Mercedes Martinez Addresses Her RETRIBUTION Run And Return To NXT

WWE News - Mercedes Martinez On Her Run As RETRIBUTION's Retaliation!

by Andrew Pollard
Mercedes Martinez NXT
WWE.com

To many, Mercedes Martinez absolutely dodged a bullet by being quietly removed from the RETRIBUTION stable and sent back to NXT.

Speaking to PWInsider about her RETRIBUTION departure, the former Retaliation has detailed how she requested to leave the stable due to creative differences.

“I was given an opportunity, and I took the opportunity not knowing what the outcome would be. You’ve got to make the best with anything you can, but I think when that opportunity came, it just wasn’t for me. When you hit the pinnacle of your career, as I did, hitting 20 years, you want to make the most of your career and make it part of a legacy.
I just think being part of that group, it’s not a hidden fact that it was me. I don’t hide the fact, I don’t mention it, only because it was just a small part of what the bigger picture is.”

Martinez would go on to touch upon how she wanted things to go one way, but “they had a different outlook” – before she then wished for nothing but success for RETRIBUTION.

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Having resurfaced on the NXT brand recently, Mercedes Martinez is expected to battle NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai at the Valentine’s Day TakeOver special.

Elsewhere, tomorrow night will see Martinez team with Toni Storm to face Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter in the first round of the inaugural NXT Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

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Senior Writer
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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.