"You guys look like monsters, so be monsters" - Released WWE star on what Triple H told him and his partner
It would be pretty challenging to find any NXT alumni speaking ill about Triple H, as The Cerebral Assassin has helped several wrestlers develop their craft over the past decade.
Triple H had a pivotal role in building The Authors of Pain (AOP) to be one of the best tag teams in NXT history. The former WWE Superstars recently spoke about their relationship with The Game during an interview with Lucha Libre Online.
Rezar, real name Gzim Selmani, noted that Triple H was a massive supporter of the tandem right from their initial days in the developmental brand. HHH urged them to be "monsters" in the ring, and the WWE Hall of Famer's spurring words inspired the duo to showcase their true potential.
"One thing I remember he said, I think it was maybe our second match in NXT TV, he said, 'You guys look like monsters, so be monsters,' and we became monsters in the ring," stated Rezar. "Like, he gave us good motivation; always, right before we left, we shook each others' hands and hugged, and he always gave us a little motivational speech just to fire us up a little bit more, and it worked." [6:38 - 7:03]
"It was directly from Hunter" - Akam on learning on-screen storytelling from Triple H
Akam also joined in on the conversation and opened up about his experience working with the NXT boss. He mentioned the importance of understanding how wrestling had to be presented on television.
Triple H has seemingly mastered the art of producing wrestling content, and Akam said that AOP picked up several fundamental aspects of the business from the retired WWE legend:
"We learned a lot from Hunter. The biggest thing like, me and Gzim, we were very new to TV, you know what I mean? Producing TV, and Hunter is just so good at producing TV, all the angles, the storytelling, the emotions, the facials. You know, it was such a big part of how he taught us and how he held our finger pretty much and brought us along and taught us every step of the way. It is something that I can hold on forever." [5:47 - 6:17]
The two-time tag team champion considered himself lucky to have gained some invaluable wrestling knowledge directly from Triple H. He added that not many talents these days have a similarly comprehensive learning experience:
"If there's a talent somewhere else, they will never have that kind of opportunity that we had to work directly with Hunter and learn from one of the best performers of all time; you know what I mean? That was a huge thing me and Gzim both learned, and it was directly from Hunter," stated Akam, aka Sunny Dhinsa. [6:17 - 6:37]
Akam and Rezar were released from WWE in September 2020. While they haven't wrestled lately, the former tag team champions are reportedly set to enter the ring for the first time in over two years. You can read more on the circulating rumors right here.
If you use any quotes from the article, please credit Lucha Libre Online and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.