6 Ups & 4 Downs From NXT 401

2. Who Are The Authors Of Pain?
NXT401 Authors Of Pain

There will always be a place in professional wrestling for a couple of enormous, scary-looking guys, which is why the Authors of Pain exist. From their awful name to their pairing with an underused Paul Ellering, the AoP are as generic as monster heels come.

They've been around a while now and as holders of the NXT tag titles you'd think there would be something more done with them, but they're the exact same bowling-ball shaped behemoths they were when they debuted.

The Authors of Pain are still very much learning their craft, so it's not surprising they haven't been given too much creative weight to bear, but Ellering's presence hasn't done anything to give them a personality or motivation beyond battering whatever's in front of them. To move beyond the old-school Big Evil Guy gimmick they need to either undergo a change or deepen the audience's understanding of who they are - they need to turn on Ellering, gain some distinctive mannerisms or just explain why they do what they do.

As it is, the Authors of Pain aren't much more than a pair of props for faces to clamber over or get crushed beneath.

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Contributor

Ben Counter is a fantasy and science fiction writer, gaming enthusiast, wrestling fan and miniature painting guru. He was raised on Warhammer, Star Wars and 1980s cartoons that, in retrospect, were't that good. Whoever you are, he is nerdier than you.