 Akam in 2024 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Sunny Dhinsa (1993-05-20)May 20, 1993 (age 32) Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada |
| Alma mater | Simon Fraser University |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Akam[1] Sunny Dhinsa[2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 290 lb (132 kg)[1] |
| Trained by | WWE Performance Center[2] |
| Debut | April 4, 2015[2] |
Sunny Dhinsa (born May 20, 1993) is a Canadianprofessional wrestler and formeramateur wrestler. He is best known for his time inWWE, where he performed under thering nameAkam.
After signing with WWE in 2014, Akam has since teamed withRezar as part ofThe Authors of Pain, with whom he has held theNXT Tag Team Championship andWWE Raw Tag Team Championship once, and they also won the2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament.
Sunny Dhinsa was born on May 20, 1993, inAbbotsford, British Columbia.[3][better source needed]
Medal record
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Dhinsa attendedSimon Fraser University, where he was a standout collegiate wrestler. He won the Canadian nationalfreestyle wrestling champion in 2011, 2012 and 2013 in the heavyweight category. He won a gold medal in the 115 kg category at the2009 Canada Summer Games, and a silver medal at the2011 Pan American Games inGuadalajara. Dhinsa competed in the qualification tournament for the2012 Summer Olympics, missing out on qualification after losing toDremiel Byers.[4] He was considered a prospect for the2016 Summer Olympics but left amateur wrestling after being offered a contract withWWE in 2014, having been scouted for the company byGerald Brisco.[5]
In October 2014, Dhinsa was reported to have signed a contract withWWE and would begin training to become a professional wrestler at theWWE Performance Center. He made his in-ring debut at aNXThouse show inOrlando, Florida on April 4, 2015, competing in a battle royal, which was won byScott Dawson.[6] By February 2016 Dhinsa had formed a tag team withGzim Selmani[7] and they became known as theAuthors of Pain in April 2016.[8]
Dhinsa and Selmani (billed as Akam and Rezar) made their televisedNXT debuts on June 8, 2016, atNXT TakeOver: The End;[9] following theNXT Tag Team Championship match, they attacked former championsAmerican Alpha (Chad Gable andJason Jordan) before being joined on stage by veteran managerPaul Ellering.[10] The duo had a push during his time in NXT, winning theDusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, after defeatingTM-61 atNXT TakeOver: Toronto and winning atNXT TakeOver: San Antonio theNXT Tag Team Championship when they defeated#DIY. The duo retained the titles atNXT TakeOver: Orlando (by defeating #DIY andThe Revival in atriple threat tag team elimination match by eliminating both teams) andNXT TakeOver: Chicago (by defeating #DIY) in a ladder match to retain the titles. The duo turnedface on August 9 edition ofNXT after being attacked bySAnitY. AtNXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III, the Authors of Pain lost the titles to SAnitY atNXT TakeOver: WarGames, Authors of Pain andRoderick Strong competed in a 3 teamWarGames match which was won byThe Undisputed Era. AtNXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, Authors of Pain got a rematch but failed to win back the titles. AtNXT 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 ofRaw, The Authors of Pain, along with Ellering, made their main roster debut, defeatingHeath Slater and Rhyno. After the match, Akam and Rezar ended their partnership with Ellering by pushing him away and leaving him ringside as they returned backstage.[11] On the September 3 episode ofRaw, The Authors of Pain, now under the shortened name of "AOP", were accompanied to the ring by the205 Live General Manager,Drake Maverick, who announced himself as their new manager.[12]
On the November 5 episode of Raw, The Authors of Pain defeatedSeth Rollins in a handicap match to win the Raw Tag Team Championship for the first time. They went on to defeatSmackDown's Tag Team ChampionsCesaro and Sheamus in an interbrand Champion vs Champion match atSurvivor Series. They lost the titles toBobby Roode andChad Gable 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".[13] He would be cleared to return to action in May, however the team has yet to return to action.[14] He and Rezar returned to action atSuper ShowDown on June 7, 2019.[15]
In September 2019, AOP began appearing in vignettes, warning of their return. During the2019 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 withSeth Rollins after they helped beat downKevin Owens on the Raw afterSurvivor Series.[16] 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.[17][18]
In May 2022, Sunny Dhinsa and Gzim Selmani, now known asLegion of Pain, announced the launch of their professional wrestling promotion, Wrestling Entertainment Series (WES).[19]
According to a report from Sean Ross Sapp ofFightful on August 30, 2023, the Authors of Pain had re-signed with WWE in 2022 prior to the return ofVince McMahon as chairman in January 2023 and they were on the internal travel list as of May 2023.[20][21]
During the December 22, 2023 episode ofSmackDown, Akam and Rezar were shown in a vignette byKarrion Kross to join him and are set to return in the coming weeks.[22] OnSmackDown: New Year's Revolution, Akam, alongside Rezar and Paul Ellering made their televised return and assisted Karrion Kross andScarlett in attackingBobby Lashley and theStreet Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford), confirming their alliance in the process.[23] AOP made their return to the ring on February 16 edition ofSmackDown where they faced NXT talents Beau Morris and Javier Bernal in a squash match.[24] At Night 2 ofWrestleMania XL, the stable lost against The Pride in aPhiladelphia Street Fight.[25] On the following episode ofNXT, The Final Testament made theirNXT return with AOP attackingAxiom andNathan Frazer, who have just won theNXT Tag Team Championships fromBaron Corbin andBron Breakker.[26]
During night 2 of theWWE Draft, which occurred on April 29, 2024, Akam was drafted toWWE Raw, with the rest of The Final Testament.[27] At Week 2 ofSpring Breakin', Akam and Rezar was unsuccessful at winning the NXT Tag Team Champions from Axiom and Nathan Frazer after interference fromNew Catch Republic.[28] Both members of the Authors of Pain and their manager Paul Ellering were released from their contracts on February 7, 2025.[29]
Akam made hisvideo game debut as a playable character inWWE 2K18 and has since appeared inWWE SuperCard,[30] WWE Champions,[31]WWE 2K19,[32]WWE 2K20,WWE 2K Battlegrounds andWWE 2K25.[33]
,Cagematch,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling Database
