The Authors of Pain had a forgettable second run.
While Akem and Rezar have been quiet since they release, Paul Ellering hasn't been shy about telling WWE how much they screwed up. During a recent interview with THE HANNIBAL TV, the former WWE manager felt that the duo never got the push that they deserved.
“I thought the writers could have done more with it. There was a lot to do, especially with The Wyatt Family and the timing was right. It just never got the push that it deserved, and Karrion (Kross), he’s a tremendous talent, very good on the mic and Scarlett and him make a good combination, great pair and they’ll do well in the business no matter what they do, because there’s a lot of talent there.”
The former NXT Tag Team Champions made a significant splash during the black and gold era of NXT. The act of Paul Ellering, Akam, and Rezar wasn’t particularly new, but the trio really clicked down in the developmental brand and it helped that Akam and Rezar were proving themselves as solid workers.
Then they went to the main roster.
For some strange reason, AOP were forced to get rid of Ellering. They’re first year on the RAW brand was rather forgettable despite winning the WWE RAW Tag Team titles. Now to the credit of WWE, they did try to elevate AOP when the duo aligned themselves with Seth Rollins in 2019. Unfortunately, the injury bug got the better of the duo on the main roster and they were released in September 2020.
Akam and Rezar returned in 2024 with Ellering and they formed an alliance with Karrion Kross and Scarlett. But the only thing of note that they really did was beat the Wyatt Sicks. In February, Ellering, Akam, and Rezar were released once again despite getting such a huge win over the Wyatt Sicks.
Their second run was somehow worse and it didn’t feel that WWE got the best out of the former NXT Tag Team Champions. Long story short, Paul Ellering is right about WWE not giving them a fair shake in their second stint. Perhaps there’s more to the story on why they didn’t get a better opportunity on the main roster, but there weren't any rumors about Akem or Rezar having heat backstage. For now, it just didn’t seem that Triple H was all that interested in doing much with them.