Former WWE Raw and NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) nearly quit the company on their very first day on the main roster. In a new interview, Rezar revealed that the duo was ready to hand in their resignation letters after being told Paul Ellering would no longer manage them.
The Authors of Pain were an unstoppable force in NXT, where the manager of the Road Warriors, Paul Ellering, managed them. The pairing was a good fit, with Ellering’s veteran presence lending an air of credibility to the young team. However, when they were called up to the main roster in 2018, the decision was made to separate them from their manager, a move that did not sit well with the team.
In a new interview with The Metro, Rezar detailed the backstage conversation and the team’s immediate reaction. “To be honest, when we had to leave Paul Ellering, that was the day that we were deciding to stop with WWE. We were just called up. And the first day at the main roster, they were telling us, ‘You have to leave Paul Ellering,’” Rezar said. “And me and my tag team partner Akam, Sonny, he said, ‘Yo, let’s just give our resignation letter and just leave.’”
It was Ellering himself who convinced the young team to stay and give it a shot. “But Paul told us, ‘Try it out. I’ve helped you guys to get there, so much hard work, we can always get the back back together later,'” Rezar recalled.
Rezar also gave what he believes was the reason for the split, attributing the decision to the creative philosophy of Vince McMahon at the time. “It was the Vince McMahon thing. He didn’t like older people than him or people his age on the show. He wanted to be the only elderly person who would be in the spotlight at the time,” he claimed.
The Authors of Pain would go on to have a successful short run on the main roster, capturing the Raw Tag Team Championships. They were eventually released from their contracts in 2020. They were brought back in 2024 before being released again earlier this year. The full interview with Rezar can be found on The Metro’s website.
