SPOILER ALERT: Former tag team champions make surprise return after 1-year to WWE Raw 

Former WWE Tag Team Champions make their shocking return on next week's taping of Raw to defeat top WWE tag team.

SPOILER ALERT: Former tag team champions make surprise return after 1-year to WWE Raw 

War Raiders return to WWE Raw (via WWE)

The latest episode of Raw, held in St. Louis, featured a double taping of the show. WWE is hosting a tour of the UK next week and, thus, recorded next week’s episode of Raw in advance. A major highlight of the tapings was the surprising return of the Viking Raiders. They made their first main roster appearance as a tag team after spending more than a year away from WWE.

The Viking Raiders, comprising Erik and Ivar, made their shocking return during the Raw tapings and surprised the St. Louis crowd. There had been no official announcements or hints about their return. They faced Alpha Academy in their first match back. The two superstars landed a devastating move on Akira Tozawa and picked up the win with a pinfall.

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War Raiders had their last marquee WWE match at WrestleMania 39 against The Street Profits, Alpha Academy, and the team of Braun Strowman and Ricochet. They have also held the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship in the past for a total of 98 days.

The War Raiders were one of the most dominant tag teams in NXT, where they also held tag gold. They were renamed to the Viking Raiders once they made their main roster debut and were even called the Viking Experience for a short time. Ivar later revealed his frustration with how bad this name was. However, fans were glad to see that the team has once again been renamed to what they were called during their WWE heyday.

Why were the Viking Raiders absent from WWE Programming for over a year?

The Viking Raiders wrestled their last match as a tag team on the main roster on the September 15th, 2023 episode of SmackDown. They faced the Alpha Academy, comprising Chad Gable and Otis, in a Denver Street fight. Erik soon suffered from a neck injury and was written off TV. He had a long history of injuries and recently uploaded a gratitude post for his family and being able to compete at WrestleMania.

War Raiders
War Raiders (via WWE)

In Erik’s absence, Triple H decided to give his tag team partner, Ivar, a shot as a singles superstar. The 40-year-old impressed the world with incredible matches against the Raw roster. WWE eventually sent him down to NXT without his Viking gimmick. He was being built up as a threat to the NXT North American Championship and Oba Femi.

Just a few weeks after appearing on NXT, Ivar also had to be sidelined due to a serious neck injury. Allegedly, he was briefly paralyzed for a few moments, and the injury could have been career-ending. However, fans were happy to see that both of these superstars were healthy once again. It looks like they can once again go back to doing what they love to do, wreaking havoc on the Raw tag team division.