WWE RAW Superstars Erik and Ivar reverted to their original name "The War Raiders" after returning from their injuries in October of last year. In a recent interview, the former spoke about not only bringing the name back but also their gimmick change.
The two stars debuted on the main roster as The Viking Experience. However, their name was changed to The Viking Raiders not long after. Under Triple H's regime, they reverted to their NXT names when they returned six months ago. They dropped the Viking gimmick and looked more like bikers.
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet, Ivar commented on what it felt like getting the War Raiders name back. He also spoke about their new gimmicks.
"That was awesome. And more important than that, we got to be ourselves. Now, as War Raiders, we are the closest thing to War Machine that we’ve ever been. No face paint. We’re not even wearing horns and helmets and armor. We’re coming out in essentially biker vests, leather vests. This is what I wear to TV. I just put a vest on, and I cut promos like this on WWE TV. I wear a black T-shirt and jeans, which is what I wear every day of my life. If I’m not in gym clothes, this is what I’m wearing," said Erik.
When The War Raiders debuted on RAW as The Viking Experience, the reaction from fans was mostly negative. Ivar mentioned that they found out about the name change less than a week before their debut.
“It was less than a week, it was like six days and then we were The Viking Raiders. However, the only thing that changed was our name. We were still the same people. We still did the same moves, we still did the same entrance. We still wore the same clothes, same horns and armor and all the stuff. I think we still even had the same music, they just changed the name on the tron. But people on Twitter have never let us forget, like ever."
The Raiders are two-time Tag Team Champions on the main roster. They recently lost the World Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania 41 to Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods.