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Road Dogg worked with dozens of superstars during his time on WWE's creative team in the 2010s. On a recent podcast episode, he explained why he would like to see the Authors of Pain (AOP) on television again.
Akam and Rezar worked for WWE between 2016 and 2020. The former NXT and RAW Tag Team Champions reportedly re-signed with the company in 2022. However, they have not yet appeared on WWE programming.
Road Dogg recapped Survivor Series 2018 on the latest episode of his Oh You Didn't Know? podcast. Discussing AOP's match against Cesaro and Sheamus at the event, the 54-year-old said he is a fan of Seth Rollins' former on-screen allies:
"I'm a tag team guy," Road Dogg stated. "I love the dudes. I know they're not twins, but for me you have twin magic in the men's category, and they're both big, huge guys, international dudes, that were really learning how to work on a high level down there in NXT with the teams they were working with, and the production rate at which they were learning. Holy mackerel, the sky was the limit. I'm a fan. I'd love to see those guys back." [20:49 – 21:31]
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AOP's last match for WWE took place on the March 9, 2020, episode of RAW. They teamed up with Murphy and Rollins to defeat The Street Profits and The Viking Raiders.
Why AOP left WWE
Following their final match, Akam and Rezar were removed from television due to the latter sustaining a legitimate biceps injury. On September 4, 2020, they received their release from the company.
Akam later explained in an interview with Ango that AOP left because they wanted to prioritize their families during the pandemic.
"There was no ill will, nothing negative about it. It was a time when COVID had just started and we were actually in a pretty big storyline at the time, but what happened was we couldn't travel anymore (…) COVID was very, very strong. We were asked to do something, go back, but we opted out of it. We didn't feel comfortable doing it."
Akam and Rezar are best remembered for their imposing presence and physical in-ring style. They were managed by Paul Ellering in NXT and Drake Maverick on the main roster.
Would you like to see AOP on television again? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Oh You Didn't Know? and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
