Fans have seen quite a few stars get called up top the main roster over the years. Some talents find success, and others don’t, but last year several names were called up to be part of RETRIBUTION.
The RETRIBUTION stable was getting a lot of attention at first, and at one point recently released WWE star Vanessa Borne was considered for the group. Borne was called up to the main roster last year, but never made her debut on Raw or SmackDown. At one point an idea was pitched for her to be in a group with Chelsea Green and Santana Garrett, but that plan was scrapped.
Borne recently spoke to PWInsider about her run with WWE, and she noted that her main roster contract was pulled after she was considered for a spot in RETRIBUTION and she started asking questions.
“After that, I was called in and they had a pitch where I was part of RETRIBUTION. I was excited about being on TV for something, but I had a lot of questions. I wanted to know what the group was about and how I fit in. I had some concerns because, during this time, there was stuff around the country with violence and we’re watching this unfold and it’s not pretty. I wanted to know if the group was mimicking that. I expressed those concerns, but ultimately, I wanted to do what I was told and tried to figure out how I could help. Within the week, I got a call from Mark Carano saying, ‘We’re not going to have you as part of RETRIBUTION and we’re going to pull your contract. You’re getting sent back to NXT.'”
“It felt like I got kicked in the gut. I would never want them to think that I didn’t think an idea wasn’t good or that I didn’t want to participate. I would do anything and had done everything to that point. After we talked, I sent him a text that said, ‘I’m so sorry if I came across not wanting to be part of anything. I’m here to work. I’m willing to do whatever.’ He just said, ‘This is where we’re at.’ I still think back and kick myself and think I should have sat there, nodded, and been happy. I was happy, I might have just given the wrong impression. Lesson learned. Sometimes I tend to be blunt and I don’t know if that’s what came across when it came to asking questions or having concerns. Maybe that isn’t the reason and it’s something totally different, it just happened to fall in line with how everything went down. I put those two things together.”
According to Borne she was then sent back to NXT, and shortly after she found of she tested positive for COVID-19. Triple H put her in touch with a writer, but she got any feedback in the last idea she pitched, and a week later she was released.
H/T Fightful
