10 NXT Black & Gold Stars Triple H Built (... And Vince McMahon DESTROYED!)

Whilst Retribution didn't exist in NXT, each member at least had some amount of appearances in the Black and Gold brand beforehand.

Shane Thorne was part of TM-61, an under-appreciated addition to NXT's tag division. Mia Yam was a stalwart of the brand's women's division. Dominik Dijakvoic always delivered, especially in his captivating feud with Keith Lee. Mace appeared to be a promising prospect.

Throwing a bunch of spare competitors together to make a greater good isn't a completely ill-informed idea. Many classic stables have started this way. However, the margin for error is a gulf that T-Bar, Mace, Slapjack and Reckoning tripped and fell into.

Already at a disadvantage with debuting during the COVID-19 pandemic, their stupid masks and stupider names didn't help matters. A total lack of stories and credibility made them feel as though they were the latest incarnation of the Job Squad, which turned out to be essentially correct.

The group wound up wasting the main roster chances of Dijak (who has returned to NXT) and Thorne who jumped to a Crocodile Dundee gimmick for a cup of coffee before he was out the door. Yim might be performing as Michin now, but she did get released between now and then.

Ironically only Mace, who had limited NXT appearances before this, really managed to survive the disaster and the aftereffects of being in Retribution.