Ivar opens up about 39-year-old WWE Superstar's injury and return timeline

The Viking Raiders have been a noteworthy tag team on the WWE main roster since their debut on Monday Night RAW back in April 2019. They even held the NXT and RAW Tag Team Championship during their run together in the company. Upon Erik's neck injury in October 2023, Ivar continued to wrestle on the red brand in singles competition and did not drop the Viking gimmick.

During a recent interview for TV Insider, Ivar was asked when the WWE Universe can expect his 39-year-old tag team partner Erik to make his in-ring return. Regarding the latter's condition today, Ivar disclosed that the recovery is going well, albeit it is a slow process.

He said he'd suffered a neck injury in the past himself and noted that necks heal differently with each person. He referenced former WWE Champion Big E's recovery from neck surgery and how it has turned out to be a slow process. However, he assured his tag team partner would return to the ring eventually.

"It’s slow and steady. It’s a neck injury. I had a neck injury a few years ago. Necks are weird. We all know with Big E, his neck was weird. It’s a matter of how you heal and recover. He is doing great, but it’s slow and steady. It’s a matter of time before he is back," said Ivar.

The Viking Raiders vs. Alpha Academy feud during the summer of 2023 was praised by fans for its sheer quality, especially the Viking Rules match they had on RAW. This was the last notable storyline prior to Erik getting sidelined.

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Viking is more than a persona to the WWE Superstar

Ivar also candidly spoke about what his gimmick means to him. After all, it is the only one of its kind in the Stamford-based promotion. He revealed that he and his tag team partner put in a lot of effort to make their character seem larger than life on-screen.

Furthermore, the former RAW Tag Team Champion added that it does not matter if some people do not like the gimmick, because, at the end of the day, it is better to stand out owing to its rarity than get lost in a crowd.

"We watch every Viking movie and TV show that comes out. Just to be able to create and expand on what we see. We want to take things we see and morph them into whatever we want it to be for our characters. A lot of people may hate it, but it’s cool to us that we have this gimmick and nobody else does. We are the sole gimmick in WWE right now really, so it’s fun to play with that and do Viking things," Ivar claimed.

Ivar was praised for his in-ring performances lately, delivering hard-hitting matches consistently on Monday Night RAW. His work is often singled out. He recently returned to NXT to challenge for the NXT North American Championship but failed to win the belt.