Authors of Pain’s Rezar Details WWE Release Stemming From Clash With Wyatt Sicks

A house show incident led to The Authors of Pain departing WWE in early 2025. Gzim Selmani, known as Rezar of The Authors of Pain, recently discussed the circumstances surrounding the team’s release during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, attributing it to a disagreement with a member of The Wyatt Sicks during a December 2024 WWE Holiday Tour.

Incident During Live Event

Selmani explained that a member of The Wyatt Sicks attempted to alter the planned sequence of moves mid-match during a live event. “Yeah, there was an incident. Very unprofessional from one of those guys, I don’t know their names,” Selmani stated. “I don’t wish to go into it too deeply, but there was an incident at one of the Holiday Tours that we did. Somebody tried to switch up the match during the match. And that’s just a no-go for me, especially if you’ve just been in the company for a little bit and we were already there for a long time. You don’t do that.”

Backstage Confrontation

The attempted in-match change led to a backstage argument. Selmani emphasized his professionalism, stating he is willing to take physical risks in the ring, but objected to a competitor unilaterally changing the match structure. “They tried to switch up the match in the middle of the match,” Selmani said. “So, you know, I’m a professional, even if I gotta take a beating in the wrestling ring, I do it. And if you’re going to be a scared little, you know, b*tch, then it’s not my fault, you know? I will let you know backstage.”

WWE Response and Release

Selmani indicated that he informed WWE officials about the incident, which ultimately resulted in the release of The Authors of Pain. WWE reportedly viewed the situation as a breach of company conduct.^[1]

Transition to Bare Knuckle Fighting and Reflections on WWE

Following his departure from WWE, Selmani has found success in bare-knuckle fighting, recently scoring a second-round knockout in his debut with the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC).^[2] He expressed contentment with his current path, suggesting he was never fully comfortable with professional wrestling. He also voiced his belief that WWE did not fully utilize the potential of Karrion Kross, stating, “Same thing with him, man. He got promised so f***ing much. They dropped the ball on that guy.”

Authors of Pain’s WWE History

The Authors of Pain (AOP), consisting of Akam and Rezar, had two runs with WWE. They initially debuted in NXT in 2016, winning the NXT Tag Team Championship. ^[3] They were later promoted to the Raw brand in 2018, becoming one-time Raw Tag Team Champions. The team experienced a hiatus in 2019 and later aligned with Seth Rollins before their first release in September 2020. They briefly returned to WWE in 2023, joining Karrion Kross and Scarlett in the stable The Final Testament before their second release in 2025.

In May 2022, Akam and Rezar, operating as Legion of Pain, launched their own professional wrestling promotion, Wrestling Entertainment Series (WES). ^[3]