WWE announces release of tag team AOP
In what would surely come as a surprise to many fans, WWE has announced the release of Akam and Rezar of AOP (Authors of Pain).
Here's WWE's statement on the release of the two Superstars:
WWE has come to terms on the release of Akam and Rezar (AOP). We wish them all the best in their future endeavours.
The WWE careers of Akam and Rezar of AOP
Akam - real name Sunny Dhinsa, and Rezar - real name Gzim Selmani, both started their wrestling careers around the same time. Rezar came from an MMA background before joining WWE in 2015. Akam signed his WWE Developmental contract in 2014.
Like every other developmental talent, Akam and Rezar trained at the Performance Center before being paired together. AOP made their NXT TV debut in June 2016 at NXT TakeOver: The End. Rezar and Akam were joined by WWE Hall of Famer Paul Ellering, who took up the role of being the manager of the behemothic tag team.
The WWE wasted no time pushing the duo as they first won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic before winning the NXT Tag Team Championship from #DIY at TakOver: San Antonio.
AOP held on to the title for 203 days before dropping it to Alexander Wolfe and Eric Young of Sanity.
AOP made their main roster debut in April 2018 on an episode of RAW. WWE wrote Paul Ellering off TV and introduced Drake Maverick as their new manager.
By November, AOP had won the RAW Tag Team Championship. They would lose the titles in December, marking the end of their first and only main roster tag team title reign at the 35-day mark.
Rezar and Akam would become Seth Rollins' disciples in 2019, and they were set for another big push before Rezar suffered an unfortunate bicep injury in 2020.
Injuries have hampered AOP's main roster run as both Akam and Rezar have suffered injuries at importunate times. AOP won the NXT and RAW Tag Team Championships on one occasion during their time in the WWE.
We at Sportskeeda wish both Akam and Rezar all the very best for their future.