WWE Champion Dodged Massive Bullet With Serious Neck Injury
A popular WWE star has opened up about their injury struggles.
The War Raiders returned to action on the October 14th edition of Raw after both Erik and Ivar had spent several months out of action. Free from their former “Viking Raiders” moniker, the pair got back to what brought them to the dance and quickly became number one contenders for the World Tag Team Titles.
Fast forward to December 16th and the duo defeated the Judgment Day to capture the gold for the first time since 2019.
The victory capped an incredible journey for Erik and Ivar with both men having dealt with potentially career-ending neck injuries. Ivar in particular came incredibly close to leaving life as an in-ring performer behind.
During a new interview with Chris Van Vliet, Ivar revealed that he first experienced problems after taking a European Uppercut from Ricochet in a match on the April 1st edition of Raw, it wasn’t until he wrestled Oba Femi three weeks later that things got serious.
“We got to the second half of that match [against Oba Femi], and I just lost all strength in my right arm,” Ivar said. “I couldn’t pick him up, so I just started calling audibles in the ring where I wasn’t going to pick him up. We made it through the match, and that was that. And the whole time we were checking on medical to see how I was doing. And then after that match was like, ok, that’s no good.”
Ivar Resumed WWE Career Despite Permanent Nerve Damage
Following a series of scans, Ivar was told he needed to retire, and that process actually began, until his surgeon came up with a plan. Given that the star had double fusion surgery in 2020, he was told multiple times he “dodged a very big bullet” as he avoided another major surgery.
Ivar explained that he’s doing relatively well now he’s back in the ring, although he has permanent nerve damage and pain in his hands stemming from his original neck injury four years ago.
“To be fair, I do have permanent nerve damage and nerve pain in my hands. And that will never go away, and that’s something I live with. But as far as everything else, I got most of my mobility back in my neck. It’s a little stiff now because I have another herniation, but I still have very good range of motion. I credit that to yoga pretty much.
And then all my strength is returned to my arm, so I have no problems there. So it’s really just the nerve pain right now from the original injury that I have that’s permanent. But I have good days and bad days. Some days I can really feel it, it goes down my arm a little bit, and some days I can’t feel it all. Kind of all depends. But quality of life, I feel pretty good.”
H/t to f4wonline