This week on WWE Friday Night SmackDown, a big brawl broke out in the opening segment with about two dozen members of Retribution attacking Braun Strowman.
This week, several members of the WWE locker room ran into the ring to fight off Retribution. After Retribution was cleared to the ring, the camera picked up on The Miz running in but that only happened after Retribution was cleared.
This is the second week that WWE has planted a seed to tease The Miz as either the leader of Retribution or one of the top members of the group. Last week, The Miz alerted the WWE roster to get to the back where Retribution was but he never joined in on the fight.
Check out the clip below of The Miz arriving late to the brawl. Several fans on Twitter picked up on this as it happened.
LOL. Miz running to the ring after the SmackDown locker room cleared the ring and Retribution was gone. 🤣🤣 #WWEThunderDome pic.twitter.com/3n5I7LmGxs
— George Montes (@george_montes) August 22, 2020
As previously noted, we know the identity of at least two members of Retribution that appeared last week. Click here for that story. There are two NXT stars who have been heavily rumored to be part of the group. Click here for more on the story.
If The Miz is revealed as the leader then it shows that WWE is willing to give him a shot at being a top guy again. Miz has been itching to get bigger opportunities in WWE.
This is what he said in July during an interview on Busted Open Radio:
“I’m a person that wants it all. I want it all and what does all entail? When I am not the WWE champion, I want to be the WWE champion. When I am not on a poster for SmackDown or any PPV, if I’m not the front and center, even if I’m on the poster and I am on the side, that infuriates me. That aggravates me. That motivates me to want to be front and center and being the top dog to where WWE looks at me and goes, this is our guy. I don’t honestly feel like I have been that guy. I’ve always had to work very hard to become that guy, to be that guy. Right now, I don’t feel like I am that guy. So what do I have to do to be that guy? Do I have to get on 45 different shows and show WWE that I can be the main focus of a show. I control ratings. I can put butts in seats. People will pay to see me wrestle. That’s where I’m looking at it and going, alright, what do I have to do to get to that level? Sometimes, it’s a roller coaster. Sometimes you’re up high and sometimes you have to wait and wait. I don’t like to wait. I like to do everything possible to make sure I’m giving the audience exactly what they deserve and that is being an entertainer and being a performer.”