Authors Of Pain And Paul Ellering WWE Status Updates
The Authors of Pain have been MIA since being called up to the main roster this past April. The former NXT Tag Team Champions have only wrestled two matches on RAW since their debut match on the show on the April 9th episode, where they defeated Heath Slater & Rhyno. Their last match was on Main Event on May 14th, where they defeated Apollo Crews & Titus O'Neil.
John Pollack, via The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, reported that the team hasn't been around because one of the members has a visa issue. Apparently that issue has been resolved, but they're waiting on bringing them back since the focus is currently on pushing The B Team and Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre. It was noted that the company doesn't want them to be just another team, so they plan to bring them back when they can focus on getting them over.
As noted, Triple H took part in a media conference call on Wednesday to discuss this Saturday's NXT Takeover: Chicago event. During the call, Triple H talked about AOP's manager, Paul Ellering, being split from the team when they made their main roster debut. He said that he wasn't part of the decision making process of whether AOP should come in with Ellering or not. He said that when AOP got the call, he told Paul that he would like to find another role from him when the time was right, but that 'I don't want to do it today because I don't want it to come across as a substitution.'
"I loved what Paul did for us in NXT, and I loved him being part of the brand," Triple H said. "He was great to have around, talent really liked having him around. He really did add something to AOP, both as characters on the show [as] he added credibility to them, but he also added something backstage. I told him then, 'I want to look for something else, I want to look for the right thing and when I have it, I'll give you a ring. If you're still free and available, I'd love to do it.'
You can listen to the full Triple H media call below: