Paul Ellering recently appeared on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast where he claimed that he was set to return to WWE programming with The Authors of Pain before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
This was around the time that Rezar suffered a bicep injury in March. This injury put the team on the shelf once again and halted their push on the RAW brand alongside Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that a source told him that Ellering’s name was never brought up for a return with the AOP before the pandemic. It was noted that Vince McMahon didn’t like Ellering, which is why he booked for the AOP to turn on Ellering when they were moved from NXT to the main roster.
Ellering’s claims wouldn’t have been around the time when RAW Executive Director Paul Heyman had plans to give AOP a big push as his top heel tag team. Ultimately, the push fell apart due to Rezar’s injury. That’s when the decision was made to keep Akam off TV until Rezar was able to return.
Regarding when fans can expect to see the tag team back on television, it was noted that they will not be working with Rollins when they return. AOP is expected to be back sometime between late September and the end of this year.
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