Authors of Pain

Legion of Pain are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Sunny Dhinsa and Gzim Selmani. They are best known for their time in WWE as the Authors of Pain, under the ring names Akam and Rezar, where they are former one-time Raw Tag Team Champions and one-time NXT Tag Team Champions.

Legion of Pain
Akam (left) and Rezar (right) with Paul Ellering (back, on ring apron) in April 2018
Tag team
Members	Akam / Sunny Dhinsa Rezar / Gzim Selmani Paul Ellering (manager)
Name(s)	AOP Authors of Pain Legion of Pain
Billed heights	Akam: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Rezar: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Combined billed weight	620 lb (280 kg) Akam (290 lb), Rezar (330 lb)
Former member(s)	Drake Maverick (manager) Roderick Strong (one-time ally)
Debut	June 8, 2016
Years active	2016–present

Akam and Rezar first teamed up in June 2016, paired with manager Paul Ellering in WWE's then developmental league NXT. They won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in 2016, leading to them winning the NXT Tag Team Championship. In April 2018, Akam and Rezar were promoted to the Raw brand, with Drake Maverick taking over as their manager. AOP took a hiatus in early 2019. They returned later that year, but without Maverick as their manager, and later allying themselves with Seth Rollins. They were released in September 2020.

History

WWE (2016–2020)

NXT Tag Team Champions (2016–2018)

The team made their televised NXT debut on June 8, 2016 at NXT TakeOver: The End, attacking American Alpha (Jason Jordan and Chad Gable) after they had lost the NXT Tag Team Championship to The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder). Paul Ellering appeared on the ramp following the assault, signaling his association with the two.^[1]

 

The Authors of Pain, accompanied by Paul Ellering, as NXT Tag Team Champions in February 2017

On June 15 episode of NXT, they won their first televised match and were accompanied by Ellering.^[2] On November 19, the duo won the 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, defeating TM-61 in the tournament final at NXT TakeOver: Toronto. On the January 11, 2017 episode of NXT, they assaulted #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) after they retained the NXT Tag Team Championship against The Revival.^[3] At NXT TakeOver: San Antonio, they won the NXT Tag Team Championship by defeating #DIY.^[4] On the March 1 episode of NXT, The Authors of Pain defended their titles against #DIY in a rematch, which ended in a no contest after The Revival interfered and attacked both teams. They retained the titles at NXT TakeOver: Orlando by both defeating #DIY and The Revival in a triple threat elimination match after eliminating both teams.^[5] At NXT TakeOver: Chicago, the duo participated in the first-ever ladder match for the NXT Tag Team Championship against #DIY, which they won.^[6]

On the July 26 episode of NXT, the two were set to compete, but their opponents were attacked by SAnitY before the match began. They then brawled with Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain, disposing of the two before a staredown.^[7] Two weeks later, SAnitY called out The Authors of Pain, who were attacked by Eric Young as they made their way down the ramp. Young zip-tied Rezar to the barricade, allowing SAnitY to beat down Akam. Rezar eventually made his way to the ring, but was ultimately attacked as well.^[8] At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III, The Authors of Pain lost the NXT Tag Team Championship to SAnitY, who were represented by Wolfe and Young after the latter replaced Killian Dain mid-match, marking their first loss in NXT.^[9] At NXT TakeOver: WarGames, they teamed with Roderick Strong in a WarGames match against SAnitY and The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, and Bobby Fish), who won the match. At NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, The Authors of Pain unsuccessfully challenged The Undisputed Era for the NXT Tag Team Championship. In what was their last match in NXT, they again challenged The Undisputed Era for the NXT Tag Team Championship in a triple threat match also involving the team of Strong and WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, where they failed to win after Strong turned on Dunne and joined The Undisputed Era, allowing them to retain the titles.

Raw Tag Team Champions (2018–2019)

On the April 9 episode of Raw, The Authors of Pain, along with Paul Ellering, made their main roster debut, defeating Heath Slater and Rhyno.^[10] After the match, Akam and Rezar ended their partnership with Ellering by pushing him away and leaving him ringside as they returned backstage.^[11] The Authors of Pain entered a brief feud with Titus Worldwide (Titus O'Neil and Apollo Crews), defeating them on the August 20 episode of Raw to end their feud.^[12] On the September 3 episode of Raw, The Authors of Pain, now under the shortened name of AOP, were accompanied to the ring by Drake Maverick, who announced himself as their new manager.^[13]

On the November 5 episode of Raw, AOP defeated Seth Rollins in a handicap match to win the Raw Tag Team Championship.^[14][15] At Survivor Series, they defeated SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bar in an interbrand match.^[16][17] The following night on Raw, AOP suffered an upset loss to the team of Bobby Roode and Chad Gable, marking their first loss on the main roster.^[18] On the December 10 episode of Raw, they lost their tag titles to Roode and Gable in a three-on-two handicap match that also involved their manager Maverick, ending their reign at 35 days.^[19] After this, the team went on hiatus due to Akam having knee surgery in January 2019.^[20] Maverick would subsequently go in his own direction, maintaining his duties as the 205 Live General Manager and then chasing after the WWE 24/7 Championship introduced in May.^[21] AOP returned during the 51-Man Battle Royal at Super ShowDown on June 7, but they were both eliminated during the match.^[22]

On the September 16 episode of Raw, AOP, without Maverick, returned in a vignette, where they called out the tag team division for being soft and weak and announced their intentions of returning.^[23] The following week, they would attack Heath Slater and No Way Jose backstage.^[24] During the 2019 draft, AOP went undrafted, becoming free agents and able to choose which brand to sign with, however, three days after the draft's conclusion, AOP signed with Raw to remain on the brand.^[25]

Seth Rollins' enforcers (2019–2020)

They made their in-ring return on the November 25 episode of Raw, defeating Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder.^[26] Later that night, they interrupted the main event between Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins by attacking Owens, but refused to attack Rollins.^[27] On the December 9 episode of Raw, AOP joined forces with Rollins to attack Owens backstage, confirming their association.^[28] On the January 13, 2020 episode of Raw, Buddy Murphy would assist AOP and Rollins in their tag team match against Owens, Big Show and Samoa Joe, therefore aligning himself with the faction as their new member.^[29] On the March 9 episode of Raw, AOP along with Rollins and Murphy assaulted Owens backstage and later that same night they teamed with Rollins and Murphy to defeat The Street Profits and The Viking Raiders in what would be their final appearances in WWE.^[30][31]

On March 10, it was reported that Rezar suffered a biceps injury, therefore putting the team on hiatus.^[32] On September 4, both Akam and Rezar were released from their WWE contracts.^[33][34]

Independent circuit (2022–present)

In May 2022, Sunny Dhinsa and Gzim Selmani, now known as Legion of Pain, have announced the launch of their professional wrestling promotion, Wrestling Entertainment Series (WES).^[35]

Other media

Akam and Rezar made their video game debut as playable characters with Paul Ellering appearing as their manager in WWE 2K18, they also appear as playable characters in WWE 2K19, WWE 2K20 and WWE 2K Battlegrounds.

Championship and accomplishments

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Ranked Akam No. 204 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2018^[36]
  • Ranked Rezar No. 211 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2018^[36]
• WWE
  • NXT Tag Team Championship (1 time)^[37][38]
  • WWE Raw Tag Team Championship (1 time)^[39]
  • Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (2016)^[40][41]

References

1. "Legend, bald beauty, and snazzy dresser, Paul Ellering appears after a mysterious duo attacks American Alpha: NXT TakeOver: The End..." WWE. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
2. Tylwalk, Nick (April 3, 2016). "NXT: Finn Balor finds out what's next". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
3. Fiorvanti, Tim (November 19, 2016). "NXT Takeover Toronto: Match recaps and ratings". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
4. Powell, Jason. "1/28 Powell's NXT Takeover: San Antonio Live Review – Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bobby Roode for the NXT Title, DIY vs. Authors of Pain for the NXT Tag Titles, Asuka vs. Nikki Cross vs. Billie Kay vs. Peyton Royce for the NXT Women's Title". Pro Wreslting Dot Net. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
5. James, Justin (April 1, 2017). "NXT TAKEOVER REPORT 4/2: Ongoing coverage of event headlined with Nakamura vs. Roode live from Orlando". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
6. Silverstein, Adam (May 21, 2017). "NXT TakeOver: Chicago results, review -- Outstanding matches, a monster heel turn". CBS Sports. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
7. "NXT results, July 26, 2017: Hideo Itami puts his friendship with Kassius Ohno to sleep". WWE. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
8. "NXT results, Aug. 9, 2017: Fiery Zelina Vega guides Andrade "Cien" Almas to big victory and TakeOver: Brooklyn III match". WWE. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
9. Winter, Arya (August 19, 2017). "NXT TakeOver Brooklyn III live results: Bobby Roode vs. Drew McIntyre". Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
10. Benigno, Anthony. "The Authors of Pain def. Heath Slater & Rhyno". WWE.com. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
11. Keller, Wade (April 9, 2018). "Keller's WWE Raw report 4/9: The Day After WrestleMania 34 Edition with Reigns-Lesnar and Rousey fallout". Pro Wrestling Torch. from the original on April 10, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
12. Powell, Jason (August 20, 2018). "8/20 Powell's WWE Raw Live TV Review: The night after WWE SummerSlam, new champions Roman Reigns and Ronda Rousey, Triple H appearance, Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
13. "AOP def. Keith Thompson & Jimmy James". WWE.com. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
14. Powell, Jason. "11/05 Powell's WWE Raw Live TV Review: Survivor Series developments, Raw Tag Title match, Riott Squad vs. Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Natalya, Dolph Ziggler vs. Elias, Nia Jax vs. Ember Moon, Bobby Lashley vs. Finn Balor". Pro Wreslting Dot Net. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
15. Trionfo, Richard (November 5, 2018). "WWE RAW REPORT: WE HAVE CAPTAINS, BRAUN IS ON A QUEST FOR TREASURE, A NEW TEAM FORMS, TAG TITLE MATCH, AND MORE". PWInsider. from the original on January 29, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
16. Melok, Bobby. "Raw Tag Team Champions AOP def. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bar (w/Big Show)". WWE. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
17. Powell, Jason. "Powell's WWE Survivor Series live review: WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. WWE Champion Daniel Bryan, Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair in a non-title match, Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins vs. U.S. Champion Shinsuke Nakamura". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
18. Powell, Jason (November 19, 2018). "11/19 Powell's WWE Raw Live TV Review: The night after Survivor Series, Braun Strowman finds out when he'll get his matches with Brock Lesnar and Baron Corbin, the build to WWE TLC begins". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
19. Powell, Jason. "12/10 Powell's WWE Raw Live TV Review: Seth Rollins on Dean Ambrose and the state of Raw, Alexa Bliss hosts a Ronda Rousey and Nia Jax press conference, final hype for WWE TLC". Pro Wreslting Dot Net. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
20. "Report: Akam Of The Authors Of Pain Cleared To Return To In-Ring Competition - Fightful Wrestling". www.fightful.com.
21. "LESNAR CASH IN? WWE Raw 6/3/19 Full Show Review & Results | Fightful Wrestling Podcast". www.fightful.com.
22. P., Leon (June 8, 2019). "There Were Actually 51 Competitors in the Super ShowDown Battle Royal, Complete List". PWInsider. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
23. Powell, Jason (September 16, 2019). "9/16 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Chad Gable vs. Baron Corbin in King of the Ring tournament finals, the Street Profits hosting a gender reveal party for Maria Kanellis's baby, the begin of the Hell in a Cell build". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
24. Powell, Jason (September 23, 2019). "9/23 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of AJ Styles vs. Ricochet vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Robert Roode in a five-way for a shot at the WWE Universal Championship, Sasha Banks vs. Nikki Cross, Chad Gable vs. Baron Corbin in a rematch of the KOTR final". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
25. "Breaking news regarding WWE Crown Jewel, free agency and the Intercontinental Title: WWE Now". WWE. October 17, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
26. Benigno, Anthony. "AOP def. Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins". wwe.com. WWE. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
27. Powell, Jason (November 25, 2019). "11/25 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of the night after Survivor Series edition with AJ Styles vs. a four-way winner for the U.S. Championship, Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka, Seth Rollins' town hall meeting". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
28. Powell, Jason (December 9, 2019). "12/09 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Rey Mysterio vs. AJ Styles for the U.S. Championship, Rusev and Lana divorce, the brand's final push for the WWE TLC pay-per-view". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
29. Powell, Jason. "01/13 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Seth Rollins and AOP vs. Big Show, Samoa Joe, and Kevin Owens in a fistfight, Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles vs. Drew McIntyre, Aleister Black vs. Buddy Murphy, and Rusev vs. Bobby Lashley, Brock Lesnar latest appearance". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
30. Benigno, Anthony. "Seth Rollins, Murphy & AOP def. Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits & The Viking Raiders". wwe.com. WWE. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
31. Powell, Jason (March 9, 2020). "3/9 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Edge returning following Randy Orton's attack on Beth Phoenix, Rey Mysterio vs. Angel Garza, Drew McIntyre in action, the build to WrestleMania kicks in". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
32. "Rezar Sustained Arm Injury During WWE Raw". Fightful. 10 March 2020.
33. "Akam and Rezar released". WWE. September 4, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
34. Defelice, Robert (September 4, 2020). "WWE Release Akam & Rezar Of AOP". Fightful. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
35. "First show from AOP's new promotion features return of Nia Jax & Lana, debut of Alistair Overeem". cagesideseats.com. May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
36. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2018". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
37. "NXT TakeOver: San Antonio results". WWE. January 28, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
38. "NXT Tag Team Championship". World Wrestling Entertainment. January 28, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
39. "WWE Raw Tag Team Championship". World Wrestling Entertainment. November 5, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
40. Pappolla, Ryan (November 19, 2016). "The Authors of Pain def. TM61 to win the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic with Paul Ellering suspended above the ring in the Crash Cage". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
41. Kreikenbohm, Philip (November 19, 2016). "Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (2016)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved February 20, 2021.

External links

• Akam on WWE.com
• Rezar on WWE.com