WWE Raw: Results, Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for April 9

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Heath Slater & Rhyno vs. Authors of Pain (Akam & Rezar, w/ Paul Ellering)

Result: Authors of Pain defeated Heath Slater & Rhyno via pinfall

Rating: DUD

Heath Slater not only has kids — he’s got a mic! He and Rhyno issue an open challenge to any tag team in the back. And since every other tag team on Raw is in the midst of the Tag Team Eliminator (tournament), it means we’re getting another call-up from NXT. This time, it’s the Authors of Pain.

Akam and Rezar have been the most dominating tag team in NXT since their debut at TakeOver: The End in 2016. They had a crazy undefeated streak early on, and eventually won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in 2017. They were also NXT Tag Team Champions for a time. With manager Paul Ellering by their side, the sky is the limit.

So of course, after making very short work of Rhyno and Slater, it seems the AoP have indicated they don’t need Ellering. It’s not like he’s a Hall of Famer or anything! Hopefully it’s a brief thing (although the 64-year-old Ellering may not want to travel a main roster schedule at this point in his career).

The limited in-ring action perfectly showed off AoP’s strengths. It was short, hard-hitting, and impressive. Their tandem finisher — The Final Chapter — is enough to put anyone down. It’ll be interesting to see how they fare on the main roster. But I’m already salivating over AoP vs. The Bar when that happens. HOSS FIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!