WWE has announced that Ivar will be out of action indefinitely.
Gallus attacked him and Wes Lee in the closing moments of NXT on Tuesday. WWE has since revealed Ivar was injured in the attack and will miss multiple upcoming scheduled matches.
“BREAKING: As a result of the heinous attack by #Gallus at the end of #WWENXT, @Ivar_WWE has suffered an injury and will be out of action indefinitely.”
Ivar was scheduled to wrestle Tyler Bate on WWE Speed next Wednesday. However, WWE announced today that due to Ivar’s injury, Apollo Crews will replace him in the match. Ivar defeated Crews in the first round of a number one contender’s tournament for Ricochet’s Speed Championship two weeks ago.
“With @Ivar_WWE sidelined due to injury, @WWEApollo has received a second chance in the No. 1 Contender’s Tournament and will face Tyler Bate in the Semifinals this Wednesday on #WWESpeed.”
With @Ivar_WWE sidelined due to injury, @WWEApollo has received a second chance in the No. 1 Contender’s Tournament and will face Tyler Bate in the Semifinals this Wednesday on #WWESpeed! pic.twitter.com/tlRY9aJ9Up
Ivar was also scheduled for a triple-threat match on WWE NXT next week. However, the episode was taped earlier this week and he was replaced by Gallus’ Joe Coffey in the match. Spoilers from the taping are available here.
Ivar also missed a scheduled match against Andrade in March after he wasn’t medically cleared to perform. He returned the following Monday and dropped a match to Sami Zayn on Raw.
The number one contender’s tournament for the WWE Speed Championship kicked off on Wednesday.
Ivar defeated Apollo Crews in the opening round. With the win, he advances to the semifinals and will face the winner of next week’s Tyler Bate vs. Berto (Humberto Carrillo) match to determine the first challenger for inaugural champion Ricochet.
Ivar needed only two minutes of the three-minute time limit, defeating Crews with a moonsault from the top rope.
Ivar also defeated Crews on two other occasions this year, both on episodes of Main Event.
The winner of the number one contenders’ tournament will challenge Ricochet for the WWE Speed Championship. Ricochet became Speed champion by defeating Dragon Lee, JD McDonagh, and Johnny Gargano in a tournament to determine the first title holder.
Speed is part of a two-year deal WWE has with X. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the plan is to produce new content 52 weeks a year to air on the social media platform.
This week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio before Monday’s episode of Raw.
The last episode of the show before next week’s draft was run-of-the-mill, but the Creed brothers always seem to find a way to dazzle.
Ivar defeated Apollo Crews (4:50)
They worked hard here and got going in the last few minutes, but it was a turnaround in fortunes for Ivar who had lost to weaker opponents the last two weeks.
Ivar continues to work well as a solo performer while his partner recovers from injury, but Crews feels entirely rudderless at the moment. Despite his ability, with the latest round of cuts to the roster, you do wonder whether some of these guys will stay on much longer.
Early on, Crews showed his incredible strength when he went to scoop slam Ivar and held him for a good few seconds while pretending that his back was giving out. Ivar crashed down on top of him and took control.
After a period where Ivar just slowly beat Crews down, they went on to hit some nice high spots. Crews rolled out of the way of a top rope splash and hit a top rope cross-body for a near fall.
Ivar looked like he had it won with a sit-out powerbomb, but somehow Crews kicked out. They finished by fighting on the top turnbuckle until Ivar hoisted Crews up and came off the second rope with a falling powerslam.
The Creed Brothers defeated Mark Coffey & Wolfgang (w/ Joe Coffey) (7:12)
This was a rematch from the bout these two teams had a few weeks back, but unfortunately, this wasn’t quite as strong as that outing. That said, you can’t help but enjoy Julius Creed, who is just incredibly talented and wildly entertaining.
It’s been nearly two months since we were treated to the Creeds on Main Event and the last time that any of these men appeared here was back on the March 4 edition of the show when they faced off against each other.
They hit all their marks as they did in the previous match, with an early showing of the Creeds’ ability to do everything in stereo: we were treated to stereo hip tosses, kip-ups, and moonsaults before the break. It went sour, though, when Wolfgang blind tagged in and sent Brutus to the outside as we headed to commercial.
After the ads, Gallus had the advantage, and the match was now built around getting Julius the hot tag. He came in to a roar of appreciation and suplexed Coffey and Wolfgang before hitting Northern Lights suplexes to boot. He ended with a standing shooting star press but the pin was broken up by Coffey.
The end was poor because Gallus were obviously slowing everything down and waiting for things to happen and the smoothness was taken out of what had been a really strong match thus far.
Wolfgang was clotheslined over the top and Brutus was sent out with him, but Julius nailed Joe off the apron when he tried to interfere, and then he and Brutus set up and executed the Brutus Bomb for the win.
This week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania before Monday’s episode of Raw.
This was a good show with two decent wrestling matches this week.
Zoey Stark & Shayna Baszler defeated Kayden Carter & Katana Chance (4:45)
This was some solid tag team action to kick off the show, but the crowd was not really into it at all.
We were treated to a proper tag bout from start to finish, which is exactly what they should be putting on for a pre-Raw crowd like this; give them plenty of quick tags and lots of action and it nicely whets the appetite.
However, while that was true here, the crowd didn’t seem to have an appetite for it. Both teams worked hard with the combination of Stark and Baszler gelling smoothly at this point.
They built the match around getting Carter the hot tag and when she finally got it, the crowd barely noticed as she and Chance double-teamed Stark, but Baszler broke up the cover.
Baszler sent Carter outside, but Chance then sent Baszler packing. Chance then got caught by Stark who finished her with the Z-360.
It was a well-worked match that deserved a little bit more credit than it got in the arena.
Ivar defeated Julius Creed (w/ Brutus Creed) (7:31)
They gave Ivar the win here after Julius looked to be going on a mini-winning streak. It was good after the ads, but anything involving either of the Creeds normally is.
While Ivar has been working solo, it has been good to see him get over on his own, but the Creed brothers are incredible together, so it seems a waste not to find a tag match for them on this show.
Creed got the early advantage and tried to knock Ivar down and lift him off his feet. He finally managed to do both when he sent him over the top rope and hit him with a tope to take us to the break.
After the commercials, Ivar was making his way to the top rope when Creed sprang to his feet and met him up there and they did a superplex, which got the crowd going. Ivar recovered to hit a sitout powerbomb for two.
Creed hoisted Ivar up and used a fireman’s carry to plant him and then the straps came down and he went up top for a 450, but landed on his feet. Ivar countered with a super kick and slammed him in position for his moonsault to get the win.
A very good match by Main Event standards that they could pretty much do every week and it would go over well.
Oba Femi was challenged by Ivar on Tuesday, leading to a brawl that saw Ivar lay out the North American Champion. The Final Testament (Karrion Kross, Scarlett, Paul Ellering, and AOP) also made an appearance, with AOP attacking new champions Axiom & Nathan Frazer.
Femi was in the ring talking about successfully defending the title at Stand & Deliver when Ivar’s music hit. Ivar said he was jealous about Femi’s match at Stand & Deliver as he wanted to be part of it. He told Femi that he wanted to be the one to take the title from him. As Femi started to leave, Ivar attempted to stop him from doing so but Femi responded with a headbutt. Ivar connected with a flying crossbody and posed with the title.
After Nathan Frazer & Axiom won the NXT Tag Team titles from Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin, The Final Testament came out and jumped Frazer & Axiom. AOP gave both the Super Collider before posing over the new champions with the titles.
A change has been made to the lineup for tonight’s WWE Raw.
Ivar has been removed from his scheduled match against Andrade on the show.
In a video WWE posted today, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce announced that Ivar is “medically unable to compete” and Andrade will now wrestle Imperium’s Giovanni Vinci tonight.
Fightful Select is reporting that Ivar is expected back quickly, although specifics regarding his condition were not disclosed.
Pearce says in the video:
Alright, ladies and gentlemen Raw General Manager Adam Pearce here. Tonight, live from a sold-out jam-packed Allstate Arena here in Chicago, with a bit of unfortunate news. Sometimes in our industry you’ll hear the phrase ‘card subject to change,’ today is one of those days.
Ivar is medically unable to compete tonight which means Andrade needs a new opponent and that new opponent he has is Imperium’s Giovanni Vinci.
This past week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, before Monday’s Raw — a solid, fun show with some good wrestling and some interesting results.
Ivy Nile defeated Xia Li (6:16)
It was good to see Nile get the win as she is being booked well and the submission finish made sense.
Nile made her Main Event debut here after having worked some other main roster shows over the last few years. She has an MMA background and a low center of gravity, but is clearly really strong and some of her work has a really neat and tidy look about it.
Li took a lot of the going here, using stomps, kicks and strikes. Nile sold well throughout until she got a chance to mount a comeback.
Nile used a couple of suplexes before the pair traded kicks in the middle of the wrong. Nile used one too many, getting caught and pushed into a sloppy-looking Li crossface.
Nile worked her way out easily and then used a spinning kick to knock Li to the mat. She then locked in an unusual finisher: a standing dragon sleeper. Li didn’t spend anytime fighting it off and immediately tapped.
Logically, if it was that easy to get the win, Nile had a ton of opportunities to put this one to bed, but they made her look dangerous as she continues to improve.
Ivar (w/ Valhalla) defeated Apollo Crews (7:19)
There were some impressive spots between two big, strong dudes. Crews hasn’t lost much on this show of late, so it was intriguing to see them give Ivar the honors. This was good stuff that the live crowd really appreciated. Interestingly, too, this was Ivar’s first ever solo win on Main Event.
After Ivar beat Crews up and slowly wore him down, Crews caught him running the ropes with a diving clothesline to finally get him off his feet. Crews did a kip-up to signal to the crowd that this was his chance and they roared in appreciation.
Crews came off the top rope with a high cross but, still selling his ribs, he couldn’t fully hook the leg to enforce the pin. Ivar kicked out at two, but Crews used two consecutive standing moonsaults only to then miss the frog splash when Ivar rolled out of the way.
Impressively, Crews tried to hoist Ivar onto his shoulders and nearly got there, but didn’t quite have the strength.
Plucky ’til the end, when Ivar went up to the top for his finisher, Crews tried to pull him down, but got posted and planted in position for Ivar to finish him off with the top rope moonsault.
Chad Gable is looking to get his win back against Ivar.
WWE has announced that Gable vs. Ivar will take place on Raw this Monday night (February 19). It’s a rematch from the January 22 episode of the show, where a distraction by Valhalla caused Gable to lose.
WWE.com wrote:
For several weeks, The Alpha Academy have been at war with Ivar and Valhalla.
Always one to lead by example, Master Gable now seeks a monumental win when he takes on the one-man wrecking crew in a highly anticipated rematch.
Will Gable’s technical prowess be enough to avoid the Tsunami and crop Ivar down to size?
Find out this Monday at 8/7 C on Raw on USA.
Ivar competed in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match on Raw earlier this week but lost to LA Knight.
Monday’s Raw is taking place from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Here’s everything that’s been announced for the show:
Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre
Intercontinental Champion Gunther defends against Jey Uso
Last-chance battle royal for the final women’s Elimination Chamber match spot
Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, The Miz & R-Truth vs. Damian Priest, Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh
One of the matches on Monday night’s WWE Raw didn’t end how it was originally planned.
The Miz won a fatal four-way match on Raw last night to become the number one contender to Gunther’s Intercontinental title. But Dave Meltzer reports that the match was supposed to end in a double pin. The finish of the match saw Miz pin Bronson Reed and Ivar pin Ricochet at the same time. Before the referee counted to three, Ricochet got his shoulder up.
Meltzer notes that Ricochet was not supposed to kick out. Meltzer believes Ricochet got “rocked” earlier in the match during a spot where his head hit the mat.
“Just a note regarding Raw last night. Ricochet was not supposed to kick out of the Ivar moonsault and it was supposed to be a simultaneous double pin,” Meltzer wrote. “That’s why it came across so awkward on television. I believe Ricochet was rocked earlier in the match when his head hit the mat.”
There was an angle where Ivar attacked Miz after the fatal four-way. Later in the show, it was announced that Miz will face Ivar in a singles match on Raw next Monday.
Miz is challenging Gunther for the Intercontinental title at Survivor Series on Saturday, November 25.
Ivar (real name Todd Smith) is set to undergo surgery following the injury that he suffered on last week’s episode of Raw.
Bryan Alvarez reported on today’s episode of Wrestling Observer Live that Ivar will be undergoing neck surgery in Birmingham, Alabama this Tuesday. The injury happened when Ivar hit a suicide dive to the outside during an eight-man tag match on Raw last Monday.
The Viking Raiders teamed with Apollo Crews & Ricochet against The Hurt Business (MVP, Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander) in last week’s eight-man tag match. After the injury happened, Ivar started putting up the X sign with his hands. Alexander hit a Michinoku Driver on Ricochet in the ring and the referee counted the pin despite Ricochet kicking out. Medical personnel were shown checking on Ivar after the match.
In an update that was posted after last Monday’s Raw, WWE announced that Ivar suffered a cervical injury: “During the Eight-Man Tag Team Match on Monday Night Raw, Ivar suffered a cervical injury on a Viking Dive to the floor. As a precaution, Ivar was transported to a local hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.”
Ivar sent out a message on social media last Tuesday thanking everyone for the support he’s received: “From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU to every single friend, family and fan who has reached out to me. My heart is truly touched from all the love and support. Still figuring it all out but I am working hard to recover and be better than ever! Love you all.”
In a tweet today, Ivar (real name Todd Smith) commented on the cervical injury he suffered on Monday’s Raw and thanked everyone for the support he’s received.
“From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU to every single friend, family and fan who has reached out to me,” Ivar wrote. “My heart is truly touched from all the love and support. Still figuring it all out but I am working hard to recover and be better than ever! Love you all”
The injury happened during an eight-man tag match where The Viking Raiders teamed with Apollo Crews & Ricochet against The Hurt Business (MVP, Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander). Ivar hit a suicide dive to the outside near the end of the match and then started putting up the X sign with his hands. Alexander avoided a 630 from Ricochet in the ring and then won the match with a Michinoku Driver. The referee counted the pin despite Ricochet kicking out.
Medical personnel were shown checking on Ivar after the match. In an update posted on WWE.com following last night’s show, WWE announced that Ivar suffered a cervical injury, was taken to the hospital as a precaution, and is expected to make a full recovery: “During the Eight-Man Tag Team Match on Monday Night Raw, Ivar suffered a cervical injury on a Viking Dive to the floor. As a precaution, Ivar was transported to a local hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.”
Ivar of The Viking Raiders suffered an injury during an eight-man tag match on tonight’s episode of Raw.
The Viking Raiders teamed with Apollo Crews & Ricochet in an eight-man tag match against The Hurt Business (MVP, Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander) on tonight’s show. Near the end of the match, Ivar hit a suicide dive to the outside. He started making an X signal with his hands after hitting the move. In the ring, Alexander avoided a 630 from Ricochet and then gave Ricochet a Michinoku Driver to get the win. The referee counted to three despite Ricochet kicking out.
After the match, medical personnel were shown checking on Ivar outside the ring.
WWE announced after tonight’s show that Ivar suffered a cervical injury during the match. He was taken to the hospital as a precaution and is expected to make a full recovery: “During the Eight-Man Tag Team Match on Monday Night Raw, Ivar suffered a cervical injury on a Viking Dive to the floor. As a precaution, Ivar was transported to a local hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.”
A Raw Underground match has been announced for next week’s post-SummerSlam episode of Raw.
Ivar of The Viking Raiders will face off with Dolph Ziggler in Raw Underground next Monday. The match comes after Ziggler defeated Ivar’s partner Erik in Raw Underground tonight.
After Erik defeated an opponent in Raw Underground this week, Shane McMahon interviewed Ziggler about Erik’s performance. Ziggler said the performance was a 4/10 at best. Ziggler then defeated Erik with a sleeper after poking Erik in the eye with his thumb. Following the match, Ivar tackled Ziggler into the crowd.
NXT’s Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke appeared in a Raw Underground segment tonight alongside fellow Four Horsewomen of MMA member Shayna Baszler. After Shafir got a win, Nia Jax came into the ring and knocked her down from behind. Jax then taunted Duke and Baszler. She kicked Duke but bailed on a match against Baszler.
Earlier in the night, Jax attacked Baszler while Baszler was teaming with Asuka against Sasha Banks & Bayley. Baszler brawled with Jax but returned to the match and got the win for her team by submitting Bayley with the Kirifuda Clutch.
War Raiders officially made the move to Raw tonight, albeit under new names.
The duo were introduced on Raw tonight under the tag team name The Viking Experience, with Michael Cole noting that they were the NXT Tag Team champions. Rowe is now under the name Erik while Hanson is now known as Ivar.
They teamed up with The Revival in their debut match, defeating the team of Ricochet, Aleister Black and Raw Tag Team champions Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder. Ivar scored the pinfall for his team, laying out Ryder with Fallout.
War Raiders were able to keep their individual names when they joined NXT in early 2018, though their original War Machine tag team name was tweaked. They won the NXT tag team titles from Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong at NXT TakeOver: Phoenix on January 26.
They went on to retain the titles at TakeOver: New York, defeating the team of Aleister Black and Ricochet.
