Authors of Pain almost quit WWE on main roster day over Ellering

The Authors of Pain nearly walked away from WWE on their first day on the main roster in April 2018 after being told their longtime manager, Paul Ellering, would not be joining them, one member of the former tag team said in a recent interview. Rezar said he and partner Akam were so frustrated by the decision that they considered handing in resignation letters immediately but were persuaded by Ellering to give the move a chance.

"That was the day that we were deciding to stop with WWE," Rezar, whose given name is Gzim Selmani, said. "We were just called up. And the first day at the main roster, they were telling us, You have to leave Paul Ellering. Me and my tag team partner Akam, Sonny, he said, Yo, lets just give our resignation letter and just leave." Rezar said Ellering counseled them to try it out, reminding them of the work that had brought them to the main roster and that they could reunite later.

Rezar attributed the split from Ellering to a creative philosophy at the time, saying the late company leadership preferred younger on-screen talent and sidelined older managers. He framed the change as a top-down decision rather than a personal choice by the team. Those...