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Vince McMahon has had all the control over WWE creative for a long time now - something that has potentially changed after the TKO merger. However, ex-WWE writer Vince Russo isn't a fan of how McMahon handled a duo that are two-time Tag Team Champions.
On the latest episode of Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws, Dr. Chris Featherstone brought up the topic of The Viking Raiders, who are one-time NXT Tag Team Champions and one-time RAW Tag Team Champions. They arguably haven't been handled to the best of their abilities since their main-roster debut a few years ago.
Vince Russo said he hates how Vince McMahon stereotyped The Viking Raiders and encouraged WWE to explore deeper into the reason why the Viking Culture is so important to the trio of Erik, Ivar, and Valhalla:
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"I just hate it because I know both of those guys [Erik and Ivar] are really into that as a shoot, as is the wife [Sarah Logan/Valhalla]. I just hate that they never got into it, man. It's just the phony, fake Vikings rather than why they live this lifestyle, why they honor this lifestyle. That's always my problem bro, it's like, when can we stop being cartoonish and start being real? This gimmick is real for these guys, man. Let's get into it, let's understand it, and let's find out why they embrace it. But you know how Vince [McMahon] works. 'If you're a Viking then you're Erik the Red and you've got horns and all that silly s**t. I'd love to really learn why these guys embrace that lifestyle. That would be interesting to me." [4:24 - 5:17]
You can watch the full video below:
EC3 reveals the potential reason why Vince McMahon didn't push The Viking Raiders
On the same episode, current NWA World Heavyweight Champion EC3 chimed in on the situation and opined that the reason why Vince McMahon didn't push The Viking Raiders is because they were established before and were not his creation:
"He [Vince McMahon] never came up with it. It was inherited - this Viking thing. The Undertaker was his idea so he could see it through, as opposed to somebody else's idea and it's less impressive and he hasn't been outside since the 80s." [7:56 - 8:19]
There isn't too much of an argument to be made here. While there are undoubtedly outliers, the culture within WWE arguably seemed to encourage pushing fully homegrown talent over established stars.
If you take any quotes from the article's first half, please embed the YouTube video and credit Sportskeeda Wrestling.
