Who is the man behind the Slapjack mask?
WWE revealed the villainous stable ‘Retribution’ back in August 2020, and with the names of some of the newer members not revealed until very recently, it has led to numerous WWE fans asking “who is the man behind the Slapjack mask?”
Retribution is led by its leader Mustafa Ali. The stable consists of talented wrestlers fighting under villainous monikers; namely Mace, T-Bar, Reckoning, Mustafa Ali, and Slapjack.
The man behind the Slapjack persona is Shane Veryzer. Veryzer fought under the name “Shane Haste” in Pro Wrestling Noah alongside teammate Mikey Nicholls. Nicholls and Haste were together known as ‘The Mighty Don’t Kneel’ (TMDK).
After spending five years in Pro Wrestling Noah and having stints with other brands in that timespan, it was announced in February 2016 that the duo would join WWE NXT.
In March 2019, WWE NXT confirmed the signings of Haste and Nicholls and renamed them ‘Shane Thorne’ and ‘Nick Miller’, while TMDK was renamed to ‘TM-61’.
TM-61 was disbanded after Nick Miller (Mikey Nicholls) was released from WWE in December 2018.
The making of Thorne’s new moniker
Thorne stayed with WWE despite his teammate Nick Miller being released. He started appearing on WWE RAW in March 2020 alongside former TMDK stablemate Brendan Vink.
Veryzer’s (Shane Thorne) biggest WWE moment came on September 21, 2020, when he was revealed as a member of the stable Retribution.
#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/4STosVpXgt
— 'Hysterical' Shane Haste (@ShaneTMDK) September 22, 2020
The September 21 edition of Monday Night RAW revealed 3 new male members (Mace, T-Bar, Slapjack). None of their real names was made apparent.
It was not hard for fans to figure out that T-Bar was Dominik Dijakovic and Mace was Dio Maddin. However, it was the hardest to unearth former TM-61 member’s identity as he sported a variation of an ice-hockey goalie mask that covered his entire face.
A few days after his introduction in the WWE ring as a part of Retribution, Slapjack himself dropped a massive hint on Twitter which helped fans discover his real identity. He tweeted two videos, one of which mentioned the former NXT Superstar’s name.
PEOPLE watch SLAPJACK#RETRIBUTION pic.twitter.com/iFZIrdcP9r
— 'Hysterical' Shane Haste (@ShaneTMDK) September 24, 2020
From there on, it wasn’t hard for people to figure out the man behind the mask. However, if you didn’t know his identity until right now, we don’t blame you. Slapjack hasn’t been the face of the stable and has not received the same amount of attention as his teammates.
Retribution, since their appearance on August 3, has aimed to destroy WWE and its superstars. They see The Hurt Business, led by MVP and Bobby Lashley, as their direct enemies.
While the stable has not received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the WWE Universe, they continue to be the centre of multiple important plotlines.
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