I want my career and this is not it.' I don't give any hard feelings and I wish nothing but success to all those part of the group. I just think it wasn't meant for me, it was meant for someone else. I want to make my legacy different and that's why I'm back on NXT and will put my mark on the women's division there."
Mercedes is currently entered in the Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic with Toni Storm. Fightful will have live coverage of NXT every Wednesday.
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