Highlights
- Authors of Pain have been re-signed by WWE and are likely to make their return soon, possibly on the NXT brand.
- However, a new report has claimed that WWE actually signed the pair to contracts several months ago, potentially even in 2022
- AOP were released by WWE in 2020, and will become the latest stars to make their returns and be rehired by the company
Following on from reports of Authors of Pain returning to WWE, we may now know what brand they are likely to appear on.
Yesterday, Fightful reported that AOP had been re-signed by WWE, something which may have even taken place as far back as last year.
The report claims that the deal may have been kept 'secret', but could be made public soon, with the tag team nearing a return.
Are Authors of Pain returning to WWE?
News of AOP signing contracts with WWE last year aligns with the earlier reports that Vince McMahon’s return to WWE’s Board of Directors in late December saw the implementation of a hiring freeze.
The freeze restricted the likes of Jay White and Kota Ibushi from joining WWE, but Triple H seemed to have completed the deals to bring Authors of Pain back before his hirings began to be restricted.
The pair captured fans’ attention during their initial stint in NXT, winning the 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and earning the black and gold brand’s tag team titles along the way.
Though, AOP also spent a considerable amount of time appearing on Monday Night Raw, where it took them quite some time to get going.
In typical call-up fashion, AOP debuted on the episode of Raw immediately following WrestleMania 34, where the talented tag team quickly dispatched of former SmackDown Tag Team Champions Heath Slater and Rhyno in their debut in under a minute.
From there, a notable point of their run on the main roster was their Raw Tag Team Championship victory, coming in a two-on-one handicap match as the pair brutalised Seth Rollins when he was determined to defend the titles after his then-tag parter Dean Ambrose had turned on him.
Interestingly, that wouldn’t be the only interaction that the Authors of Pain would have with Rollins in their run.
During the pandemic, when the four-time world champion was in the midst of his ‘Messiah’ gimmick, he would recruit the tag team to be part of his ‘disciples’, though, this isn’t something that lasted long.
What are WWE's plans for the Authors of Pain?
Unfortunately, the pair were released in September 2020. However, as mentioned, Fightful is reporting that the Authors of Pain have been re-signed by WWE.
That's not all, as PWInsider is reporting noting that they are likely to land on NXT when they are re-introduced to the company, and it could happen pretty soon.
There has been a lot of talk within the last week about The Authors of Pain and Paul Ellering returning to make some WWE appearances soon, most likely for the WWE NXT brand. We first heard the talk about three weeks back and over the last 24 hours there was discussions backstage at last night’s NXT taping about them possibly making appearances next month.
NXT themselves have been on a hot streak as of late, and, in terms of signings, it’s widely expected that former AEW talent Brian Pillman Jr. will be debuting for the developmental brand soon, after recently signing a WWE contract.
As always, should anything change regarding AOP’s status with WWE and plans for their re-debut, GiveMeSport will keep you informed.