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Akam and Rezar, collectively known in WWE as The Authors of Pain, or AOP for short, appeared in a vignette on WWE RAW this week teasing their return to television.
The duo are best known for their time in NXT, where they dominated the tag team division and won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic back in 2016. The big win led to an NXT Tag Team title win for AOP, and they would go on to have classic match-ups and rivalries on the Wednesday night brand.
AOP was originally managed by Paul Ellering, but when the team was called up to the main roster, they ditched Ellering in favor of 205 Live GM Drake Maverick. AOP had moderate success as main roster stars following their debut, and lost significant momentum when Akam had to take time off due to injury.
AOP appeared on WWE RAW this week teasing new characters and a gimmick change, so let's take a look at 5 things you did not know about The Authors of Pain.
#5 Both Akam and Rezar have appeared on the PWI 500 list
Akam and Rezar join the unique club of tag team wrestlers who are considered super heavyweights, but are very agile given their size.
While in NXT, AOP has had some classic matchups against tag teams such as SAnitY, Jason Jordan and Chad Gable, and the current SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Revival.
As a result of their abilities, in 2018, Akam ranked number 204 on the renowned PWI 500 list which ranks pro wrestlers across all promotions. In the same year, Rezar ranked number 211 on the highly respected list.
With AOP set to return to action in the coming weeks, it will be interesting to see on which brand they are featured as SmackDown Live prepares to move to FOX Sports.
#4 Akam is Canadian and Rezar is Dutch
AOP members Akam and Rezar are billed as being from India and Albania, respectively, but Akam, real name Sunny Dhinsa, is actually Canadian-born, hailing from Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada.
The 26-year-old AOP member went to college at Simon Fraser University, and made his WWE Performance Center debut in April of 2015.
As for Rezar, his real name is Gzim Selmani, and the 25-year-old was actually born in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
When the two stars debuted on WWE NXT TV, they were packaged as a team of military-style fighters, who dominated the tag team division with emphasis on their size and strength. The two never spoke, as they were represented by Paul Ellering, and on the main roster by Drake Maverick, who did the talking for the tag team.
However, in the promo which aired on WWE RAW this week promoting their returns, Akam and Rezar can be heard speaking Punjabi and Albanian. Punjabi is a language spoken in India, from which a lot of pro wrestlers, such as Jinder Mahal and Mahabali Shera originally hail. Canada, where Akam is from, is also populated with many people of Punjabi descent.
#3 Akam turned down competing in the Olympics in favor of signing with WWE
Akam attended Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, and was an accomplished amateur wrestler.
In the heavyweight category, Akam was the Canadian national freestyle wrestling Champion in 2011, 2012 and 2013, and at the Canada Summer Games in 2009 he won a gold medal in the 115 kg category. Akam also won the silver medal at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara.
In 2012, Akam participated in the qualification trials for the Summer Olympics, but lost a match to Dremiel Byers and was not selected for the Games.
In 2016, Akam was considered a prospect for the Summer Olympics, but instead chose to accept an offer from WWE in 2014, effectively ending his career as an amateur wrestler. Akam was scouted for a possible WWE career by Hall of Famer Gerald Brisco, and Brisco's work ended up landing Akam a contract offer to join the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.
Upon arriving in WWE, Akam was not initially paired up with Rezar, and made his in-ring debut at an NXT house show in Orlando, Florida on April 4th, 2015. Akam competed in a battle royal match which ended up being won by current WWE SmackDown Live Tag Team Champion Scott Dawson.
#2 Rezar is an accomplished MMA fighter
While Akam is an accomplished amateur wrestler who was on his way to competing at the Olympics before signing with WWE, Rezar is also accomplished outside of WWE, having enjoyed a successful MMA career before signing with WWE and the Performance Center.
Rezar, who is an ethnic Kosovo Albanian, began practicing judo at the age of four, and then started training in kickboxing at the age of 12.
At the age of 15, Rezar and his brother began their Mixed Martial Arts training, and Rezar later became a professional Kickboxing Champion after winning an eight-man tournament which took place in in Bremerhaven, Germany.
In 2012, Rezar began competing in MMA tournaments after signing with the Golden Glory management team, and he currently holds an impressive 6-2 MMA record.
Rezar's most high profile MMA bout came in 2014, when he competed for Bellator MMA at the promotion's 130 event, but he lost his fight to Daniel Gallemore via TKO. Shortly after his loss at Bellator 130, Rezar signed a contract with WWE, effectively ending his MMA career and enlisting him at the Performance Center in Orlando. Rezar debuted in NXT in 2015.
#1 AOP have won tag team gold in WWE and in NXT
Many WWE fans might not remember AOP's short-lived initial run on the main roster, but the team was actually able to win the RAW Tag Team titles during the brief run, and the win came on November 5th, 2018, when the team defeated Seth Rollins in a Handicap match to win RAW gold.
At WWE Survivor Series later that month, AOP defeated then-SmackDown Live Tag Team Champions Sheamus and Cesaro, in a Champion vs Champion match at the PPV. AOP's RAW Tag Team title reign came to an end in December of 2018 when they lost a three-on-two Handicap match to Bobby Roode and Chad Gable.
The finish of the match saw Drake Maverick, who was AOP's manager at the time, take the pinfall which resulted in both the match and title loss. Following the loss, AOP took time off television as Akam underwent surgery to repair a knee injury
In addition to winning the Tag Team titles on RAW, AOP have also won the NXT Tag Team titles, and are the winners of the 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in NXT, defeating TM-61 in the finals at NXT Takeover Toronto.
Do you know of any other interesting AOP facts? Let us know in the comment section and be sure to follow Sportskeeda Wrestling and Sportskeeda MMA on Twitter for all the latest news. Do not miss out!
