Ivar ‘dodged a very big bullet’ with 2024 neck injury

Ivar is lucky to still be wrestling following the neck injury that he suffered earlier this year.

The War Raiders (Ivar & Erik) became the new World Tag Team Champions by defeating Finn Balor & JD McDonagh on Raw this Monday. The victory happened just months after Ivar was told that his career was likely over. While appearing on the latest episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Ivar opened up about the neck injury he suffered and what his health is like at the moment.

During a match against Ricochet this April, Ivar felt something wrong after taking a European uppercut. He did a quick system check but felt like he was fine and was able to continue. Ivar was able to keep working a full schedule, but he then lost strength in his arm while facing Oba Femi on the April 30 episode of NXT.

“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 and his wife then went on a vacation looking to take a break. On an animal trek, he was unable to hold his arm up. Ivar underwent an MRI immediately. When he got the results, he was told that he would likely have to retire due to a herniated disc.

“They’re like, ‘Ok, this is probably the end of your career.’ To the point where they handed me mental health paperwork to kind of get that rolling,” he said.

After already having double fusion surgery in 2020, another fusion would have probably ended Ivar’s career. It was initially thought that another fusion would be necessary, but that fortunately was not the case. Ivar’s surgeon told him that he could likely rehab the injury without surgery. And if a surgery did end up being needed, it could be done arthroscopically.

“My surgeon had read the result in the MRI, and he pretty much felt the same way that this was it,” Ivar said. “So for five days, I think this is it. It’s over with. I flew too close to the sun and the wings melted and that’s it. But when I saw him in Birmingham five days later, and he actually had the disc for the MRI, and he read the results for the MRI himself, he’s like, ‘Ok, we can work with this.'”

On multiple occasions, the surgeon told Ivar that he “dodged a very big bullet” with this injury.

Van Vliet asked Ivar how he’s feeling now.

“So I’m pretty good,” he responded. “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.”

With both now back in the ring after serious neck injuries, this has been a good few months for Ivar & Erik. The former Viking Raiders are now known as The War Raiders again after getting their name back this October. Erik and his wife Valhalla welcomed the birth of their second child — a boy named Ezekiel Joseph Rowe — on Thanksgiving day.

The War Raiders are now two-time Tag Team Champions on the main roster. Their first title reign lasted from October 2019-January 2020.