20 Reasons Why WWE Superstar Shake-Up 2019 Was An Absolute Mess
16. The Viking Experience
Vince McMahon's patented Subtlety Hammer was swung for a third time within Raw's first hour, as the tag team formerly known as War Raiders marched out for their role in the eight-person war, their main roster rebranding complete.
No longer Rowe and Hanson, these two now go by Erik and Ivar individually. Or, as a collective, The Viking Experience.
Read that again. The Viking Experience. It's awful.
It might be the worst name-change WWE have ever pulled off. Sounding more like a run-down theme park attraction or an exhibit at a National Trust museum, it makes the fearsome NXT Tag Team Champions sound like a couple of goobers.
Even more harmful was the announcing, with Michael Cole and co. suggesting that for Ivar and Erik, the viking lifestyle was so much more than a gimmick. This highlights one big difference between developmental and Raw. In NXT, these guys used Norse iconography to intimidate their foes; on the main roster, they are literal vikings who drink mead and craft their own war fatigues.
The only way this could possibly get goofier is they are rechristened Ronnie Ragnarok and Smashy McAxe next week.