Undisputed Era Retains NXT Tag Titles, but Authors of Pain Need to Be on Raw Now

Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish of The Undisputed Era retained the NXT Tag Team Championships over The Authors of Pain at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia on Saturday night in what should be one of AOP's final pieces of business in NXT.

WWE showed the winners after they held on to the belts:

Akam and Rezar have developed into a premier tag team during their time in NXT, but with little left to accomplish, the time is right to elevate them to the Raw roster.

While The Authors of Pain figure to excel regardless of their placement on the main roster, Raw is the most sensible landing spot.

SmackDown is stacked with top-tier tag teams such as New Day, The Usos, Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin, Breezango and The Bludgeon Brothers.

Raw's tag team ranks are thin by comparison, as The Bar is the only team that has enjoyed a sustained run of success recently, while duos like The Revival and Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson are trying to gain their footing.

The Authors of Pain would inject new life into Raw's tag team division for several reasons.

They are an imposing force collectively, and provided manager Paul Ellering goes to the main roster with them, they are the total package in terms of dominating in the ring and conveying their message to the audience outside of it.

Even though Superstars of their stature can be one-dimensional at times, The Authors of Pain have proved they have the ability to consistently put on quality matches when paired with good opponents.

During their NXT run, they have had strong showings against the likes of American Alpha, The Revival, DIY, Sanity and Undisputed Era.

AOP would likely go a long way toward revitalizing the Raw tag team division and making it a key part of the show, much like it has been on SmackDown Live in recent months.

Raw could benefit from their presence immediately, especially since it isn't clear what the creative team intends to do with the Raw Tag Team Championship scene heading toward WrestleMania.

It isn't often that Superstars are called up from NXT at this point on the calendar, though, as that doesn't usually happen until after WrestleMania.

If WWE does wait for a few months, there is still one intriguing possibility left for The Authors of Pain in NXT.

It was recently announced that WWE signed popular independent tag team War Machine and assigned it to train at the WWE Performance Center.

Like The Authors of Pain, Hanson and Raymond Rowe are big, physical and powerful wrestlers with the ability to wreak havoc among the tag team ranks.

Provided the plan is for War Machine to fill the role The Authors of Pain once occupied when Akam and Rezar get called up, having AOP put the team over at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans on the way out would be solid usage of the former NXT tag team champions.

Regardless of whether The Authors of Pain are called up immediately or a few months down the line, it is clear that their days in NXT are essentially numbered, and the best chance of living up to their potential lies in being presented as a top tag team on Raw in the near future.

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