WWE Rumors: Major Concerns For Viking Raiders’ Future Following Ivar’s Reported Long-Term Injury
Citing Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Radio, Sportskeeda has provided an update on WWE’s possible plans for Erik, real name Raymond Rowe, on Monday Night Raw. According to Meltzer, the injury to his tag team partner Ivar means that Erik could also be out of action for a while.
The journalist noted that Vince McMahon doesn’t like to push members of duos when they’re partners get injured. He also stated how that could have a negative impact on Erik’s career.
“It impacts Raymond Rowe a lot too because as you’ve seen, usually when they have a tag team and one of the guys gets out and is injured, sometimes they’ll send the guy home and wait for the other guy to come back, which in this case is a year, or they will just job the other guy out.”
Erik lost to Bobby Lashley on last night’s episode of Raw. The quick nature of his defeat suggested that officials don’t see any value in him as a singles star for the time being. If that’s how he’s going to be used moving forward, he could lose his momentum, according to Meltzer.
The journalist stated that teams who are out for a while tend to return to little fanfare or creative direction and the same fate could befall The Viking Raiders. If wrestlers keep losing, the fans stop buying into them as credible contenders. However, long-term absences can also result in performers being left behind.
A recent example of a duo that was hampered due to a member being injured was The Authors of Pain. Prior to Rezar getting hurt, they were in a main event spotlight as members of Seth Rollins’ faction.
However, the unfortunate incident also led to Akam being taken off WWE television and the pair were eventually released, as officials had no plans for them when their return was on the cards.
As the Sportskeeda report highlighted, Ivar could be on the sidelines for up to a year. He is due to undergo neck surgery, which rarely results in a quick recovery process for in-ring performers.
The Viking Raiders have worked as a duo for years, dating back to their time on the independent circuit. Despite winning the Tag Team Championships on the WWE main roster, they arguably enjoyed their most successful period on NXT.
As Ringside News recently pointed out, the duo has expressed a desire to return to the black-and-gold brand. If they lose momentum due to Ivar’s health situation, they could be sent back to their old stomping grounds down the line.
