Mustafa Ali promises to turn things around with RETRIBUTION if you give him time.
Ali was revealed as the leader of RETRIBUTION on October 5, adding a new dimension to a group that had been all over the map since their debut in August. Fans hoping Ali would be the savior of the group seemed disappointed as RETRIBUTION continued to lose matches and no longer caused the chaos they were once known for. Fans also questioned how and why known NXT entities were renamed and put under masks, and why WWE would sign the group to contracts.
Speaking on After The Bell, Ali explained the reasoning behind RETRIBUTION as we know it.
"They've all had a moment that was taken away from them. MACE (Dio Maddin) was doing great on Raw commentary, Brock puts him through a table, and now he's done? He never came back. T-BAR (Dominik Dijakovic) was choked out by Karrion Kross and his best friend Keith Lee watched, and then Keith Lee goes up to the main roster, leaving Dijakovic with nothing. Mia Yim was taken out before WarGames, the person who took her out was never reprimanded. We have all these stories about guys and girls who had something taken away from them and nothing has happened. The sentiment of 'chip on your shoulder,' is very appropriate for RETRIBUTION. I went from a guy who was sitting at home for seven months to a guy who now has seven seconds to talk. I am built and ready for this. I've been asking for a story and what better story to tell than your story. RETRIBUTION is me. I felt overlooked and that the company looked at profit over people. I felt what my name is and what I look like has defined me to some extent and inhibited me from growing. I know people love to poke fun at SLAPJACK and the mask, but there's so much art in this story that I knew a lot of was going to go over people's heads. Imagine having people make preconceived ideas about you because of your name and what you look like. Imagine a guy named Mustafa Ali renaming people so they can understand what it feels like to be judged by your name and what you look like. You guys don't appreciate real art," he said.
Ali finished his comments by asking for patience and promising to deliver, saying, "Give us time to tell a story. We live in a day and age when people want to push a button and know everything. Sit down, shut up, watch it, and enjoy it. I'm leading the charge and I do not drop the ball."
On the most recent episode of WWE Raw, RETRIBUTION attacked Tucker, with Ali's reason being that Tucker turned his back on Otis just to get ahead. RETRIBUTION had previously been feuding with The Hurt Business.
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