Akam

In October 2014, Akam was reported to have signed a contract with WWE and would report to the WWE Performance Center. He made his in-ring debut at an *NXT* house show in Orlando, Florida on April 4, 2015 (under the name **Sunny Dhinsa**), competing in a battle royal, which was won by Scott Dawson. By February 2016, Dhinsa had formed a tag team with Gzim Selmani and they became known as the Authors of Pain in April 2016.

Dhinsa and Selmani (billed as **Akam** and Rezar) made their televised *NXT* debuts on June 8, 2016 at NXT TakeOver: The End; following the NXT Tag Team Championship match, they attacked former champions American Alpha (Chad Gable and Jason Jordan) before being joined on stage by veteran manager Paul Ellering. The duo had a push during his time in *NXT*, winning the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, after defeating TM-61 at NXT TakeOver: Toronto and winning the NXT Tag Team Championships at NXT TakeOver: San Antonio when they defeated #DIY. The duo retained the titles at NXT TakeOver: Orlando (by defeating #DIY and The Revival in a triple threat tag team elimination match by eliminating both teams) and NXT TakeOver: Chicago (by defeating #DIY) in a ladder match to retain the titles. The duo turned face on the August 9 edition of *NXT* after being attacked by SAnitY. At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III, the Authors of Pain lost the titles to SAnitY. At NXT TakeOver: WarGames, Authors of Pain and Roderick Strong competed in a three-team WarGames match which was won by The Undisputed Era. At NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, Authors of Pain got a rematch but failed to win back the titles. At NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, Authors of Pain competed in a Triple threat tag team match for the NXT Tag Team Championship and Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic trophy, which was won by The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly).

On the April 9 episode of Raw, The Authors of Pain, along with Ellering, made their main roster debut, defeating Heath Slater and Rhyno. After the match, Akam and Rezar ended their partnership with Ellering by pushing him away and leaving him ringside as they returned backstage. On the September 3 episode of *Raw*, The Authors of Pain, now under the shortened name of "AOP", were accompanied to the ring by the 205 Live General Manager, Drake Maverick, who announced himself as their new manager.

On the November 5 episode of Raw, The Authors of Pain defeated Seth Rollins in a handicap match to win the Raw Tag Team Championship for the first time. They went on to defeat *SmackDown*'s Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Sheamus in an interbrand Champion vs Champion match at Survivor Series. They lost the titles to Bobby Roode and Chad Gable on the December 10 episode of Raw. In January 2019, Akam suffered an undisclosed leg injury that reportedly would keep him out for “at least a few months”. He would be cleared to return to action in May.. He and Rezar returned to action at Super ShowDown on June 7th, 2019 in a losing effort in WWE's first ever 50-man battle royal.

In September 2019, AOP began appearing in vignettes, warning of their return. During the 2019 WWE Draft in October, AOP went undrafted, becoming free agents and able to choose which brand to sign with. Three days after the draft's conclusion, AOP signed with Raw, remaining on the brand. Afterwards, they aligned with Seth Rollins after they helped beat down Kevin Owens on the *Raw* after Survivor Series. In March 2020, it was reported that Rezar suffered a bicep injury, therefore putting the team on hiatus. On September 4, 2020, AOP were released from their WWE contracts before returning to television.

During the December 22, 2023 episode of *SmackDown*, Akam and Rezar were shown in a vignette alongside Karrion Kross and Scarlett, signaling their return to the company. The following week, during *SmackDown* New Year's Revolution on January 5, 2024, AOP officially returned alongside Kross, Scarlett and their old manager Paul Ellering, and attacked Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford).