The former WWE tag team known as The Authors of Pain (AOP) recently opened up about their two runs on the company’s main roster, detailing frustrations that began on their very first day and continued through their final departure. In an exclusive interview with Metro.co.uk, Rezar (now going by his real name, Gzim Selmani) discussed the decision to split them from their manager Paul Ellering, their pairing with Drake Maverick, and the unfulfilled promises of their run with The Final Testament.
The duo of Akam and Rezar were a dominant force in NXT, capturing the NXT Tag Team Championship under the guidance of WWE Hall of Fame manager Paul Ellering. However, when they were called up to the main roster in April 2018, they were immediately informed that Ellering would no longer be with them. The decision was so disheartening that the team considered quitting on the spot.
“That was the day that we were deciding to stop with WWE,” Rezar told Metro. “The first day at the main roster, they were telling us, ‘You have to leave Paul Ellering.’ And me and my tag team partner Akam… he said, ‘Yo, let’s just give our resignation letter and just leave’.” He said it was Ellering himself who convinced them to stay. “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 claimed that the reason for Ellering’s removal was due to then-chairman Vince McMahon’s on-screen preferences. “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 stated.
AOP’s first main roster run saw them paired with manager Drake Maverick, a role that often leaned more towards comedy. While Rezar called Maverick a “creative genius” who “knows the wrestling business inside and out,” he admitted the fit was never right. “We were never happy on the main roster. We couldn’t do our thing, we felt like a piece was missing,” he said. He also confirmed that there were tentative plans to split the team up, but he was “never really interested” in a singles run at that time.
The team was released from their contracts in 2020. They would not return to the company until early 2024, when they were brought back to form The Final Testament faction alongside Karrion Kross, Scarlett, and a returning Paul Ellering. However, Rezar expressed disappointment with how this second run was handled, particularly in regards to the group’s leader. “Kross has all the talent in the world to become a WWE Champion and be the face of WWE, and they just didn’t give it to him. It’s f***ing crazy,” he said.
He stated that the group’s direction did not match what was initially discussed with WWE’s Chief Content Officer, Paul “Triple H” Levesque. He claimed Triple H was “very excited at the beginning” but “made a lot of promises” that didn’t come to fruition. Despite this, he added that he has “nothing bad to say about Hunter” and that he was “always respectful” towards them. The entire group was released again in February of this year.
With his second WWE run behind him, Rezar is now returning to his combat sports roots and pursuing a career in boxing. A former national judo champion and MMA fighter, he recently made headlines by calling out former World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall. While his current focus is on fighting, he has not closed the door on a potential return to wrestling down the line, noting that he, Akam, and Paul Ellering still talk “every day.”
