Paul Ellering is an American professional wrestling manager and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he serves as the manager for the Authors of Pain and The Final Testament. Ellering spent most of his wrestling career managing the Road Warriors working with them from 1983 to 1990 and again on occasion between 1992 and 1997. In addition to being their on screen manager he actually handled the team's affairs outside the ring as well, including contract negotiations and travel arrangements. Ellering and the Road Warriors were inducted into both the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011. Five years later, in June 2016, he returned to the ring at NXT TakeOver: The End as the manager of the Authors of Pain, a heel tag team making their debut. Ellering has been labeled as one of the greatest wrestling managers of all time.

Nikita Koloff is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions and its successor, World Championship Wrestling between 1984 and 1992, where he was billed from Russia. During his career, Koloff held championships including the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship, NWA World Tag Team Championship, NWA United States Championship, NWA World Television Championship, and UWF World Television Championship. He was inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2006 and the National Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame of 2008.