Backstage Update On Former Tag Champs The Authors Of Pain Potentially Re-Joining WWE

Earlier this year, news emerged that WWE was looking to bring back the Authors of Pain, Akam and Rezar. The former "NXT" and "Raw" Tag Team Champions weren't looking to come back alone, either, as it was later suggested that former manager Paul Ellering was said to have been involved in negotiating a new WWE contract for all three. It now appears Ellering may have helped negotiate a deal for them far sooner than anyone previously thought.

Fightful Select reports that some within WWE believe that AOP have not only signed with WWE, but have in fact been signed with the promotion since some point in 2022. In addition, PWInsider Elite reports that there has been talk backstage lately about the duo, and Ellering, making appearances in September, likely on the "NXT" brand. The signing, which Fightful could not confirm, was said to have taken place before Vince McMahon returned to take control of the company in January and well before the Endeavor/WWE merger was announced in April.

Despite many in WWE believing AOP had been signed, with the team even being listed on WWE's internal travel list all the way back in May, Akam, Rezar, and Ellering have yet to make any appearance for WWE in 2023. No explanation was given by Fightful for why the trio has been kept off TV or when they could possibly re-debut, though discussions have apparently been had about them being used sooner than later.

Whenever they turn up, it will be Akam and Rezar's first match for any promotion since March 2020, when they competed in an eight-man tag team match. The duo attempted to make a comeback in 2022 with their own wrestling promotion, Wrestling Entertainment Series, but the promotion would ultimately vanish prior to their first show following financial issues.