WWE had high hopes for the Authors of Pain after they made their main roster debut and for good reason. Akam and Rezar, with Paul Ellering by their side, dominated the tag team division in NXT as they won the Dusty Rhodes Classic in 2016 and then had a seven month reign as NXT Tag Team champions in 2017. They then made their Raw debuts on the night after WrestleMania where the two behemeths then dropped Ellering as their manager.

But since then, appearances by the duo have been few and far between. They've rarely been seen on Raw, and outside of appearing on Main Event, AOP has been MIA. We are now finding out why the two have been absent from television as John Pollack via The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that one of the members had a visa issue. That issue has now been resolved, but the creative team is waiting on bringing them back since the current "it" tag team on Raw is Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre. Add in the unexpected push of the B Team and there just aren't enough high-profile spots for Raw tag teams.

Once the push for one of those aforementioned tag teams runs its course (likely the B Team), WWE then plans on re-inserting AOP into the spotlight on Raw. Until then they'll just be sitting on the sideline, collecting 'dem checks and waiting on the green light from creative.

As for Ellering, who was dropped right after AOP got the call-up, Triple H reportedly still has plans for the Hall of Famer. Triple H took part in a media conference call in which he discussed NXT TakeOver: Chicago and addressed Ellering's WWE future.

"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.'"

So, it appears both Ellering and AOP are just waiting "for the right thing" before their returns.

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