According to the Wrestling Observer Radio ‘s Dave Meltzer, by way of WrestlingNews.co , WWE reportedly had big plans for Rezar and Akam, the Authors of Pain, prior to their release.
The journalist revealed that Paul Heyman and Triple H were both high on the powerhouse tag team. They apparently viewed them as a modern-day version of an iconic duo, and they planned to book them in a similar manner.
“When Heyman was there, Paul Heyman wanted to make them his Road Warriors and Levesque did too because he even brought in [Paul] 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.”
Much like Animal and Hawk, the Authors of Pain had a tendency to dominate their opponents. They enjoyed some success on NXT, but their main roster run was very stop-start. They were members of Seth Rollins’ faction until Rezar got injured earlier this year, and they seemed destined for big things at the time.
According to the report, Rezar had been cleared to compete again and the team was set to return. They reportedly weren’t going to align themselves with Rollins again either. Officials were trying to figure out new ways to use them before ultimately deciding to release them from their contracts.
As The Inquisitr previously reported, there were plans to pair them up with Paul Ellering again. However, Rezar’s injury, along with the pandemic, caused the plans to fall through in the end. Ellering did say that he wants to work with the young performers again, but it might not be in WWE.
As of this writing, it remains unclear why the team was let go. Several performers have lost their jobs this year due to the company’s cost-cutting measures to contend with the economic uncertainty of the pandemic.
Given that Rezar and Akam have been off television for months, they could have been deemed surplus to requirements. The backstage creative unit has also had a shake-up since they were last on television, and the new figureheads might not have had any major ideas for them.
Now that they’ve been released, Rezar and Akam will have to wait out a 30-day non-compete clause before they can join another promotion. AEW and Impact Wrestling have both brought in some of WWE’s recent departures. It’s possible that the pair could end up at one of those promotions down the line.
