Booker T Says These Recently Released Former WWE Stars Would Be 'Perfect' Fit In 1995

Last week, WWE underwent another round of cuts, with the likes of Blair Davenport, Isla Dawn, Paul Ellering, the Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) and more released from their contracts. WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has since weighed in on the affected talent, two of whom he believes would have been better served in a different period of time.

"[The Authors of Pain] are too damn big. There's nothing you can do with guys like that," Booker said on "The Hall of Fame" podcast. "They're too big, they're too bulky. I mean, who you gonna put them with? It's stuff like that. They didn't do anything wrong, I don't think, but it's just being [in the wrong time]. For instance, if they were in 1995, they would have been perfect. They'd have been perfect for the job, but I think that they're just coming in at the wrong place at the wrong time of life."

Following their initial exit from the company in 2020, Akam and Rezar returned to WWE programming alongside Paul Ellering in January 2024, joining forces with Karrion Kross and Scarlett. Together, the five were known as The Final Testament.

During their run, The Final Testament notably feuded with Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits, whom Kross and AOP later faced in a Philadelphia Street Fight at WrestleMania 40. Elsewhere, the quintet rivaled the Wyatt Sicks, led by Uncle Howdy (aka Bo Dallas). The factions most recently met at a December WWE live event in Chicago, with the Wyatt Sicks' Dexter Lumis, Erick Rowan, Joe Gacy and Nikki Cross taking on Kross, Scarlett, and AOP in a mixed-tag competition. This would mark AOP's penultimate appearance for WWE, as their final match aired on "WWE Main Event" a few days later.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The Hall of Fame" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.