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Not long ago, the NXT Tag Team Champions, The War Raiders got called to the main roster, with a brand new name. It turned out that the two gentlemen would be known as Ivar and Erik going forward. But more importantly, the unit would be known as The Viking Experience, a truly strange move. I tried to make sense of it in an article.
But now, they've been renamed once again. Why was the move made to rename the duo once more? As always, I shall try to make sense of WWE's puzzling booking in this piece.
Please let me know your thoughts, views, and opinion in the comments. Why do you think a name change happened again?
Here is my personal assessment and read of the situation...
#5 The fan backlash
There's literally no way that you can make every single WWE fan happy, is there? But when WWE came up with the name, The Viking Experience, it's almost like all of the internet united and put aside their differences to come together for a cause. Memes were made and gifs were created as people just made fun of the name that WWE had come up with.
WWE had to act upon it for fear of not becoming a joke, in my opinion. Because had they not, The Viking Raiders' career would have ended even before it begun, gaining notoriety and acclaim for the wrong reasons. They would have become a joke act, when they're supposed to be a menacing monster unit.
I don't even know if the name change is going to remedy the issue at hand for now. But what I do know is that WWE wants no more backlash from the WWE Universe, for the name change.
#4 Much closer to their NXT name
So, one of the things that you must remember is that The Viking Raiders were a thing long before they ever arrived in WWE. They earned their stripes in ROH and in NJPW. Back then, they were known as War Machine and were a very popular act under the name.
They were called The War Raiders when they came to NXT, which was a very natural name change. I mean if you look at Superstars like Finn Balor and Hideo Itami, both men had different names back when they were working in the independent wrestling circuit. Many superstars work under a totally different name when they arrive in NXT.
And because the NXT audience is also the audience that watches RAW and SmackDown Live, it's natural that WWE renamed the Viking Experience again. The Viking Raiders is, all said and done, a much cooler name overall.
#3 The 'War' part was the only problematic bit
So like I've mentioned in my previous article, the word 'war' is not something that can be dished out in a PG product. In these politically sensitive times, the same word which was a part of their flagship show 'RAW is WAR' is no longer an option.
Therefore, Vince McMahon may have wanted to just change the WAR part, whereas he may be okay with the Raiders bit. While a raid is not necessarily a pleasant thing, it may not be as problematic a word for sponsors as the word 'war' is.
One of Sportskeeda's own writers Greg Bush suggested that these two gentlemen should be known as The Pillage People. And now, I cannot get that name out of my head at all.
Whatever the case may be, I do really believe that Viking Raiders is an improvment over The Viking Experience.
#2 Possibly to not confuse them with the 'Velveteen Dream Experience'
Like I've mentioned before, The War Raiders are the current NXT Tag Team Champions. In fact, they retained their titles on WrestleMania weekend after a fantastic match with Ricochet and Aleister Black. It is quite a surprise that they were called up when the titles are still on them, right now.
But it is even more surprising that another exciting superstar The Velveteen Dream, was not called up. Now, his gimmick is of the 'Velveteen Dream Experience', and had The Viking Raiders been called The Viking Experience, there would have been some stepping on toes. Which is why WWE may have decided to pull the plug on the name.
WWE has been around for so many years and there are only so many names to choose from. The fact that WWE can make everyone sound so distinct is quite a feat indeed.
#1 Vince McMahon promised us that he would listen to WWE fans
Ultimately, it all boils down to the boss, does it not? And Vince McMahon, when he assumed control of RAW and SmackDown Live, at least on screen, remarked that he would be listening to the WWE Universe, going forward in the coming months.
And he wants to appear at least, that he is listening to WWE fans, at this point. Which is why he must have thought about the name change, and implemented it, to not appear as a company that has lost touch with what the audience wants from it.
AEW's entire stance is that they will be a more fan-oriented, younger, fresher, more exciting product, and WWE wants to change the perception of being a company that does not listen to fans. And this is why the name change was implemented.
Weigh in with your comments below.
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