Michin recently reflected on the failed RETRIBUTION run in WWE.
During an interview with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard, Michin (aka Mia Yim) argued that RETRIBUTION’s biggest obstacle was debuting during the COVID-19 pandemic. She believes the lack of a live audience made it difficult for the faction to connect with viewers.
“I truly believe it could have worked. I think because it happened in the COVID era, it was destined to fail because of that,” Michin said.
Michin, known as Reckoning during the stable’s tenure, explained that RETRIBUTION’s concept relied heavily on crowd reactions. Instead, they were performing in largely empty arenas surrounded by screens.
“We didn’t have a crowd, we didn’t have a live audience,” Michin said. “I think that’s what RETRIBUTION needed. We were causing all this chaos and ruckus in an empty room.”
Everyone wanted Retribution to succeed, but they couldn’t overcome the limitations
Michin added that everyone involved was committed to making the storyline work and shared the same vision for the group. However, she admitted there was only so much the faction could accomplish given the unique environment at the time.
“The potential was there. All of us were on the same page and really wanted to make it work. But there’s only so much you can do when there are only screens around,” she stated. “So it had potential, but I think the era we debuted in just wasn’t the right time.”
The faction debuted at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, first appearing backstage on the August 3, 2020, episode of WWE RAW by sabotaging the arena’s power supply. Their in-ring debut later took place on the September 21 episode of the show.
Recently, Mustafa Ali said that Sonya Deville (aka Daria Rae) was pitched as a potential leader of the group. However, he also joked that the original plan for Retribution was that there was no plan.
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