Details On The Future of The AOP When They Return, Paul Ellering Reportedly Not Discussed

Paul Ellering recently claimed on The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast earlier this month (via Heel By Nature that he was going to return to WWE full-time to manage the AOP until the pandemic happened, and he has no idea if that’s still the plan because he hasn’t heard from anyone.

He said: “I didn’t expect it at all. Triple H called me and ran through the idea with me. They flew me down to Orlando to meet the Authors of Pain and they are just two fantastic guys. As soon as I met them, I knew I wanted to manage them. I was there to lend them some credibility and help those guys get over, I think we accomplished that in the two years and had a great run in NXT. Well, the idea was to bring me back in to manage them full time on Raw and go on the road with the Authors of Pain, but the pandemic happened. So with Covid going on, I’m not sure what happens next.”

However, The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Ellering’s name has not been mentioned before or after the pandemic because Vince McMahon reportedly doesn’t like him. This is also why the AOP turned on him on their first night on the main roster.

When they were last seen on TV, the AOP were a part of Seth Rollins’ stable and then-RAW executive director Paul Heyman was going to push them as the top heel tag team. Things went south after Rezar suffered a torn biceps and Akam was also removed from TV until their eventual return. It’s believed that will happen sometime between late next month and the end of the year. When that happens, the current plan is they won’t be paired with Rollins again, but this could change.