As most wrestling fans must know by now, the Authors of Pain, Akam and Rezar, were cut by the powers that be this week. The AOP had a good run in NXT and looked destined for big things. Although they were green talents, they had a good look, a lot of pure power, and perhaps most importantly, the leadership of tag team impresario Paul Ellering. When they were called up to WWE Raw, they promptly dropped Ellering. The AOP, while still imposing in the ring, had lost their mouthpiece and, maybe even more importantly, the co-sign of a legend in the business. Paul Ellering managed the Road Warriors throughout their glory years, and his presence gave the AOP a gravity that a pair of rookies would not have had on their own.
The AOP made their way to a quick run as Raw champions. Later on, the AOP served as disciples/muscle for the Monday Night Messiah, Seth Rollins. I liked this role for the big men because Seth could talk and they were really intimidating as the muscle standing in the back. What led to the AOP being cut? First, they were never the same without Ellering. Vince McMahon notoriously does not like the idea of managers in modern wrestling, even when they seem to be working (Paul Heyman has been an exception to this rule). Perhaps more importantly, each member of the team has been injured for extended periods of time. We’ve seen prolonged injuries hurt wrestlers’ careers before (Wade Barrett comes to mind), but we’ve also seen wrestlers like Dolph Ziggler or the Usos continually come back after being hurt. Why do you think AOP got cut? Do you think they will turn up elsewhere in the wrestling world?
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