50 Worst Wrestling Moments Of The 2020s (So Far)

7. RETRIBUTION Take Over SmackDown

Retribution chainsaw
WWE

It’s easy to be cynical. Across virtually every area of life, the pessimistic view is all too often the most accurate. What’s worse is that, the older you get, you see cycles repeat. You almost get rewarded, or at least validated, for seeing the worst in people.

Preamble over with, did Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard turn the news on in 2020 and create an Antifa-coded group that they, naturally, depicted as heels?

Well, they sent a press release out confirming this wasn't the case, so it probably was.

RETRIBUTION was a gang of disillusioned Performance Center also-rans who, tired of the system, sought to destroy it. This involved a frankly pathetic spree of vandalism so uncommitted that they sent a brick through an already shattered glass window because, let’s not cause too much damage here. The fans get the point.

Political messaging is blunt, because activists need to get their point across quickly. RETRIBUTION did this cheaply by, on their introduction to SmackDown, spray-painting the WWE logo and putting an ‘X’ through it. That will show them.

Some fans were enthused (or, let’s face it, they were bargaining). They thought the debut of the group and the new, expensive ThunderDome set-up were linked. These renegades were sure to destroy it to prove their point, no?

No, indeed.

These renegades, with the worst ring names ever - T-BAR! Slapjack! Mace! - instead signed contracts to appear exclusively on Raw. The system on SmackDown didn’t need to be dismantled, apparently. Even though they debuted there.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!