AOP Exit Linked To Backstage Incident During WWE Holiday Tour

Posted By: Ben Kerin on Mar 17, 2026

The departure of The Authors of Pain from WWE in early 2025 has been linked to an incident that took place during a live event tour in late 2024.

Gzim Selmani, known to WWE fans as Rezar, recently appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show following his successful Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship debut. During the interview, he shed light on the situation that ultimately led to AOP’s exit, pointing to a backstage issue that stemmed from a house show match in December 2024.

At the time, AOP had been working a series of matches against The Wyatt Sicks during the holiday tour loop. According to Selmani, tensions arose when one member of the opposing team attempted to alter the structure of the match while it was already in progress.

“Yeah, there was an incident. Very unprofessional from one of those guys, I don’t know their names,” Selmani said. “I don’t want to go into it too deeply, but there was an incident at one of the Holiday Tours that we did. Somebody tried to switch up the match during the match. And that’s just a no-go for me, especially if you’ve just been in the company for a little bit and we were already there for a long time. You know, you don’t do that. And, yeah, I just had to let somebody know. And that was the end of it.”

He did not reveal which member of The Wyatt Sicks was involved but clarified that the disagreement had nothing to do with the outcome of the match. Instead, the issue centered around certain planned spots that one performer reportedly no longer wanted to take, which led to a confrontation backstage after the bout.

“They tried to switch up the match in the middle of the match,” Selmani added. “So, you know, I’m a professional, even if I gotta take a beating in the wrestling ring, I do it. And if you’re going to be a scared little, you know, b*tch, then it’s not my fault, you know? I will let you know backstage.”

Despite the abrupt ending to their WWE run, Selmani expressed satisfaction with what AOP achieved during their time in the company. He admitted that professional wrestling was never something he felt completely at ease with and believes his future lies in combat sports such as BKFC.

The Authors of Pain had two runs with WWE, with their most recent stint seeing them aligned with Karrion Kross as part of The Final Testament. Selmani also spoke candidly about Kross, suggesting the company failed to fully capitalize on his potential.

“Same thing with him, man. He got promised so f***ing much,” Selmani said. “They dropped the ball on that guy. Very sad.”