10 WWE Debuts That Were DOOMED From The Start
3. The Viking Experience
For a few years, it was the IWC's running joke that performers were about to get a silly name change when debuting on WWE's main roster. We may all love Gunther now, but the artist formerly known as Walter had to overcome initial ridicule when Vince McMahon decided to alter the name of a performer who was known and loved all over the world.
The War Raiders were a deadly NXT Tag Team with a name that was as intimidating as their look and in-ring prowess. The Viking Experience sounds like an on-the-nose name for an exhibit at your stuffy local museum, but that didn't stop Vinnie Mac from messing with Erik and Ivar's aura in one badly thought-out swoop.
The meltdown from fans was nuclear. In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Erik admits to approaching Triple H to ask him if their new name was a rib or not. The whole story gets even more bizarre when it was revealed that Vince was obsessed with the TV show 'Vikings' at the time. The name was changed to The Viking Raiders the next week, but The Viking Experience is a running joke that follows The War Raiders to this day.