Indicative of WWE's repeated failure to perfect the NXT-to-main roster process, The War Raider were victims of the method hitting rock bottom shortly after WrestleMania 35.
Weeks earlier, Triple H had mournfully delivered the news that Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Ricochet and Aleister Black were all to debut on Raw before injury to his Champion Ciampa resulted in him claiming back Gargano in the nick of time. A few months later, he'd be permitted to hold on to his entire crew thanks to NXT's move to USA Network. "The Viking Experience" was a sign that it couldn't come soon enough.
Rowe and Hanson were now Erik and Ivar, with a collective label so utterly pathetic that it went viral for all the wrong reasons. Even WWE understood the scale of parody they'd created and scaled it back, but the name surviving as the tandem's finisher ensures the memories won't be left alone.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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
