Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Erik On War Raiders, His Near-Fatal Motorcycle Accident, Tag Team Champs, Viking Experience

Episode Date: May 1, 2025

https://cvvtix.com - Get your tickets for INSIGHT LIVE in NYC with VIP Meet & Greet! Erik (@Erik_WWE) is a professional wrestler currently signed to WWE. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Las Vegas to discuss his return from neck surgery, being in a scary motorcycle accident and being told he shouldn't have survived, winning the Tag Team Championships with Ivar, the name changes that included The Viking Experience and The Viking Raiders, facing Mark Hendry in a match on SmackDown in 2006, being married to Sarah Logan (Valhalla) and when fans should expect her to return and more! Quote I'm thinking about: "Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in." — Bill BradleyPlease support our sponsors!   PURE PLANK: The future of core fitness! Use the code CVV to save 10% on Pure Plank designed by Adam Copeland & Christian: https://gopureplank.com/?ref=tibcloux  SEAT GEEK: Use my code CVV for 10% off your next SeatGeek order*: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/CVV Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount   TIMELINE: Go to https://timeline.com/insightto get 10% off your order of Mitopure!  STASH: Go to https://get.stash.com/INSIGHTto see how you can receive $25 towards your first stock purchase and to view important disclosures   MAGIC SPOON: Get $5 off your next order at https://magicspoon.com/cvv   VUORI: Get 20% off your first purchase! Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet at https://vuori.com/cvv  FABRIC: Join the thousands of parents who trust Fabric to help protect their family. Apply today in just minutes at https://meetfabric.com/CVV   ROCKET MONEY: Join Rocket Money today and experience financial freedom: https://rocketmoney.com/cvv  HUEL: Get 15% off plus a FREE Gift for NEW customers with the code INSIGHT at https://huel.comMIRACLE MADE: Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to https://trymiracle.com/CVV and use the code CVV to claim your FREE 3 PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40% OFF   ZOCDOC: Instantly book a top-rated doctor today at https://zocdoc.com/insight   BONCHARGE: Use the code CVV to save 15% off your infrared sauna blanket at https://boncharge.com/cvv   BLUECHEW: Get your first month of BlueChew for free with the code CVV at https://bluechew.com   PLUNGE: Get $150 off your Plunge with the coupon code CVV150 at https://plunge.com   For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com If you have ever enjoyed any of these episodes, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast or Spotify? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests.    Follow CVV on social media:  Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Fleet. Ah, yes, welcome back to another audio adventure here on Inside. I am CVV. I am Chris Van Fleet. Hope your week's going well. Thank you for clicking on this episode. And thank you for making Insight the number one wrestling podcast on the planet. Hit a tornado DDT on that follow button on Apple.

or Spotify or pocket casts or whatever the podcast listening app of your choice is. I looked at the numbers recently and something like 64% of people who listen to the show haven't hit the follow button yet. And you know me, I don't ask for much, but could you just take a few seconds out of your day today to click the follow button? It'd be so easy to do. And then if you have an extra few seconds and that's all it'll take, could you leave a rating on Spotify or a review?

on Apple or both, those two things specifically help the show grow so, so much. You know Eric is one half of the War Raiders, and I was so excited for them when they won the tag team championships for a second time at the end of last year. They're a fascinating dynamic. Eric is smaller but deceptively strong. Ivar is bigger, but deceptively fast and agile. And together, they just make magic in the ring. And my gosh, goodness, what a story Eric has. In 2014, he had an incredibly scary motorcycle accident where he flew through a car window wearing no helmet. And he tells the story in this interview, but doctors told him that he should have died on impact. It's crazy. It's given him this whole new

appreciation for life and for wrestling and for being a husband and a father. And it's going to be hard for you not to root for Eric and the war raiders after listening. to this episode. And by the way, if you've never heard Eric talk before, he has a surprisingly deep and soothing voice, you're going to love it. Share this episode with someone who you know would appreciate this and snap a screenshot and share it online and tag us. He's at Eric underscore WWE. I'm at Chris Van Fleet. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome. Eric. You know, I'm a Cleveland guy. Like, I lived in Cleveland for five years. I didn't know that. I had no idea.

2010 till 2015. Okay. So I was an entertainment reporter for 19 Action News. Wow. Yeah, Channel 19. So now a very important Cleveland question. Yes. West Side or East Side?

I was downtown. Oh, you're right in the middle. You're a fence sitter. You're a fence sitter. I lived on West 9th Street. You know the Bingham? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I lived in the Bingham.

Oh, wow. Yeah, I could never afford living downtown on West 9th. I grew up like near West Side of Cleveland. Okay, so West Side. Yeah, yeah, very, very much. very much a west side or my dad Logan Paul's also west side. Yeah, we don't claim him.

My, yeah, my dad worked at LTV Steel. And then after that, the steel mill went under and that, like, is a whole part of my childhood. Like, you know, financial difficulties and all that stuff. Like so many Clevelanders. And then he worked at Great Lakes Brewing Company.

And I was fortunate enough to go to St. Ignatius high school, which was right next to Great Lakes. So, like, he would drive to work. I would go to school. Yeah. And then, you know, find ways. home after wrestling practice or whatever. When did you move from Cleveland?

So I left Cleveland in 2010. So our pads crossed briefly. Almost. Yeah. I moved there in February, February 28th of 2010. Yeah. And I was out like May of 2010. Look at us.

Yeah. Like two ships in the night. Yeah. And then I, because like if you, you know, you were in Cleveland at that time, there was no jobs. There was nothing. I was making zero money. as a wrestler. I had basically given up

on like the career of wrestling. I was like wrestling is something that I love, but it doesn't love me back. So I'm just, I'm going to give up. Like I can't chase this anymore. So I took a job. I had some friends that I had a job opportunity open up in Texas. So I moved

to Houston. I lived in Houston for six years. Were you wrestling at all? Yeah, I was. So I had like there were two, there was like a smaller independent company in Houston and then one in San Antonio. The one in San Antonio was actually run, or not run, but like, it was essentially run by Hernandez from TNA. So I got a hold of him and whatever. And then I was just doing those two shows. That was it. Like, and it was not even,

I think it was every month, but it might have been like every six weeks or so. And like, I was wrestling and just kind of like, well, this is just what I'm going to do for fun. Like, I can't make money at this. I can't make a career. Like I said, I loved wrestling, but it didn't love me back. And then Ring of Honor. came through in 2013, and I got a call if I wanted to have a match. And I actually spoke with Delirious, who was booking Ring of Honor at the time. And he was like, oh, dude, I thought you quit wrestling. Like, I just dropped off the face of the earth or whatever.

And then that led to the Top Prospect Tournament, which led to Taddy and I getting signed. And then, you know, and then led to War Machine, then led to Japan. and then led to NXT, then led to here. Like, it's this crazy, like, crazy journey that I never thought possible. And what a story, because nobody gets into wrestling going, I want to be a tag team wrestler, right? Most people go into wrestling. I want to be a single star.

I want to, you know, be a champion. Oh, yeah. But then you realize that, oh, my gosh, my weaknesses are your strengths and vice versa. We make a great team. And look at the career you've had because you and I have met. Yeah, absolutely. And like when we first got teamed up,

because it wasn't even our idea to team up, we wrestled in the top prospect tournament. And now I'm sure you had Ivor on the show. He's going to be very, very proud of the fact that he won that match. He's going to tell every time we go to Pittsburgh, he tells everyone in the building from the guys sweeping up the trash to, you know, Randy Orton and Triple H in the back that in Pittsburgh, he pinned me.

So make sure this goes on the podcast. because that's his most, most thing that he brags about all the time. But, yeah, after that match, I think Ring of Honor just liked how we look together in the ring. And they were like, oh, they both have beards and both kind of this smash-mouth thing. We'll team him up. And I'd only met him once before. And we talked. And like, it was, like, we had a lot of mutual friends.

And, like, we got along right away. But at the same time, we had a conversation. We're like, well, all right, there's not really space on the Ring of Honor roster for us. to be singles guys, let's do this tag team for a little bit and then we'll turn on each other, we'll split up, and then go our separate ways. And then, you know, 10, 11,

11 years later, I think at this point, we're no split up inside. You're having a match at WrestleMania as the tag team champions. Yeah, who could have ever drawn that play up? It's completely, and especially because he and I both at different points in our career and our lives like had some type of traumatic injury,

accident, whatever, where, like, we were either told, like, you know, you should never wrestle again. I was told, like, I should never, I shouldn't have been alive. Like, I should have died. So it's a, it's a wild, wild ride that, like, you just can't, like, you can't script that. So what is that story? It's a motorcycle accident. I can't just tease that. It's a motorcycle accident, right? So in 2014, actually, just after War Machine started rolling, you know, he and I spend 11 or 12 years each, like, not

making any money in wrestling, basically both giving up on like making wrestling our career. We get offered, bring up on our contracts. We start wrestling. Everything's starting to go good. And then like I do, like I had done every day for like two years, I went to the gym. I got on my motorcycle, went to the gym, left the gym on my way to get something to eat. And a girl was texting at a stop sign and she just pulled out right in front of my motorcycle. So like, I was going about 55 miles an hour, and she was maybe 30 feet in front of me. Like maybe. I hadn't even had the conscious decision to like break, whether I was going to try

to break and turn to miss her or lay my bike down. I just kind of said, oh, and I didn't even get the full word out of my mouth. So I wasn't even censoring myself just on general, and I smashed into the back of her car. So like instead of hitting like where the hood, I had turned and jerked the wheel. and and I hit like the pat or the the the backseat um and then so because I had had torquered the handlebars like this I broke my left thumb I shattered everything above my left arm to my to my my elbow to my shoulder then I went up over my handlebars I punched out her that back uh that rear window with my face uh like lacerated above my eye broke my nose but I didn't

break the cartilage I broke like the the the the the the the the the the the the bone, like the skull. And then I stood up. Like I hit, I hit my knee, and then I stood up. And my arm was like wiggling. And the girl comes out of the car and she's crying. And she's, you know, like, do you need me to call the ambulance? And I was like, yes, please.

And then the ambulance shows up and they pull up across the street and, or like across the intersection. And you're still standing? Yeah, I was, I was like, I had sat down at that point. And I just stood up off the curb and I started walking to the ambulance. And I remember that I saw the ambulance and the paramedic grabbed like a body bag out of the back because they just assumed from the call that I was dead. Wow. And I walked over and there's literally a body bag on the ground and I walk and I'm like full walking dead right because my whole face is like just gnarled up with blood and stuff. and that paramedic looks at me and he's like,

uh, sir, uh, you, you're not supposed to be walking. And I was, I was, I was sure I was in shock at this point.

And I was like, I was like, do you want me to go sit back down? And, uh, he's like, no, no, no, you're already over here.

Let me, lay, I just want to stabilize your neck before you, do you do anything else or, you know, whatever. And I was like, oh, okay. And he's like,

unless you want to walk to the hospital. And I was like, how far is the hospital? He said, oh, it's about three miles. and I was like, no, I'll take the ride. Like, you know, I, and I'm sure he was, he was teasing me at that point, but, like, I was in so much shock that, um, yeah, I didn't know what was going on.

And then everybody I had talked to after that, like, the emergency room docs, the surgeon, like, all the doctors were basically like, yeah, like, people don't typically live, because I wasn't wearing a helmet. Wow. And, like, we've talked back and forth on, like, whether or not that actually saved my life or not because, like, maybe. And I'm not advocating that you shouldn't wear a helmet on a bike. I'm just saying mine one in a million chance.

Like, because I hit the window with my head and there's a chance if I was wearing a helmet, it would have been bigger and I could have hit like the cross guard over top of the car, like the roof of the car. That might have snap my neck. It might not have. I don't know. I know that my, you know, like, my dad has always told me that I give my guardian angel the hardest time. and I almost outran him that day.

But yeah, he was looking out. And there was a reason that I survived that and a reason that I was there. So then my, the doctors were like, yeah, you should be dead, right? Like, you should have died in the physics of this accident, the whatever. Like usually this is a fatal accident. There's no way you're going to wrestle again.

Like your arm is completely shattered. It's destroyed. Like literally everything from elbow to shoulders. is just destroyed. Like, you're going to be lucky to lift weights. Like, you're going to whatever. Six months later, I was wrestling again. Like, I had two plates, 18 pins and screws, like, all, like, I don't know, a six

or seven hour surgery, putting my arm back together. Yeah, and I was back wrestling six months later. Did you feel like you had a new lease on life? Yeah. And in a way, I was like, I've wasted so much time. Like, there's so many stupid decisions or I've worried about so many things that, like, don't truly matter. And I've,

I've, like, I've let so much time waste. And I felt that I couldn't do that anymore. I felt like I had been given the second chance on life, literally, where it was like, I don't want to waste any more time. I don't want to take anything for granted, right?

Like, I, you know, definitely, like, hugged people more and, like, was a lot more thankful and grateful. And, like, because I, I, you know, to have a doctor tell you, like, you should have died. not like, hey, like, you're real lucky or, hey, like, this could have been bad. Like, he was like, yeah, dude, I can't, I can't explain why you're alive. It also makes you wonder, like, are you content with the life you lived up to that point, right? And if, if that was me in that situation, I'd be like, no.

Like, there's so many other things. I think of all the things you've done since 2014. Yeah, absolutely. And, like, I mean. Got married, became a dad, became a dad again. Yeah, yeah. Went to Japan. Went to WW, you know, went to WW.E.

became a, you know, multi-time world tag team champions, you know, on different continents for different companies, you know, all of the things that, like, I thought, um, my life were going to be is just totally different. And like growing up in Cleveland, uh, with like some of the,

the bad decisions I was making as a younger kid, like, I thought I would be dead or in jail by 35. Like, I genuinely didn't think that I would live this long. Um, and I can confidently, and firmly say that every year since 35 has been the best year of my life. And so, like, I've got a

birthday tradition that, like, I never thought I would make C-35. So every year on my birthday, I deadlift 450 pounds just to, like, not yet, right? Like, not dead yet. My wife laughs of me, but she thinks it's funny. Do you only deadlift 450 once a year? Pretty much. Like, I, like, I deadlift throughout the year, and I lift throughout the year, but I don't go crazy heavy anymore, just with various injuries and like various, you know, whatever. Like, I don't care about the number on the scale anymore or the number on the bar anymore. I just don't. I'm thinking long term because, like, if I get hurt in the gym, then I can't perform in the ring.

It's not worth the risk, right? So, like, I still do athletic movements. I still, you know, I train with maces and kettlebells and, you know, heavy weights and whatever. But, like, I'm not chasing a number for the number's sake, right? Like, I'll do the number for the workout. But, like, that day on my birthday. I put $4.50 on the bar and I rip it off the ground. What's going to happen the day you can't get it up?

I don't. And I'm not saying it's any time soon. I don't accept that as a possibility. You might be 79. I don't accept that as a possibility. It's going to go up. Yeah. Like impossible is nothing, right?

I love that. So if wrestling was taken away from you at that point in time, for a brief period of time, did you feel like it was not going to come back after the neck surgery recently? Yes. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. So like survive. Man, this is a heavy podcast early. What a story.

Yeah. It's wild. Yeah. So I got, you know, in a freak accident, like I landed a suplex. I got dropped directly on my head, right? Like, just one of those things. Like, I think we kind of say it without really thinking about it, that like in wrestling, like, oh, well, any match could be our last or any move could be our last or whatever. And we kind of don't think about the weight of that.

I was on a live event, non-televised, like just a, you know, a match that we don't really think about or like, you know, we take for granted. Doing a move that, you know, taking a suplex that I had taken thousands of times in my career, didn't think once about it. And for whatever reason, on that day, I over-rotated and landed directly in my head. And I didn't even really, when it happened, I knew I was hurt, but I didn't know how bad it was hurt. I thought it was something like, you know, that was in my trap and in my, you know, everything kind of locked up muscular. So I was treating it muscular. It got worse. We got MRIs. Saw there was herniation in the, you know, herniation in the disc. I kept wrestling because I was like, well, we can just keep treating this with PT. You know, I was talking with doctors. I was doing whatever. I was doing PT like three, four, five times a week.

I was getting, you know, dry needling, you know, scrakeying. You know, scrake. sleeping everything, trying to mitigate all the stuff. I was doing like electric, you know, the therapy and stuff like that, trying to stimulate the nerves, trying to doing everything I could to avoid surgery. Yeah. But in the same time, I was wrestling every single week. I didn't miss a match.

And then I took another bad fall, just got tumbled up going over the ropes one time. And it actually didn't even hit my neck. I hit my elbow on the apron on the way over. And then like three days later, my tricep disappeared. My right lap, like, shrank, like, half in size, and then my right peck, like, flattened, like, within days.

And I came in, and I was terrified, like, terrified. So I came in to work that week, and we were scheduled for a match. Actually, against a new day. Ironically enough, we were scheduled to wrestle the new day. And I sat down with medical. I sat down with Triple H. and I, you know, and everybody, like, the consensus was like, hey, you're going to Birmingham tomorrow. Like, you're not flying home. Can't see your plans. We're flying you from TV to Birmingham.

I saw Dr. Cordova. We did try, like, a nerve block thing because he was like, hey, maybe we can reverse some of this. So we tried that before cutting. And then that didn't have the effect that anyone wanted. So we did next surgery. And, but it was like, I mean, it was. immediate, it was fast. It was like bang, bang, bang. That sounds so scary. It was, yeah. And like, you know, they're going through the front now.

So it's at ACDF surgery. It's at level like 6, 7. And like Ivar's got two levels. So his is actually like the one above and mine. But like our symptoms are totally different. Even down to like the fingers, like our nerve pathway, like the way that my nerve pathway was affected was totally different than his. so it's funny that we have

we both have surgically repaired next but our injuries couldn't be more separate but yeah then like we kind of I've always been a fast healer like after the motorcycle wreck I was back in six months so in my brain I was like I'll be back in six months

you know what I mean like I've done this before like with fine six months game I went for the scan and still didn't have full fusion seven months no fusion eight months no fusion nine months, no fusion, and I'm like, now I'm getting scared. Like, I'm like, what happens if this doesn't fully fuse, right?

Like, what is life without wrestling? How does this go on? And then, you know, thank God. Like, finally it did fuse. We showed full fusion. I was able to start training again, get back really quickly. But then, like, I was, it ended up being like 13 months, I think, from surgery that I was out. And, like, there was definitely some times of like, oh, this might be the end.

So I was thinking, I'm texting, texting with Ivar and talking to my wife every day and like, how do we go from here? What happens now? So it's like sobering to like be struck there. And then like having the motorcycle wreck, then having the neck surgery, there's all of this like, hey dude, don't take anything for granted. Don't take anything for granted. Not a single flight, not a single match, not a single move, not a single day. And then with kids, like, you know this is about as anybody. like the days are long and the years are short.

So like my oldest is already four years old. Wow. And like even though I know you shouldn't take anything for granted, you get way down by like, you know, just how hard that is, not sleeping, not whatever, you know what I mean? Like I heard something that was like parenting is only hard for good parents. Yeah, it's only hard for good parents, right? Because like, you know, whatever.

And like I'm not saying that I'm the best parent in the world. I know I'm not. I just try my best. We care. Yeah, I try. Yeah, I care. Like, you know, we're up when, you know, we're up at night. We're, you know, up early.

We're sleep late, whatever we have to do. And, like, just like everybody, you know, does, I'm not trying to say that I'm better than anybody else. But, like, you think about that and you think about those kids. And, like, man, I try to, like, you just try to soak all that stuff in. Even when it's hard. Even when it's hard. It's something that Sarah and I, like, talk about a lot. Like, while it's hard and we're like, oh, my gosh, this is hard.

I can't sleep, but whatever. Like, I remember with cash, like her, during the first, like, you know,

she's breastfeeding, we're co-sleeping. We're doing all the stuff. And, like, she's not sleeping, like more than, like, 30 to 45-minute stretches for,

like, a month at a time. Like, that's what we're at right now. Yeah, she looks at me and she was just like, she's like, how long can someone go without sleep

before they die? You know? And I'm like, I don't know, but it's not yet. Like, we're still making it. Like,

because our son is four months. Right. You're right around. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He is, he is for, so our youngest, Ezekiel was born on Thanksgiving. So,

so our son was born on December 17th to just like two and a half weeks later. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So we're right there. Yeah, we're in it with you. We're in the thick of it. Yeah. You guys know that when it comes to health and well-being,

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Results vary based on studies of topical and oral monoxide and fanasteride. Prescription product require an online consultation with a health care provider who will determine if a prescription is appropriate. Restrictions apply. See website for full details and important safety information. I really struggle with like trying to appreciate this moment and knowing that it is so fleeting. Yeah. Like this moment is all we have, right?

And you need to appreciate it as much as you can. But it's like, it's like trying to grab water. Like someone's pouring water and you're trying to, and you can't. That's what it feels like. Like, I'm trying to appreciate and I am. Yeah. But I know that it's so fleeting, right? Yeah.

It's, you can't grab onto it. Yeah. And there's, it's definitely hard, too. Like, there's stuff that's like, they say like level two fun, right? Like, where it's fun afterwards or you think about it afterwards. And you can, and you can like, you know, like climbing a mountain, right? Like, while you're doing it, it's horrifically hard. It's scary.

It's dangerous. It's all this stuff. And you might be suffering. But then the next day, the next week, the next month, the next year, you look back and you're like, wow, that was one of the greatest days of my life. Yeah. I feel like that's, like, how raising kids is. You know what I mean? Like, when I'm walking with the baby who, for whatever reason, has a bubble and, you know, Sarah's tired.

and she hasn't slept in days. So I'm taking the kid. I'm like, hey, you go sleep. I'll bounce this kid. And I might have just got home from, like, for instance, like when we were in the European trips, I had just come home. And same thing.

She was home for four days with the baby, with both kids. And then I came home. I'm jet lagged. I'm, you know, just coming off a long haul, long haul 10 hour flight or whatever. And like, but no, like it's dad, like instant dad. So like that day,

She, I'm like, hey, go to bed, baby. And I take, you know, I'm taking Zeke and I'm trying to pat him and get them to burp and do whatever. My lower back is locking up and screaming and objectively, that's not fun. But like, you do value that and you can look back at it and be like, man, this is, this is amazing. Is that level two, level three, whatever that is? And like we experience life in seconds, minutes, hours, days, right? But we only remember it in moments. and I think about that all the time, right?

Like this day, for example, I will not have a recollection of all 24 hours of this day, but there'll be the moments to stand out. And I try to, I try to be really aware of the moments as they're happening. And that's been a big thing for me of like, oh, this is a thing. Yeah, yeah, this right now we're experiencing a moment. And like it's funny.

So like now bring that. And we are right now. Yeah, yeah, this is. No phone. This is the moment. Yeah. Just two dads hanging out. And, and, but like on that, too, like, bringing that back to wrestling,

I think it was Sean Michaels who told, who talked about, he was like, people will never remember what you do, but don't remember how you make them feel. Yeah. So there's the Maya Angelou quote. There's a, oh, is it? Okay. So I heard it from Sean Michaels. Sorry, I'm a wrestler and a meathead.

But, like, you, I try to think about that about wrestling, right? Like, the moves we do are just, like, the things we're using to tell our story. You know, the mechanics, the techniques, right? And we're doing this to tell that story to try to make people feel, right? And like, it makes us feel, you know what I mean? Like, I can get goosebumps thinking about moments of matches or whatever and, like, come to tears on, like, oh, my gosh, this is, this is powerful. This is a thing.

Or, like, thinking about our favorite matches. So, like, the same, like, you don't think about the thing. You just think about the moment, right? In that moment, that emotion, that's the magic of wrestling, right? That's the magic. Like, when you can get that emotion, that, like, man, that spark in the bottle. And, you know, that lightning in a bottle, that's the magic of wrestling. That's why we do it.

That's why we come back to it. That's why, you know, no matter what, that's why it's still where it's at. And, you know, I think more and more people are, like, catching that bug and, like, giving it the reality of, like, or giving it the ability. to touch them. You know what I mean? Like where it's, it's, it's, it's, because wrestling was kind of on a down turn for a while and it was like kind of like full pot to like still be, oh, like, you're still a wrestling fan? I watched that when I was a kid. Yeah, right. And everybody had that. But like now it's, dude, it's, it's as popular now. It's, I don't know because I wasn't around

during the attitude era as on this side of wrestling. Yeah. But like it feels to me like in our culture today, it is approaching that attitude era level of like being cool again. Yeah, it's definitely in the cultural zeitgeist now. People are aware of, maybe you don't watch it week to week, but you're aware of who the characters are. Yeah, and like you're aware that wrestling's cool and it's allowed to be cool. Yes. So like now that it's allowed to be cool, people are allowing themselves to watch it. And then you get swept up.

And then you go, whoa, that made me feel something or that made me, you know, whatever, that struck a chord. And like, that's the magic, right? That's why we do it. That's why we watch it. That's why we, that's why we're here today in Las Vegas because there's that moment. of time or that moment where there's a there's a moment and an emotion and you're like, ooh, this is special.

I heard it put so perfectly that wrestling is what happens in between the moves. Oh, I like that. It's exactly what you're talking about. Nigel McGinnis said it when he was on the show. Yeah. And it's so true, right? Because if it was just suplex, headlock, DDT, like move after move or move, it's like,

all right, but like it's the emotion that is telling the story between the moves. Yeah, and not to in any way, shape, or form, like, talk bad about the video game, right? Like, because 2K is a crazy cool, get video game, and I played wrestling video games for untold hours growing up. Same.

But a video game match doesn't have the same emotional effect on you as, you know, watching something or wrestling something. So it's like, because the video game is just moves, right? We are doing this move because it does this much damage. It's a fighting. game, right? It's, it's Tekken. You know, you're, you're, you're doing this move or this punch or this strike or this suplex because it does X amount of damage and, and then it's, it's math, you know, math equations, right? Yeah. Where you don't get a lot of emotion out of math. And then it's,

it's, it's that. It's the, it's what happens in between the moves and how the, how the story is told and how the emotion flows and all that fun stuff. Yeah, it's beautiful. Well, this beautiful, this beautiful championship is off camera. Grab it here. Yeah. Yeah. What a, moment that was. And you could tell how emotional that was for you guys when you won that. Yeah. And like what great timing? Like your son had just been born. This was a few weeks after that. It's like a week before Christmas. Like what a beautiful moment. What a beautiful time. What did it mean after? Because you're both there on the pin. One, two, three. Yeah. How did that feel? Oh, man. I don't know that I have words to articulate.

that. It was, it's incredible. It's, it's incredibly, it's incredibly validating. And like, definitely something like we talk about like appreciating things, right? Like, so we're, we're grateful. We're, we're thinking about them in ways that like maybe when we were younger or we hadn't almost died or, you know, had our careers taken away. We're, we're not thinking of. So to kind of put that retrospective back into it, like we talk about soaking in it. So, So it's something that like, not just on the title win, but a lot of times like Ivar and I will go to the ring and one of us will take the time and we'll grab the other one. Like maybe we're waiting for our opponent to come down or like, you know, the lights have gone off right before an entrance music hits. And one of us will like grab the other one and be like, dude, soak this in.

Like this is cool. This is a moment, right? When me, Ivar and Sarah all came out at Mania, we did that at the top of the ramp. like as we were walking down the next opponent's music started because that ramp was so long in L.A. We actually didn't get the camera on us the whole way down. So we had a moment to like, wow,

look around. So I'm going to try to steal a moment like that tomorrow, or this weekend with Ivar. But yeah, like the title win is it's crazy because it means so much, right? Like it means like the company has faith in you, right? The company is making you the face

of their division, right? Whatever that division is, whether that's the women's title or the, you know, the tag team title, the world heavyweight title, whatever, you are a face of that company. And like, that's such a vote of confidence and like such a meaningful thing on a professional level and a personal level. And like, you know, whether we like it or not, we invest our personal kind of self-worth into your character, into, you know, like how much of you as a person gets put forward, right? Like, this is an incredibly vulnerable art. Because, like, if you saw, like, Kit Harrington, right, who plays John Snow, you're going to go, oh, my gosh, you play John Snow.

Like, that's so cool that you get to act and pretend to be John Snow. Like, oh, man, that's amazing. Yeah. When wrestling fans meet you, they're like, hey, you're Eric. You suck. You know what I mean? Like, you personally, you suck. Like, you're out of shape.

You're this, you're that. your moves are bad, your whatever, and it's like personal. Yeah. And like it's a different, it's a different, um, it's a different medium, right? Like, we have this like knowledge that like, for movies and TV shows, like, those are actors playing a role. Yes. Wrestlers, because there is so much reality and truth to who we are, right, like the best

and most effective wrestling characters are extensions of you. So you put that kind of forward. Yeah. but as a as a negative side of that fans are like hey you you you you you suck you know whatever it is and and and and not like the you know the tongue and cheek like hey you're a bad guy so I'm going to boot you like there are you know so it is vulnerable you know it's it's very vulnerable so like when you get when you get that confidence of like you know the company saying hey you're the guy yeah like you guys like you know through it all you are the product that's

That's why it's like, it's so difficult. Yeah. Because the criticism and phrase, both are directed right at you. Yes. Yeah. Like, they don't care about the booking or any of this other stuff. It's like, you.

Yeah, you. And, like, I think that's part of why, like, wrestling is such, like, now, like, I'm straight edge. I don't drink. I don't do drugs. But, like, if I did, I couldn't imagine a drug that's more addicting or more powerful than wrestling, right? because it's the highest highs,

as the lowest lows, like you go to a stadium and there's 50,000 people or to a smaller venue and there's 5,000 people or, you know, on the Indies, there's 500 people, you know, even 50 people,

screaming your name. You know what I mean? And like, there's, like, there's, there's this thing that happens for wrestlers where, like, a lot of times people will ask, like, hey, like, you know, how loud is it or whatever?

And, like, you can't even hear it. Sometimes you just feel it. Like, the crowd is so loud that it no longer is is is audio it's it's it's like a physical sensation like when like that crowd really comes up it's like a it hits you in the chest and you're like like you know it it's so like you don't even i don't even hear it but i feel it and it's like man like that like that i'm getting goosebumps right now like that it's it's a it's a drug and like anything else so like in that like having that almost taken away

having that whatever and then to be put in a position where like we're in a new era we're in a new you know a new situation we're on netflix now and to be you know given that ball that proverbial ball like to to be told like hey you guys are champs you guys are champions we are you know you're at the top of the you're at the top of the heap you you know you've got a target on your back we want everyone to be chasing you is a is an honor is a challenge is a you know a thing and and it's a thing that that ivar and i didn't think was going to happen happen again. Well, you guys had a bit of a rough road. Like, yeah, the Viking experience. So let's talk about the Viking experience. Let's talk about the Viking experience. I'm going to put

this down. I'm going to put this down. Yeah, it was a, it wasn't experience. So like, wow, sorry. Yeah. Um, yeah. So, uh, what a week. What a week. So like, and that's the thing. It was only a week. It was only a week. It was less than a week. It was less than a week. It was like, seven six days um and then we were the viking raiders however like we only the only thing changed it was our name we were still the same people we still did the same moves we still did the same entrance we did still still wore the same clothes same you know horns and armor and all the stuff i think we still even had the same music like they just changed the name on the on the titanron um so like but people Twitter and X, whatever it is now, has never let us forget.

Like ever, every time we're on TV, we'll get at least a dozen of Viking experience tweets, which is funny. But it's, yeah, man, that, we can go down that rabbit hole if you want to, but that was, yeah, it was a, it was a silly, a silly moment. And like, because that was our debut from NXT. And like, we had already gotten our name changed once, right? because we were War Machine on the Indies. And then we came to WWE,

and they couldn't use that name for a variety of legitimate and good reasons. And I understand one of the big ones is the UFC fighter with a very checkered past. Yes. Yeah, yeah. And we actually had, so I was going to avoid it, but we had a conversation with Hunter, and he was like, look, man, I can't have 10-year-olds looking up your name

and having that come up on Google. Yeah. It was like, valid. Yeah, absolutely. We had actually wanted to change War Machine before coming to WWE, but at that point we were in Ring of Honor that had the name, like the name, and New Japan loved the name. So we kept the name.

That was kind of who, you know, we came to the dance with it, so that's what we did. So we were down to change the name. And funny enough, like when we came to NXT and they changed our name from War Machine to War Raiders, I don't remember if it was Hunter directly or if it was somebody else through Hunter had presented us some ideas of names. And he was like, yeah, we're thinking maybe like Doomsday Raiders. Taddy and I both looked at each other and we're like, because like a good name won't make your career,

but a bad name could follow you forever on Twitter. Trust me, I know. Is there truth to the rumor that you, that the berserker was presented to you? So not until the main roster. So like, so in that initials change, right? So from War Machine to War Raiders, they, they, the initial one was Doomsday Raiders. And we were like, oof, okay, could we give you some ideas, right? So I Var and I went and we talked about a bunch of stuff and, man, we probably gave 50 names back.

And then someone told us, well, you know, they really want to put Raiders in the name. So we came up with 50 names with Raiders in them. Yeah. And the number one on our list was actually. actually Viking Raiders. We're like, hey, this is a name that we like. It kind of fits who we are. The look we've got, the energy we've got.

I like this name. So we sent it up. And I think it was Hunter who was like, yeah, yeah. We're kind of thinking war raters. I was like, well, let's give you some different ideas. I said, yeah, but we really like war raters. And we're like, yeah, man, war raters is the coolest name we ever heard. So then we became the war raiders, right?

And then when we went to we got called up. And then we were War Raiders and all of NXT. We liked the name. And then we got called up. We were the Viking experience. And like our first day on the main roster, we had never actually physically met Vince McMahon, but we went and stood outside his office to go and plead our case.

Because like I was ringside. So like this is fun. Like I was ringside. And I see our music starts playing. And it's the war raiders, right? Up on the screen. And then the logo changes and berserkers with a Z comes up. Now I'm looking like, oh, man.

And then that goes away, and the Viking experience comes up. I look, and I'm like, oh, no. So I walk up, and Hunter was actually ringside, and he's texting. and I walk up to him and I was like, hey, dude, is this a rib? And he just shakes his head and goes, I wish. I'm like, what do we do? He's like, well, you got to go talk to Vince.

All right, cool. So, you know, Ivar's plane was late. So he, like, gets to the building. I tell him, like, we got to go talk to Vince. This is bad, right? So we go get in line. We stand. We make our, plead our case.

I said, Viking experience sounds like a Disney ride, you know, like, it sounds like, it sounds like something like, you know, a small world. Yeah, it's right. Next to Pirates of the Caribbean. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And the teacups and all that stuff.

Yeah, the Viking experience, bring your kids, right? So, like, I mean, if we were, we, we pitched that case. And, and, and Vince was like, he was like, well, it makes sense. But we don't have time to get that through, through legal. because we asked to be Viking Raiders because we heard through a little birdie told us you know

the initial time when we changed from War Machine to War Raiders they were really stuck on Raiders right so all of the names had Raiders in them this time Vince

was really stuck on us being Vikings he loved Vikings right like little known fact Vince was a big show big fan of the history show Vikings which is probably why we got

called up in the first place because he was like hey we got Vikings on TV bring them up So he wanted us to be the Viking something, right? And the problem is Vikings are a very popular thing in culture right now. So nothing could get past legal. Nothing could get trademark.

Nothing could get whatever. Viking experience was shockingly free because no one wanted to be that, including us. So we asked to be Viking Raiders. And by this point, it's like 7.30, right? The show's going on at 8. And he was like, well, we can't get this cleared through legal at this point. So what we'll do is you'll be the Viking experience today. and if we really don't like it,

then we'll be Viking Raiders next week. And, you know, no press is bad press. So, like, worst case scenario, people will talk, they'll be talking about you. And so we're like, okay. And as we're leaving the office, kind of in an afterthought, he goes, oh, and by the way,

one of you is Ivar and one of you is Eric. I don't care who. And we just walked out. And I looked, and we weren't like, we were steps. I mean, maybe two steps outside of his office. and Ivar grabs my arm like for real and he's like please don't make me be Eric my brother's name is Eric and like the bully in my brain for like three seconds I was like man I really should

be mean yeah no okay fine you can be high bar but I really it was close it was close to to us being the other way because they didn't have a you know they didn't and I was like man I'm like I don't know how they came up with this name. names. Someone might have, like, someone that, you know, in creative might have just, like, Google, like, you know, yeah, yeah, famous Viking names or something. And, like, the first one that came, because I did that afterwards, trying to figure out, like, where'd they come up with these names? The first one was, like, Eric, Eric, Eric the Red, then it was Ivar the boneless. Then it was Eric, Blood Axe, and I was like, oh, cool. So it's literally just

Eric, Ivar, Eric, yep, you guys, Vikings, yep, Eric and Ivar. So then how good was it when years later you get War Raiders back? That was awesome. And, and more important than that, we got to be ourselves. Yeah. Right. Like now as war raiders, we are the closest thing to war machine that we've ever been. Right?

No face paint. No face paint. We're not even wearing like horns and helmets and armor. Like we're coming out in, you know, in essentially like biker vests, you know, leather vests and like wearing like this is what I wear to TV. I just put a vest on. And I cut promos like this on WWTV.

I wear a black t-shirt and jeans, which is what I wear every day of my life. If I'm not in gym clothes, this is what I'm wearing. We have the same uniform. Yeah, it's hard to, yeah, well, you're mixing it up, right? You can't always be. But, like, it's, that's just that this is who I am. And we talk about that in characters, right?

Like, the best character is a reflection of yourself or yourself volume turned up, right? So, like, this is who I am. You know, I wear beanies and little, you know, those little, like, cadet hats that I aren't I wear on TV we wear in everyday life. So like it's the most natural that we've been as part of WWE. With like war machine on the outside, we were allowed. No one was there. No one was creatively telling us over top like, hey, you have to be this thing or you have

to be that thing. We kind of had the freedom to do whatever we wanted and to find our characters. And like under now as war raters, we're kind of given that same freedom, which is incredible. And like, so in that same thing, like when you're talking about what does that mean to be the champion here, we aren't a cartoon character that was given that that vote of confidence or said, hey, this is the version of you that is allowed to be, you know, now the champion and now the, you know, now the example, now the, you know, now the top dog or whatever. Like, this is you. This is the truest form of you that we've ever seen on TV. Yeah.

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So cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with RocketMoney. Go to RocketMoney.com slash CVV today. That's rocketmoney.com slash CVV. There were some fun moments as the Michael Riders. They were fun. We've always had fun. One of them was Sarah Valhalla giving the antlers to Michael Cole. Yeah, yeah.

What a fun moment. What a great reaction from Michael Cole. I think that was actually her last appearance on TV before she wasn't able to be, because she found out she was pregnant. I really think that was a lot. It could be wrong. I could be. So, internet, please correct me there.

But I'm pretty sure that was her last moment on TV before she went to, you know, on maternity leave. And I can't remember exactly what Cole said, but something like, Cole's about, or what Pat said, but something like, Cole's about to have a volcanic eruption. Dude, it was awesome. And like, so, like, that's, it's funny, too, because, like, Sarah had, like, played around with different looks for Valhalla and different things.

And, like, some of it was, like, based on, like, the TV show or some of it was, like, you know, Instagram or whatever where, like, Viking paint makeup was really, really fun. So she had fun, like, just experimented. between with different things and different looks. And then she would wear like that, like the skull mask, or she'd wear different things. And Cole, like, during the day, right?

Like, we'd be in catering. And Cole would be like, hey, are you wearing antlers today? And she's like, no, I'm wearing it's whatever. And he was like, ah, man. So it was like real. Like, that was genuine. And like Sarah, again, like, didn't ask permission or like, she was like, I'll ask forgiveness, not permission.

And didn't tell anyone. Just came out and put the antlers on him. Like just so like that, those reactions are 100% genuine. Like TV is live. It's going to, you know, like, sometimes, like, that's the best moments in wrestling is, like, stuff that's completely off scripted and just not, you know, like, because we all have, like, a rough idea of what's going to happen or whatever, to a certain extent. That one, the only person who knew that was going to happen was Sarah. Like, and I don't even know how long before she knew that was going to happen, but she was like, yep, I'm bringing the antlers. Because, like, Cole, every time he saw the antlers got really happy for whatever reason.

He just, he's a fan of antlers. I don't know. I can't, I can't explain it, but it, it, it, it, it, it tickles him. And so Sarah, like, jumped up on the desk and put it on him. And it was just a real, like a genuine moment from all involved. Like, that wasn't agreed upon. That wasn't like, hey, we're going to do this. She just was like, yep, there you go. I know you've got a four and a half month old baby at home. Yeah. But is she thinking about when she wants to come back? Absolutely. Yeah. She is, she is a constant inspiration for me. She's, she works so hard. She is so, dedicated and disciplined and like she keeps me on my diet so much better because she's so disciplined with hers and like she's already like running jumping throwing things like getting getting back into like battle shape uh and like getting ready like so yeah i don't i don't know when this is going to air but i'm sure it won't be too long in the future before we start seeing her again and i read you guys at a viking wedding yeah man we were so like and that's the funny thing for me being like viking raiders

or Viking experience, like, people are like, oh, well, you know, you got to be this stupid thing or whatever, but like, we are Vikings on screen and off screen, like, in the ring and off the ring. So Sarah and I are, well, first off, like, we're nerds, right? Like, just straight up, like, we're big nerds. I've been, I've loved, like, fantasy and, like, you know, fiction and stuff like that, Lord of the Rings for my entire life, right? Dungeon the Dragons, that whole thing. and like we are involved in living history during the Viking age right so Viking age living

history reenactment combat reenactment um like clothes and armor and dress we go to Viking events um oh wow we go to like full on like uh yeah like full on like we've gone to to Denmark to like the largest Viking events in the world and like gone to like live like a Viking so like you camp in tents and cook fire cook your meals over and open fire um and then everything you're wearing is based on like Viking Age archaeology and like recreated like fabrics and textiles and stuff like that so you're wearing like linen and wool and like all of the patterns and designs and jewelry and stuff like I've got I've got Viking jewelry on right now like all this stuff is is like based in Viking Age this section my Viking wedding ring um I don't know

you can, uh, but it's got like, runes on it that are like, uh, saying like our, our, our initials and it's like based on,

um, one, like Viking rings that were popular in Viking Age Dublin, uh, at the time. So like, you know, 900 AD or whatever.

Is this in your blood? Uh, no, no, like I said, we're just big nerds. I, I have no idea.

Um, I mean, Sarah's, Sarah's got Irish, uh, like, in her ancestry. Um,

I'm a mut. I'm from all over. But like, we just have friends that kind of introduced us to this. And, We dove, this might be shocking to you, but we don't do things halfway. So we dove like headfirst. And like we've, we've, we've chased it as far as we can go.

Like I actually run a like a local chapter in Cleveland. I run a local chapter of Yamsborg, which is the largest international army of Vikings on the planet. We train in like Viking Age martial arts. Wow. Viking reenactment combat and like do the, there's like a sport. aspect of it. So like there's different like combat styles and like we fight with sword like real steel swords, axes, spears, you know, swords and shields, that whole thing. Like we train, we're training like all the time because it's where it's real steel. So like it's potentially

dangerous, right? Like cuts, bumps and bruises and stuff like that. And like, you train really, really hard to minimize that factor. And you've gone all in. Dude, all in. All in. Like all in. We've actually built a Viking long haul on our farm. Like, what? Yeah, like, like, an actual Viking long age long haul on our farm so that we can host private events like with our local group but also like our friends groups we we host a we host a private event every year for Viking reenactment and living history where like we we spend the week camping and living like viking like vikings in the woods and then fighting like there's you know like in in Europe the scene is bigger so like there's like we've been on the field with like 600 fighters at one time

and like there's giant these giant battles that come together and like, you know, spears and axes and stuff like that. And there's like troop movements and tactics going around. And like it's competitive. Like it's not like a like civil war reenactment. Like you're doing like a like an actual event. Right. And like you're not actually shooting people with cannons or, you know, muskets or whatever. So like yeah. The South is always going to lose that, you know, the North is always going to win. In the Viking Age living history stuff that we do, it's competitive. So like, wow. If if I, I beat you in this sword fight, right?

If I hit you in a target zone, I win the fight. So, like, there's, there's a, it's a very, very competitive thing. And, like, there's, like, a world championships in Denmark every year that I'm training really, really hard because there's never been an American even in the finals of that world championships tournament. It's like a giant, they call it a circle of honor. So, like, 600 fighters start. And then it's, like, single elimination.

So if you win, you keep them fighting. If you lose, you just go to the outside and you watch. and there's never even been an American that's been in the finals. And my goal as a Viking fighter is I want to be just in the finals. Even if I don't win that championship, I want to be in the finals.

I want to be the first American to go and just compete for that championship. And like, that's in, there's a Viking market called Sletten every year in Denmark. So, like, that's my, like, one, like, thing. Like, I know Woods goes to, like, Dragon Khan every year. Like, that's his, like, biggest, like, hey, I'm going to do this outside of wrestling.

That's my, like, biggest. outside of wrestling. I love the passion you speak. Yeah, dude, it's, it's completely taken over our lives. Like, when we started, I told Sarah, like, because she was kind of the driving force behind it.

Like, I, so I had been going to Renaissance festivals. When I lived in Texas, there was a giant one outside of Houston. It's the biggest in the world. And I'd gone to that for like eight years. And it was, it was cool. I would dress up as like a barbarian, like fur. And it really looked a lot like the Viking Raiders outfit,

to be honest. This is back in like 2014, so way before the Viking Raiders. and like fur and leather and Conan stuff. And it was cool. It was fun. You know, like I said, big nerd is what it is. But like Sarah, when I started dating Sarah, I took her to one of the Renaissance festivals

and we just had a ball. And she's like, man, we need to do this more. And we had some mutual friends who were trying to like push us or entice us into this Viking thing. And I was like, dude, we don't have time for this. Like we don't have time for this. We can't do this because it's going to take too much time. And Sarah was like, no, no, I think it'll be okay. What if we just do one event a year?

What if we just do one event? I was like, yeah, we'll see. So like we went to, we met some people and they put swords on our hands and we're like, hey, do you want to fight? And trained, started training us how to fight. And then we like made time. Like we literally reorganized our entire lives to become Vikings. So like we had a bunch of hobbies outside of Vikings before and now we don't. It's just Vikings. We go home, we're farmers, parents and Vikings and most of those things like are connected right like we bring our kids like our kids have little Viking outfits like we've we've got like essentially like Viking daycare where like all the other parents because there's in our local group there's a ton of like kids uh you know parents parents

and kids and they all play together and like a lot of them have little like foam or leather like little swords and shields and stuff like that uh and like when we go to Denmark like our friends over there have kids so like the kids just play together and it's they don't even speak the same language, but they all play together and they're, they're, they're having a lot of fun. Wow. Yeah, it's, uh, it's, it's, it's wild. Like, it goes deep. So it's not just a gimmick.

Wow. No, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's, it's a hundred percent. I didn't think we would spend this much of this conversation talking about actual Viking. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, and then, and then, but then we did like a Viking wedding, like, and that was your original question, right?

I went way down, right? I went way down the rabbit hole. We did, we did, we did, we did a Viking Age wedding where like, um, we kind of researched traditional like 10th century like Viking ceremonies and wedding ceremonies and like what were what were kind of the norms and what was written and what was whatever and like we

struggled because like not a not a the Vikings weren't um they didn't write a lot of things down so a lot of things we know about their culture back then was and like Vikings is a weird term it's it was Norse people or Scandinavian people whatever um I'm sure that the internet is going to kill me for that but um it is uh we don't have a lot of, you know, specific firsthand written stuff. It was stuff written about them. So we found some stuff and then we blended it with like modern traditions and stuff like that. So like one of the

things that we found in sagas was like the father of the bride would often give the groom a sword. And that gift was to signify that the, he was now the protector of the family, right? Or the protector of the bride. So Sarah's dad. dad at our wedding, like right before we set our vows, gifted me a sword. And I gave in, and, and on the sword was like engraved like eternal protection. So like he was like, this is, you know, you're now taking care of my daughter and you're going to be, you know, protecting her. This is the sword to do it with. And then like what my parents and we gifted Sarah was a brass or like a golden key. And the key was symbolized that she was now running that, you know, responsible

for the house and the home. And like this was all done like in traditional, you know, Viking ways. Like that was, these were the traditional gifts given to the bride and the group. So we did those. We replicated them. And then like everybody who came, like dressed up like Vikings, WWE actually came and brought cameras to the wedding because when we were both in WWB, I was in NXT, she was on the main roster.

And we told them about it. And they were like, could we film that? Like, this sounds cool. And so there's, it's on YouTube. you can go find highlight videos of our wedding of our Viking wedding and it's uh it's it's crazy because like people like you know and a bunch of wrestlers came out like you know like chena and nixon and um you know ruby and live were there and like there's a there's a whole bunch of people and everybody played along everybody dressed up like vikings everybody had like torches at the ceremony like it was it was it was it was

it was a really really really fun time um man in 2006 you had a wbbb match with mark hen you do your search. Yeah. He hit you with one of the hardest closed lines I have ever seen. Yeah, Matt Hardy actually grabbed me after that enhancement match to check on me and make sure I was okay. He was genuinely worried about my, like that Mark had killed me. And well, because you ran full speed into it. And he winds up like he's about to hit a home run. Yeah. And it just smokes you. Yeah. So, I don't know if this is too much behind the curtain stuff. Totally fine. Wow. Totally fine. Mark, super professional, awesome, awesome guy. I've known Mark for a lot of years, obviously, since 2006. Didn't touch me in the head at all. That was all body on body. And I hit his chest. He's got a big chest, right? Had a bigger chest back then, too. He was probably, you know, considered. had more weight on him at that point. I hit his chest as hard as I humanly could.

And like me, 2006, right? Like, I'm still living in Cleveland. I'm still have dreams of being a wrestler. Or, you know, being in WWE, like thinking that, hey, maybe this is my shot, right? If I do something crazy and they see this, maybe they'll, maybe they'll, you know, they'll give me a shot, right? Because they had friends that went in for extra stuff and got signed right there, like on that day. Like, Corey Graves, I was there as an extra the day Corey got his contract offer.

You know what I mean? Like we were there as extras together. I was standing outside the ring. He was in the ring and, you know, they pulled him aside and were like, here, here's a contract, bud. Move to move to Louisville. But like, yeah, I just was like, hey, this is my job. And it's to make him look like a monster. And knowing selfishly, like that, if I do it well, that reflects good on me.

So I, yeah, I ran into him 100 miles an hour. And I knew, too, like, you know, whatever. I knew where to put my head, so I didn't get my head taken off. And I didn't. And then, you know, the match was very, very short-lived. And then I went back and Matt Hardy grabbed me. It was like, dude, are you okay? I was like, yeah, I'm fine.

And he, like, pulled me away from everybody else. And he was like, no, for real. Like, are you okay? Yeah, man, I'm great. Because he didn't believe me. He thought I was just like. And like, so, like, at that point, like, that kind of clicked. And I was like, oh, man, like, I did something.

good that like even somebody as versed as that you know what i mean like someone who has who's in the inside and really good like they thought i got hurt and like to be honest like that i think was like a foreshadowing like of what my greatest strength is as a wrestler is that i can sell violence right like i can make people believe or forget right that wrestling is is is scripted and predetermined and that we're friends. And I can make you forget. I can have that moment and that emotion where you're like, do you just really hit that guy?

Right? And not only did he really hit that guy, he really tried to hurt that guy. And I truly, honestly, in my core, believe that is my greatest gift as a wrestler, that I can make that violence so believable that even guys in the back are like, yo, that wasn't cool.

You know what I mean? And that's happened multiple times in my car. career where people are like, like, pulled me aside and like, dude, you can't hit people like that. That's, that's dangerous. That's, you're going to, you're going to hurt people, whatever. And then my opponent comes through the curtain and they're like, hey, dude, thank you so much. Oh, that was awesome. Yeah, great, great. And they're like, what? And I was just getting like, you know, lectured because I was violent and dangerous. And I'm like, I'm just like, that, that's my, that's my talent. That's my, you know, that's what makes me, that's what I'm good at. Like, and,

and Ivor will tell you, like, when it comes to a strike exchange, that's my job. You know, when it comes to cartwheels, that's his job. And that's crazy. You know what I mean? Like, it's just, it is what it is. And like, I'm not the biggest guy. You know, I'm not the, you know, I don't have the washboard abs.

I don't do the, you know, the triple flips or anything like that. I just sell violence. I'm really, really good at that part of wrestling, where it looks like I am trying. You believe 100% that I'm hurting my opponent and I want to hurt my opponent. And I enjoy hurting my opponent. Yeah. The one silver lining to your neck injury was Ivar got this great single. Yep.

Right? And we really got to see what he was capable of in the ring. Man, he's so talented. Do you think about wanting to have a singles run at some point? Yes. So absolutely. I think there is untapped potential there where I don't have any doubt. out that and I've approved it when I was down with an extra injury that give me the ball

and I can perform at any point on the card. Like I have full confidence of my ability that you want me to cut a promo? Great, I'll cut a promo. You want me to have, you know, whatever, whoever anybody on our roster, especially our roster now, it's ridiculously talented, like ridiculously stacked and talented. You want me to wrestle AJ Stiles for three, three segments on match? or on raw, great. I'll tear the house now.

You know, you want me to wrestle, pick a guy, anybody. I have a skill set, and I've been doing this since 2003. You know what I mean? And from the Indies, I was good guy, bad guy,

comedy guy. You know, you've seen it just in WWB, right? Like with Viking Raiders, we're serious, we're scary, we're heels, we're comedy, we know, whatever. Wherever you want to go,

we can do that. We have the skill set. So, like, absolutely. Like, there is a part of me that wants to have that spotlight always, right? We're in this as wrestlers. But like, there's also part of me that wants to, like, I never want that to be at the expense of being the war raters.

Well, every tag team turns on each other. Yeah, I don't want to be that. Every tag team. Yeah, no, I truly don't. I want us to go down in history as being the one tag team that doesn't do that. I think that there's a lot of things that make our tag team unique, right? In every, just about every tag team in history, the big guy is the strong guy. The small guy is the flyer, right?

Our dynamic flips out on the set. And I think that's what's so special about it. Ivar is 350 pounds. He's doing moonsaults and backflips and tigiri, you know, backhand springs and all the crazy stuff. And it's not to say that I physically can't do some of that stuff, but it's not nearly as oppressive as me at 250 pounds doing a cartwheel. And Ivar at 350 pounds doing a cartwheel, right? And so I'm the strong guy.

Like, I'm the one who catches people. Like, there was a spot that we did in, uh, during COVID with the street profits where Tess does like a, uh, uh, flip dive over the top rope. And I catch him on the floor and then power bomb him at Dawkins. And like, we actually had to do it because this is, you know, it was COVID and there was no crowd. We actually had to do that twice in a row because the first time I did it, I actually stumbled. Like I took a step back and I hit the announce table and then stood up and threw him at Dawkins. And they wanted it to be a cleaner catch.

And I was like, yeah, but that was real. Like, all right, cool, whatever. Let's go again. And like when we talked about it, like we told our, we told the. camera guy that we were going to do it. And they were like, hey, do you want to rehearse that? And I was like, no, I looked at Tess. And he was like, he's like, you got me. I said, I got you. No problem. Like, we didn't talk about it. We didn't think about it. It was just like, yeah, got it. Wow. And like, you know, so that I guess that's two, right? Like, if I have two skills in wrestling, it's

one, I'm strong. And two, I'm, uh, self-violence. Yeah, I sell violence. Yeah, I'm violent. So like, uh, but yeah, like, I just, that's my job, right? Ivar's not going to do that. Ivor's not that guy, especially not with his neck, especially not with, you know, some of the injuries and stuff like that he's done. So like, that's my role. Like, I'm the strong guy. He's the flyer. Um, you know, I'm, he's the funny guy. I'm, you know, I'm the, I'm the, the, the mean guy. Right. Like that, that's what it works. And like, I think playing off those dynamics is what makes us so attractive. It's what makes us so dynamic. Um, yeah, so I don't want to turn on him. Despite whatever he says about Pittsburgh,

um, you know, maybe once, like maybe for our very last match of our careers, I'll, I'll get my win back. But until then, I don't have any interest in wrestling. I'm so glad we were able to sit down for this. I've had your tag team partner on a few times. Glad we can make this happen. Just two dads talking about Cleveland here. Yeah. I will ask you the question. I ask everybody at the end, because gratitude is cornerstone of my life. Wake up every day. I say out loud, three things been grateful for. He just kind of centers things to focus on what you have rather than what you don't have and do it before I go to bed as well. What are three things in your life you're grateful for right now? Um, so, uh, Sarah and I talk about, um, our, uh, that's a, yeah, a spoiler, by the way, uh, Sarah and I talk about, um, things, this, this topic a lot. And, and, and we have, like, three, three points that we always try to, like, keep at the forefront of our, um, of our, of our, uh, minds. Uh, and, and, and the first one is family. Um, I'm incredibly, incredibly, incredibly.

grateful for family. That is something that we, you know, and that's my wife, that's my kids, that's my mom and dad. We moved home to Cleveland because of family, right? Like, that's where my support system is. I'm the middle of five kids. They've got, they've, you know, cash is grandkid number 11, you know, so Zika is, I think 13. Like everybody gets together. We're all together for holidays and Christmases and birthdays and stuff like that. So like family is, is the unshakable rock that that I am so grateful for. That's what my life is based on. And then our farm and fitness, right?

So I'm so grateful that we live on a farm. We grow our own food. What city are you in? We're outside of Cleveland. We're like 45 minutes outside. Out near... You can tell me off camera. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

We'll talk off camera. But, like, we're on a farm. We raise our own meat. You know, we raise cows and sheep for meat. Yeah, that's a whole whole, conversation we haven't even had, but like, I'm so thankful for that, for living in that, in being able to be and be blessed in that way. And like that, that allows us to live our health, right? And, and because we, we know where our food is. We know what our food eats. We know where

our food lives. We know where it, you know, what, what it, the whole cycle. And like, we're very thankful for that. And we're very fortunate that we can do that. And then faith, right? Like I'm unapologetically, a person who lives at faith. I think that is a cornerstone of why I am the way I am and how I am and who I am. So those are three things that I'm grateful for every single day. Is faith, or faith, my farm and my family. Three Fs. Yeah, three Fs.

I love that. Thank you again, man. This is a great conversation. Yeah, man. Thank you so much. Well, there we go, my friends. What a deep, soothing voice. right? I feel like we should have spent a good chunk of the interview talking about the career in

radio that he will have or the voiceover work that he could be doing. It's just amazing, right? But who knew he was an actual Viking? What a story. All of this. The Viking stuff, the War Raiders stuff, the Viking experience story, the motorcycle accident, all of it. What a story. and what a great guy, a pleasure to share this conversation with Eric, and a pleasure to share it with you as well. Thank you for listening to this and for listening all the way until the end. Snap a screenshot. Let us know that you're listening and let us know what really spoke to you from this conversation.

Tag us. He's at Eric underscore WWE. I'm at Chris Van Fleet. If you live in the Southern California area, I will see you tonight at the TNA Tapings in Irvine, California. And if you're listening to this after Thursday, May 1st, well, just know that we had a great time there. But if you're going to be there, stop by, say hello. It'd be awesome to see you. I'm bringing RVV.

Yeah, this is, RVV has not been to a wrestling show in quite some time, like six months, eight months, close to a year. So, and this is her first TNA show. She keeps laughing. She's like, is it called TNA? Like, for the reason that I think it's. called TNA? I'm like, no, it's total nonstop action, of course. So I will see you there tonight. And I'll leave you with this quote from Bill Bradley. And it feels so fitting, especially for Eric's story. Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in. Be great. Be grateful,

my friends. Have an amazing day. We will see you on the next one for some more insight. We've on Ask CVV number 81 tomorrow. If you've got a question, leave a comment on Spotify. Send it on social media using the hashtag AskCTVV or shoot me an email CVV at Chris Vanfleet.com. We'll see it tomorrow on Friday to wrap up the week. Jim Rome takes on sports. Why?

Because I have a job to do. With rapid fire takes. So I don't want to hear from you lava pigs on this notion today. No idea what you're talking about. about. You're complaining more than you like to breathe air. It's like you get up in the morning only to complain and cry and moan on social media about things that you don't even understand. He's the spitfire of sports smack. Take advantage of it, but get up in here. The Jim Rome Show podcast. What's your beef? Follow and listen on your favorite platform. You've been warned.