Gzim Selmani, the man WWE fans knew as Rezar of the Authors of Pain, never watched wrestling growing up. He was scouted cold at a training camp in Dubai, never fully felt at home, and only stayed as long as he did because of the time and work he had already invested.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Selmani told the full story of how a legitimate combat sports prospect from the Netherlands ended up a two-time WWE Tag Team Champion — and why the fit was never entirely natural.
I didn't even know about WWE at that time. I wasn't a wrestling fan at all. Here in the Netherlands, we just watched kickboxing and MMA. I was at a training camp in Dubai and there were guys walking around from WWE looking for talent and they just came up to me and said, 'Are you interested?'
His reaction to the tryout offer was far from enthusiastic.
I wasn't excited about it. In the beginning I did the tryout — the tryout was hard, like 60 guys and only three got a contract offered. I just thought, 'Forget it, I'm going to go to Florida to their Performance Center and see what's up.' And as months go by, they start liking you and investing time and money in you. Eventually you're there so long, you think, 'Everything I did till now is for nothing, so I better go through with it.'
The Performance Center Culture Clash
Arriving as a legitimate fighter with combat sports credentials created friction with veterans who felt Selmani hadn't earned his place through the traditional wrestling pathway.
They didn't like me backstage in the beginning — especially the wrestlers who had been wrestling for 10, 15 years and finally got their way to the Performance Center. They didn't respect it. They didn't like having guys that weren't wrestlers or hadn't paid their dues in little bingo halls. But I didn't beg them to go there. They wanted me.
Being a legitimate fighter, however, also provided its own protection.
They tried to give me a hard time, but at the end of the day, they knew I was a legit killer. So they didn't want to mess with me backstage too much either.
Championships — But Always Within Their Rules
Selmani ultimately made peace with the realities of the industry. He and Akam won the NXT Tag Team titles, the RAW Tag Team titles, and the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. His 2023 return was endorsed by Paul Ellering and done on specific terms — Triple H in full creative control was a prerequisite.
You learn, and they're good at staying in contact with you, explaining how it works. Eventually you've got to agree with them and do whatever they say. That's just part of their business and I accepted it. I had put too much time and work into it. I wanted to be successful there, become a champion — and I did. Two times. We won the World Dusty Cup. I achieved the things I wanted to achieve.
Before WWE ever entered the picture, Selmani was on a different path entirely. Scouted by Golden Glory at 16, he trained alongside Alistair Overeem and the Black Zillians in Boca Raton, turned pro at 18, and had near-misses with the UFC after a high-profile Bellator finish.
After the fight we had talks with the UFC, but because I was still young, they said to wait a little bit before we start negotiating. And then obviously WWE came around the corner.
He describes the entire WWE chapter with a kind of sober clarity:
We met good people, but at the end of the day it wasn't really my world. I was never 100% comfortable. I need to be fighting.
During the same interview, he also revealed that an unprofessional incident led to his WWE release.
