Big update on WWE releasing Authors of Pain
Former NXT and RAW Tag Team Champions Authors of Pain were released by WWE earlier this week, much to the surprise of the WWE Universe.
In a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer spoke about AOP's release from WWE, saying that Paul Heyman had big plans for the duo:
The only thing I had heard…because he had just gotten cleared and the idea was that he was not going to be back with Seth Rollins, which was their original role but they didn’t know where they would be.
When Paul Heyman was there, Paul Heyman wanted to make them his Road Warriors and Levesque did too because he even brought in Ellering for them and they were total Road Warrior rip-offs. It’s interesting that those two wanted to make them into Road Warriors and then Vince just decided whatever… H/T: WrestlingNewsCo
Akam and Rezar were a part of the 'Monday Night Messiah' Seth Rollins' faction before Rezar got injured. Both members of AOP were taken off television subsequently.
Hopes were high for AOP after they were called up to the main roster in 2018, with the duo winning the RAW Tag Team Championships later the same year. Unfortunately, WWE decided to let the pair go, but it will be interesting to see what's next for them and where they end up.
WWE released AOP despite Rezar being cleared to wrestle
AOP have been out of action since Rezar's injury earlier this year, but we have now learned, thanks to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, that Rezar was cleared to return to action when WWE released AOP. With Rezar cleared to return, it's still unclear why WWE decided to release to the duo who are highly regarded within the company.
WWE's tag division isn't really the strongest at the moment and a team of AOP's caliber could have easily slotted into RAW or SmackDown's tag team division. With no reason yet known for the release, we will just have to wait on a future update. As of now, Rezar and Akam are believed to have a 90-day no-compete clause.