Harshad Patel
Erik and Ivar of The Viking Raiders have faced many challenges together, from their beginnings in Ring of Honor as War Machine to their signing with WWE.
Just as things were improving for the team and Erik’s wife, Valhalla, under Paul “Triple H” Levesque’s leadership, both team members suffered serious injuries.
Before Ivar announced an injury that has put his career in doubt, he spoke with Chris Van Vliet during WrestleMania 40 weekend about Erik’s recovery on the “Insight” podcast.
“It’s neck surgery. It’s a matter of time and everybody’s neck heals differently,” Ivar said. “It’s a matter of him getting cleared. He’s doing great. Physically great, it’s just the doctors need to clear him and then he needs to get back to in-ring, so it’ll take some more time.”
Erik had neck fusion surgery in September 2023. His last match alongside Ivar was on “WWE Main Event.”
They were scheduled to compete in a fatal four-way match to determine the new number one contenders for the then-Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships but were pulled at the last minute.
As a result, Ivar received a minor singles push but had recently been working on “WWE NXT” and is now out indefinitely.
Though there was skepticism about the legitimacy of his injury, he confirmed on social media that it is indeed “very serious.” At that time, Ivar had not undergone surgery. Regarding the team’s future, Ivar stated back in April that it wasn’t in question as long as they remained together.
“I feel in my heart that we’re a team,” Ivar said. “We’re in this together. We wouldn’t be where we are today without each other and I feel just like the New Day, we’re not going to split up for anything. Maybe each of us has our singles stuff on the side, but we’re a team forever.”
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