Sunny Dhinsa (born May 20, 1993) is a Canadian

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

and former amateur wrestler. He is best known for his time with the

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...

, where he performed under the ring name Akam. After signing with WWE in 2014, he has since teamed with Rezar as part of

The Authors of Pain Legion of Pain are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Sunny Dhinsa and Gzim Selmani. They are best known for their time in WWE as the Authors of Pain, under the ring names Akam and Rezar, where they are former one-time Raw Tag Tea ...

, with whom he has held the

NXT Tag Team Championship The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on January 2 ...

and

WWE Raw Tag Team Championship The WWE Raw Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two male tag team championships for WWE's main roste ...

once, and they also won the 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament.

Early life

Sunny Dhinsa was born on May 20, 1993, in Abbotsford, British Columbia.

Amateur wrestling career

Dhinsa attended

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located ...

, where he was a standout collegiate wrestler. He won the Canadian national

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestli ...

champion in 2011, 2012 and 2013 in the heavyweight category. He won a gold medal in the 115 kg category at the

2009 Canada Summer Games The 2009 Canada Summer Games were held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island from August 15 to 29. Medal standings The following is the medal table for the 2009 Canada Summer Games. Events *Track and field athletics, Athletics *Baseball *Bask ...

, and a silver medal at the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

in Guadalajara. Dhinsa competed in the qualification tournament for the 2012 Summer Olympics, missing out on qualification after losing to

Dremiel Byers Dremiel Byers (born September 11, 1974) is an American former wrestler in the Greco-Roman discipline. Byers joined the World Class Athletes Program (WCAP) in 1996 and was the 2002 World Champion in Greco-Roman wrestling at 120 kg. In total, B ...

. He was considered a prospect for the 2016 Summer Olympics but left amateur wrestling after being offered a contract with

in 2014, having been scouted for the company by

Gerald Brisco Floyd Gerald "Jerry" Brisco (born September 19, 1946) is an American retired professional wrestler. Brisco is best known for his time in the wrestling promotion WWE, where he was a backstage producer, and, during the 1990s, an on-screen character ...

Professional wrestling career

WWE (2014–2020)

In October 2014, Dhinsa was reported to have signed a contract with

and would begin training to become a professional wrestler at the

WWE Performance Center The WWE Performance Center is the official professional wrestling school system of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The promotion currently operates two Performance Center locations, which serve as training facilities for WWE ...

. He made his in-ring debut at a

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

house show in Orlando, Florida on April 4, 2015, competing in a battle royal, which was won by Scott Dawson. By February 2016 Dhinsa had formed a tag team with

Gzim Selmani } Gzim Selmani (born 16 June 1994) is a Dutch-Albanian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Rezar. After si ...

and they became known as the Authors of Pain in April 2016. Dhinsa and Selmani (billed as Akam and Rezar) made their televised ''

'' debuts on June 8, 2016, at NXT TakeOver: The End; following the

match, they attacked former champions

American Alpha American Alpha was a professional wrestling tag team, composed of former amateur wrestlers Jason Jordan and Chad Gable. The team performed on WWE's developmental brand NXT before being moved up to the main roster on the SmackDown brand. The ...

(

Chad Gable Charles Edward Betts (born March 8, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Chad Gable. He is a four-time tag team champion in ...

and

Jason Jordan Nathan Everhart (born September 28, 1988) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Jason Jordan. He is currently signed to WWE, where he works as a producer. He has not wrestled since suffering a neck injury in Janu ...

) before being joined on stage by veteran manager

Paul Ellering Paul Ellering (born August 22, 1953) is an American professional wrestling manager and former professional wrestler. He is currently signed with WWE to a legends contract. Ellering spent most of his wrestling career managing the Road Warriors (A ...

. 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 at NXT TakeOver: San Antonio the

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 The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

on 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 Christopher Lindsey (born July 26, 1983), better known by his name Roderick Strong, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand, as the leader of Diamond Mine, but is currently inactive due t ...

competed in a 3 team

WarGames match WarGames is a specialized steel cage match in professional wrestling. The match usually involves two teams of either four, five, or more wrestlers locked inside a steel cage that encompasses two rings placed side by side. The cage may or may not ...

which was won by

The Undisputed Era The Undisputed Era was a professional wrestling stable from WWE's NXT brand. It formed on August 19, 2017 at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III shortly after Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O'Reilly signed with WWE, although Fish and O'Reilly had ...

. 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 Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

, The Authors of Pain, along with Ellering, made their main roster debut, defeating

Heath Slater Heath Wallace Miller (born July 15, 1983) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he performs mononymously as Heath, and is also active on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time in ...

and

Rhyno Terrance Guido Gerin (born October 7, 1975) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Rhyno or Rhino. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he is one-half of the Impact World Tag Team Champions in his secon ...

. 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 ''WWE 205 Live'' is an American professional wrestling streaming television program that was produced by WWE. It premiered on November 29, 2016, and ended on February 11, 2022. The show originally aired exclusively on the WWE Network until March ...

General Manager,

Drake Maverick James Michael Curtin (born 30 January 1983) is an English former professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE as a writer on Raw. During his time as an on screen performer in the company, he worked under the ring name Drake Maverick. ...

, who announced himself as their new manager. On the November 5 episode of Raw, The Authors of Pain defeated

Seth Rollins Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Seth Rollins (often referred to as Seth "Freakin" Rollins). Prior to signing ...

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 The Bar, originally simply known as Cesaro and Sheamus, was a professional wrestling tag team in WWE. They were record-setting four-time Raw Tag Team Champions and one-time SmackDown Tag Team Champions, making their team overall five-time cham ...

in an interbrand Champion vs Champion match at

Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the se ...

. They lost the titles to Bobby Roode and

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, however the team has yet to return to action. He and Rezar returned to action at

Super ShowDown WWE Super ShowDown (originally stylized as Super Show-Down) was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE, an American-based promotion. It was broadcast live and available only through pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE's livestreaming service, the ...

on June 7, 2019. 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. Then, they started allying with

after they helped beat down

Kevin Owens Kevin Steen (born May 7, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Kevin Owens. Steen began his career in 2000, at the age of 16. Prior to joining WWE in lat ...

on the Raw after Survivor Series (2019). In March 2020, it was reported that Rezar suffered a bicep injury, therefore putting the team on hiatus. Akam was last seen in WWE on the April 1 taping of Main Event, where he escorted Murphy to the ring for a match. On September 4, 2020, AOP were released from their WWE contracts.

Independent circuit (2022–present)

In May 2022, Sunny Dhinsa and Gzim Selmani, now known as Legion of Pain, have announced the launch of their professional wrestling promotion, Wrestling Entertainment Series (WES).

Other media

Akam made his

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

debut as a playable character in ''

WWE 2K18 ''WWE 2K18'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K Sports. It is the nineteenth installment in the WWE game series (fifth under the ''WWE 2K'' banner) and a follow-up to '' WWE 2K17''. It was released wor ...

'' and has since appeared in

WWE SuperCard ''WWE SuperCard'' is a 2014 digital collectible card game featuring WWE Superstars for iOS and Android, and a mobile installment in the '' WWE'' video game series, under the ''WWE 2K'' banner, developed by Cat Daddy Games and published by 2K Ga ...

, WWE Champions, ''

WWE 2K19 ''WWE 2K19'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K Sports. It was released worldwide on October 9, 2018, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the twentieth overall game in the ''WW ...

,'' ''

WWE 2K20 ''WWE 2K20'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. It was released worldwide on October 22, 2019, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the twenty-first installment o ...

.'' He and Rezar were announced as part of the DLC roster for '' WWE 2K Battlegrounds'', but were later removed from the game after their release from WWE two weeks prior.

Championship and accomplishments

* ''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

'' ** Ranked No. 204 of the top 500 wrestlers in the

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

in 2018 *

( 1 time) – with Rezar **

( 1 time) – with Rezar ** Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

) – with Rezar

References

External links

* * {{Navboxes, , list1= {{WWE Tag Team Championship {{NXT Tag Team Championship {{Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Winners 1993 births Living people Canadian male professional wrestlers Canadian male sport wrestlers Sportspeople from Abbotsford, British Columbia Professional wrestlers from British Columbia Wrestlers at the 2011 Pan American Games Pan American Games medalists in wrestling Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games NXT Tag Team Champions Canadian sportspeople of Indian descent 21st-century professional wrestlers