You Won't Believe What WWE Were Originally Going To Call The Viking Experience

What was wrong with "War Raiders" anyway?

war raiders
WWE.com

WWE sparked controversy when they called their current NXT Tag Teams up to the main roster as part of this week's Superstar Shake-Up, not as their established War Raiders monicker, but as Erik and Ivar - The Viking Experience.

Mockery ensued, and rightly so. It's one of the cheesiest titles Vince McMahon and co. have come up with in a long time. The performers are skilled enough to overcome it eventually, and will do so through blitzkrieg in-ring performances. For now, though, they're a joke.

Per a new write-up from PWInsider, WWE originally planned on calling the former Hanson and Rowe up as "The Berzerkers." A fitting name, and significantly less goofy than the one they eventually went with, but it's noted that the company changed their mind as they came closer to debuting.

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Perhaps they were concerned about fans confusing Erik and Ivar with Tom Nord, who played The Berzerker in WWE from 1991-93, or perhaps it was just another swing and a miss from Vince's infamous subtlety hammer.

In this week's Observer, Dave Meltzer writes that the Chairman just didn't like "The Berzerkers," calling it "change for the sake of change." It's hard to argue with this take.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.