10 Times Wrestling Changed Due To Fan Backlash

9. The Viking Experience Become The Viking Raiders

Brock Lesnar Jinder Mahal
WWE.com

Quality backwards banter emerging from the era defined by it, The War Raiders' WWE call-up coming just a week and a half removed from the night they became made men in NXT was bad enough before a graphic splashed across the screen that instantly relegated them to Raw's meme-of-the-week slot.

Then the champions of the developmental doubles brand after a white hot war with Ricochet and Aleister Black at TakeOver: New York, the newly-christened Ivar and Erik were now the "Viking Experience", robbed of entirely of any synonym for a fight in an effort to get rid of one that perhaps wasn't sponsor-friendly.

The reactions to this objectively lame label were catastrophically reductive.

The following week saw them switched to the moderately-improved Viking Raiders moniker in attempt to force viewers to pay attention to their talents instead whatever the wretched creative that spawned such an appalling name in the first place. It was, again, a misunderstanding of the problem from WWE - Twitter doesn't permit access to any of the old hiding places anymore - but the former Hanson and Rowe were undeniably damaged, and said damage control was immediately required.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett