Tag: Authors of Pain

WWE Roster Cuts Continue: Gallows & Anderson Among Latest Releases

WWE’s latest round of talent cuts extended into the weekend, with more names being confirmed as released from the company. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, known collectively as The Good Brothers, were let go, according to PWInsider, with Fightful later verifying the news. Additionally, Fightful also reported that Giovanni Vinci had been released as well.

These releases follow a string of cuts that began on Friday night, with Isla Dawn, Blair Davenport, Sonya Deville, The Authors of Pain (Akam & Rezar), their manager Paul Ellering, and Cedric Alexander all parting ways with WWE.

Elektra Lopez, the manager of the stable Legado Del Fantasma, was released from WWE this weekend following a four-year run with the company.

While WWE has yet to provide an official reason for the roster changes, Fightful reports that sources within NXT believe the moves are tied to an upcoming wave of main roster call-ups. With WrestleMania season approaching, WWE frequently shakes up its rosters, and this could indicate fresh talent from NXT is about to get the spotlight on Raw and SmackDown.

The releases of Gallows and Anderson are particularly notable, as the duo had long been associated with WWE’s Bullet Club-adjacent faction, The O.C., alongside AJ Styles. Their return to WWE in 2022 was expected to be a long-term run, but it appears their time with the company has once again come to an end.

Notably, Anderson is out with an injury with a torn labrum and rotator cuff; he had surgery in November and used the word “indefinitely” in a December interview before setting a return expectation of “at least six or seven more months.” Fightful gave his recovery time as “at least 3-6 months minimum” and noted that Anderson is “in good spirits” despite the highly unusual practice of being released during injury rehab.

As always, the wrestling world will be watching to see where these released superstars land next. Could we see some of them in AEW, TNA, or NJPW? Only time will tell.

The Authors Of Pain (& Paul Ellering) Return On WWE SmackDown Alongside Karrion Kross & Scarlett

WWE’s tag team division can expect a bit more pain in the locker room.

Akam and Rezar, collectively known as the Authors of Pain (AOP), returned to WWE on Friday’s episode of “WWE SmackDown.” They, along with Karrion Kross and Scarlett, crashed Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits’ “All Mighty New Year” segment. After Lashley declared himself for the Royal Rumble, Kross and Scarlett appeared on the ramp, and stared devilishly on as AOP attacked Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins from behind. Their beatdown ended with a Super Collider from AOP, which cleared the path for Kross to deliver a gruesome slam to Lashley. The Authors of Pain, along with their manager WWE Hall of Famer Paul Ellering, accompanied Kross and Scarlet to the ramp following their destruction.

AOP’s WWE return had been speculated multiple times in 2023, with the most recent reports stating that Akam and Rezar were expected to return sooner rather than later. Their association with Kross was also teased on the December 22 episode of “SmackDown”, where three figures were referred to Kross as “authors”. The pair quietly resigned with WWE in August 2022, and there is no confirmed explanation for the year and a half-long gap between their signing and their reappearance.

The two are one-time “NXT” Tag Team Champions, one-time winners of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, and one-time WWE Raw Tag Team Champions. Before Friday’s installment of “SmackDown”, AOP was last seen on the March 9, 2020 episode of “WWE Raw,” where they aided Buddy Matthews and Seth Rollins in a winning effort against The Viking Raiders and, interestingly enough, the Street Profits.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Announces Authors Of Pain Have Been Officially Signed To RAW

WWE announced that the Authors of Pain have been signed to RAW. WWE announced it with a video explaining the two powerhouse wrestlers have been signed to RAW after “extended negotiations with both USA Network and FOX amid rumors of their return to the MMA world.”

AOP Returned To WWE RAW In A Vignette And Issued A Strong Warning To The WWE Tag Team Division (Video)

Last night’s WWE RAW featured a new vignette with The Authors of Pain, Akam and Rezar, re-introducing themselves as they prepare to return to the storylines.

“My name is Rezar,” the promo began.

“My name is Akam,” he continued.

“Together we’re known as AOP, The Authors of Pain.”

“No one has seen us in a match since before WrestleMania.”

“There’s a very good reason for that. We haven’t had one match since before WrestleMania.”

“We’re fighters. We’ve been fighting our whole lives. We earn money by fighting.”

“That’s the problem. We come here to fight and everyone complains we’re hurting them in the ring.”

“Neither one of us could make a living in mixed martial arts because no one wanted to fight us and now we come to WWE and no one wants to fight us.”

“Every tag team in WWE is soft. None of you are men. None of you are hard enough to fight us.”

“None of you have the heart to fight us.”

“None of you have the manhood to step up to us.”

“This is a warning. You give us the opportunity we earned. Or we’ll take the opportunity we earned.”

“We are the future of the WWE tag team division.”

“And that future will be written in pain.”

AOP returned to live event action at a SmackDown show in early July, losing to the team of Ali and Matt Hardy. They had been away for several months while Akam recovered from a knee injury, but they returned to the ring at WWE Super ShowDown in June, to compete in the 50-Man Battle Royal. Rezar did work some WWE Main Event matches while Akam was out. It looks like AOP will no longer be working with 205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick. It was reported in late August that WWE almost brought AOP back for a Tag Team Turmoil match, but it looks like they delayed the return for a slower build. There’s no word yet on when they will return to the RAW ring.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AOP Set To Return To WWE Action Soon

The Authors of Pain should be returning to action on WWE RAW soon.

Akam underwent knee surgery back in January but he has now been cleared, according to John Pollock.

There’s no word yet on when AOP will be brought back, but word is that they have been set to return for a few weeks. They will likely be back on WWE TV when creative comes up with a new program for them. It was noted that their return has been delayed due to the WWE Wild Card Rule, which has tied up TV time.

Rezar has worked some WWE Main Event matches while Akam has been out.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Former WWE RAW Tag Team Champion Akam Reportedly Out With An Injury

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Former WWE RAW Tag Team Champion, Akam from The Authors of Pain has been sidelined with a leg injury, according to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Radio.

Meltzer explained that the injury is the reason AOP hasn’t been used on TV in recent weeks, and Akam is expected to be out for at least a few months.

Akam’s last television match with The Authors of Pain was on the December 17, 2018 episode of WWE RAW, losing a Fatal-4-Way tag team match to The Revival’s Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder. They would compete in a handful of WWE live events shortly after that, but remain off TV.

Along with their recent reign as the WWE RAW Tag Team Champions, AOP has also held the NXT Tag Team Championships once and won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in 2016.

Source: WrestlingINC

Road Warrior Animal Says He ‘Feels Sorry’ For Paul Ellering Managing The Authors Of Pain

Image result for Road Warrior Animal

The Authors of Pain have ran roughshod through the NXT tag team division since their debut at NXT: The End last June. Since then, they dominated American Alpha, won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, and defeated DIY for the NXT Tag Team Championship.

However, there is one person who does not believe that this resume is very impressive.

When Chris Featherstone spoke to Road Warrior Animal at an independent wrestling event recently, he did not have the fondest words to say about the Authors of Pain. In fact, he said that he felt sorry for his former manager Paul Ellering.

“I talk to Paul all the time,” Animal said. “I feel bad for him because of that team he’s managing. They’re green. You gotta start somewhere, but [man]. The only problem is, when you start managing two big guys, everybody’s gonna compare them to Hawk and I. It’s an unfair comparison. It’s like trying to compare a singles guy to Bruno Sammartino. You can’t. Bruno is Bruno. The Rock’s the Rock. They’ll never be another Rock. They’ll never be another Road Warriors ever. That’s the problem [WWE] is having now in the company. They [also] have the Ascension coming out, and the Ascension are [trying to be like the Road Warriors].”

Animal finds Ellering managing the Authors of Pain to be a negative comparison to managing the Road Warriors. In his eyes, the WWE is trying to recapture the moment of a dominant big man tag team, and using Ellering as the conduit to make it happen again. Thankfully, for the Authors of Pain, they do not look anything like the Road Warriors. The Ascension, however, is a much stronger comparison.

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You can hear the full interview on the Pancakes and Powerslams podcast by clicking here.

Source: WrestlingINC

WWE Trademarks Legendary Tag Team Name

Source: WrestlingINC

WWE has registered to trademark the term “Legion of Doom.” It looks like WWE Hall of Famer Paul Ellering, former manager to Road Warrior Hawk and Animal, may be bringing back the name for “Authors of Pain” Sunny Dhinsa and Gzim Selmani in WWE NXT.

WWE Hall Of Famer Managing New Tag Team In WWE NXT After Angle At Takeover (Photos, Video)

As noted, American Alpha (Chad Gable & Jason Jordan) lost the NXT Tag Team Champions to The Revival (Dash & Dawson) at NXT Takeover: The End last night.

After the match, American Alpha were attacked and left laying by “The Authors of Pain” Sunny Dhinsa and Gzim Selmani, who have been working NXT live events for several months now.

It appears Selmani and Dhinsa will be managed by WWE Hall of Famer Paul Ellering, who is known for managing The Road Warriors years ago.

Below is video and photos from tonight’s angle: