Backstage Notes From WWE SmackDown, Note on First AOP Loss in Years

– During last Friday’s edition of WWE SmackDown, Grayson Waller and Austin Theory beat The OC in a WrestleMania Tag Team Title Qualifying match, with the winners ending the Ladder Match for the Undisputed Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania 40. Fightful Select notes that the match was much more different than usual because The OC’s Luke Gallows was taking the heat during the match. This is a deviation from the usual WWE match formula.

– Fightful Select also reports that WWE is now listing Rezar and Akkam internally as Authors of Pain instead of AOP. Previously, they were being listed as AOP during their last WWE run. The Street Profits beat The Authors of Pain last Friday on WWE SmackDown in another WrestleMania Tag Team Title Qualifying Match. As noted by Fightful, this is the first time the Authors of Pain lost in a traditional two-on-two tag team match since November 2018. They lost the WWE Raw Tag Team Titles to Robert Roode and Chad Gable in a Three on Two Handicap Match where they also teamed with Drake Maverick.