10 Most Improved Wrestlers Of 2017
3. The Authors Of Pain
This time last year, The Authors Of Pain were nothing more than a pair of green stiffs who looked grossly overmatched in NXT's talent-rich tag division. Their work wasn't terrible, but the inexperienced Akam and Rezar were sloppy, uncoordinated, and occasionally dangerous, having injured a pair of enhancement talents after a botched powerbomb at last November's tapings.
They've since become one of the most compelling tag teams in the entire company. It began with a strong performance against Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa at TakeOver: San Antonio, and escalated in April, when they faced both DIY and The Revival in Orlando. The three-way ladder match was their coming out party. Sure, they were in there with four incredibly talented (and experienced) competitors, but the bout was built around their monstrous qualities, and they shone.
An outstanding follow-up against DIY in Chicago followed, and the Authors even dragged a compelling bout out of the wholly uninteresting Sanity in Brooklyn. Brutal, ferocious, and imposing, their role as NXT's alpha duo is well established, but Akam & Rezar are so much more than plodding bruisers, now bringing an impressive array of dynamic tag moves to the table. Add their size to the equation, and The Authors Of Pain's ceiling looks very, very high.