• Why Vince McMahon Removed Paul Ellering As AOP’s Manager
The Authors Of Pain were booked to be a very dominant team when they joined NXT under Triple H. However, things went downhill for them once they arrived on the main roster.
Rezar of AOP recently discussed his time in WWE in an interview with Metro.
The former Tag Team Champion said that the duo almost walked out of WWE during their first run because Vince McMahon found AOP’s manager Paul Ellering too old to be featured on TV.
“That was the day that we were deciding to stop with WWE. The first day at the main roster, they were telling us, ‘You have to leave Paul Ellering.’ And me and my tag team partner Akam… he said, ‘Yo, let’s just give our resignation letter and just leave’. Paul told us, ‘Try it out. I’ve helped you guys to get there, so much hard work, we can always get the band back together later’.
He (Vince) didn’t like older people than him or people his age on the show. He wanted to be the only elderly person who would be in the spotlight at the time.”
Rezar further expressed his disappointment about AOP’s run on the main roster and said the team was never happy there.
“We were never happy on the main roster. We couldn’t do our thing, we felt like a piece was missing.”
AOP’s first run with the company ended when they were released in 2020. They returned in 2024 and were let go once again earlier this year.
• Top Star Says AEW Pays Wrestlers Fairer Share of Revenue Than WWE
WWE has been in a war with AEW since Tony Khan started the Jacksonville-based promotion. There are several things the young company does better than the global giant, which makes it more attractive to wrestlers. But, WWE being a household name gives it a huge advantage against its top rival.
In an interview with Jon-Bernard Kairouz, Bryan Danielson, who has worked for both companies, revealed that AEW pays its stars a fairer share of revenue than WWE, despite the former making less money.
“Wrestlers are being paid more now than ever from a sports rights perspective. So, for example, in most major sports in the United States, the players get anywhere between 40 to 50% of the revenue. WWE was paying their wrestlers nowhere close to that.
Now, keep in mind, they’re still not paying anywhere close to that, but they do have to pay more, because if they don’t, the talent is going to leave and go to AEW. AEW does pay that 40 to 50% of their revenue to their wrestlers. You know, despite making much less money. I mean, our TV rights deal was incredible, but we’re still the challenger brand catching up on however many years WWE has.”
The American Dragon recently questioned why WWE wants to counterprogram AEW, and said that Cody Rhodes would have never become a big star and CM Punk would have never returned to pro wrestling if Tony Khan didn’t start his promotion.
• Triple H Says WWE Has Helped Drive Change For Women In Saudi Arabia
WWE signed a 10-year deal with Saudi Arabia in 2018 under which the company is obligated to hold two Premium Live Events in the kingdom every year. In recent years, they have also held episodes of RAW and SmackDown there.
At the starting of the partnership, women weren’t allowed to compete at the shows in Saudi Arabia. Fortunately, that has changed over the course of time.
Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show this week, WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H said that his company has been a part of creating change for women in Saudi Arabia.
“That’s been their goal since the beginning, to change their perception, to change how they are, to open up that umbrella for women and with the country. It takes time. You can’t just do that stuff all at once, or you alienate all the people that are in front of it and had an old long-standing belief. You’ve got to do it over time.
I truly believe that to initiate change, you got to be a part of it. You can’t just sit back on the sidelines and say, ‘We’re not going to participate in that and these people don’t do things right.’ You need to be there and be part of that change. We’ve been part of that change since the beginning. Proudly been a part of that change.”
WWE will hold Royal Rumble 2026 in Saudi Arabia and is reportedly planning to have WrestleMania 43 there as well.
