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What's the story?
The Authors of Pain have made it to the top of the Raw Tag Team Division, capturing the Raw Tag Team Championships thanks to their new manager Drake Maverick. The former Rockstar Spud has had a pretty successful 2018, but Chris Jericho doesn't think he fits with Akam and Rezar.
In case you didn't know...
The Authors of Pain debuted in NXT back in 2016, wiping out American Alpha, who had just lost the NXT Tag Team Championships to The Revival. As they left Chad Gable and Jason Jordan laying in a heap, they were met at the top of the ramp by legendary manager Paul Ellering.
Ellering is best known for leading the Legion of Doom, AKA the Road Warriors, on a dominant run for nearly two decades. With Ellering at their side, Akam and Rezar quickly captured tag team gold, dominating American Alpha, The Revival, and #DIY throughout 2016 and 2017. AOP held the titles for 203 days before eventually dropping them to SANitY.
AOP also dominated the 2016 Dusty Rhodes Classic and made it to the finals of the 2018 tournament before falling to the Undisputed Era. With the two young bulls running rampant on NXT, their confidence turned to arrogance on the main roster, as they quickly dropped Paul Ellering as their manager.
The heart of the matter
After leaving Ellering behind, AOP was rarely seen much on Monday nights until a certain General Manager noticed their talent. Drake Maverick decided to manage the duo and promised to make them tag team champions in mere months. Though he accomplished his goal, some people feel he's not the right fit, including Y2J.
On the latest Talk is Jericho, Chris Jericho made very clear how he felt about Drake Maverick leading the Authors of Pain. While he thinks Akam and Rezar work well together, AOP dropping Paul Ellering for the 205 Live General Manager made no sense to him.
AOP...in NXT they were managed by Paul Ellering who used to manage the Road Warriors. Now, they bring them to the main roster and they fire Paul Ellering. This is nothing against Rockstar Spud...Here's my problem. Why would these two behemoths listen to this little... he looks like he's a model from a teen magazine. They'd listen to the grizzled old vet of Paul Ellering, but why would they listen to Drake Maverick?
Jericho didn't let up and continued to harp on WWE's decision to replace Ellering with Drake Maverick.
H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
What's next?
Drake Maverick led the Authors of Pain to victory over The Bar last night at Survivor Series, even if he did soil himself in the process. Since joining forces with Maverick, AOP has completely destroyed anyone that they've come across, and they'll look to continue their dominance tonight.
Do you agree with Chris Jericho's statements? Is Drake Maverick a bad fit for AOP? Let us know in the comments below.
