Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2014–2018) In 2014, Hanson and Rowe participated in the
Top Prospect Tournament, where they met in the finals. Hanson defeated Rowe to win the tournament. Afterwards, they formed a tag team under the name War Machine. On April 11, Hanson and Rowe both signed contracts with ROH. On August 22, 2015, War Machine defeated
Killer Elite Squad (
Davey Boy Smith Jr. and
Lance Archer) in a non-title match and afterwards challenged them to a match for their
GHC Tag Team Championship, a title owned by the Japanese
Pro Wrestling Noah promotion. War Machine received their title shot in Japan on September 19, but were defeated by the Killer Elite Squad. On December 18 at
Final Battle, War Machine defeated
The Kingdom (
Matt Taven and
Michael Bennett) to win the
ROH World Tag Team Championship. They lost the title to
The Addiction (
Christopher Daniels and
Frankie Kazarian) on May 9, 2016, at
War of the Worlds. In late 2016, War Machine took part in
New Japan Pro-Wrestling's
2016 World Tag League, where they finished with a record of four wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals. Hanson and Rowe debuted for the
United Kingdom based
Revolution Pro Wrestling in January 2017, unsuccessfully challenging
Joel Redman and Charlie Sterling for the
Undisputed British Tag Team Championship. On April 9, 2017, at New Japan's
Sakura Genesis 2017, War Machine defeated
Tencozy (
Hiroyoshi Tenzan and
Satoshi Kojima) to win the
IWGP Tag Team Championship. They lost the title to
Guerrillas of Destiny (
Tama Tonga and
Tanga Loa) on June 11 at
Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall, regaining it in a
No Disqualification match on July 1 at
G1 Special in USA. They lost the title to Killer Elite Squad in a three-way match, also involving Guerrillas of Destiny, on September 24 at
Destruction in Kobe. War Machine finished with ROH at
Final Battle on December 15, 2017 and on December 16, 2017. They had their final matches with NJPW on January 4, 2018, at
Wrestle Kingdom 12, and January 5, 2018 at New Year's Dash.
WWE NXT (2018–2019) On January 16, 2018, Rowe and Hanson signed a contract with
WWE and reported to the
WWE Performance Center. During a TV taping before
NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, Rowe and Hanson debuted under the name
War Raiders, interfering in a match between Heavy Machinery (
Tucker Knight and
Otis Dozovic) and
Tino Sabbatelli and
Riddick Moss, causing it to end in a no contest. Over the following weeks, they started a winning streak, defeating NXT teams such as
The Mighty and Heavy Machinery. On the October 17 episode of
NXT, they challenged
The Undisputed Era (
Kyle O'Reilly and
Roderick Strong) for the
NXT Tag Team Championship, but won by disqualification after
Bobby Fish attacked them with a steel chair; thus, they did not win the titles. War Raiders would go on to main event
NXT TakeOver: WarGames II in Los Angeles teaming with
Ricochet and
Pete Dunne against
The Undisputed Era in the
WarGames match. At
NXT TakeOver: Phoenix, Rowe and Hanson defeated The Undisputed Era to win the
NXT Tag Team Championship. They successfully defended their tag team championships at
NXT TakeOver: New York against the team of Ricochet and
Aleister Black.
Raw (2019–2021) On April 15, 2019, they debuted on
Raw as
The Viking Experience, with Rowe and Hanson now called
Erik and
Ivar. This new name was very negatively received on social media.
Pro Wrestling Insider reported that another name considered was "The Berzerkers". They teamed with
The Revival to defeat the team of Aleister Black, Ricochet,
Curt Hawkins,
and Zack Ryder. The next week, the team was renamed
The Viking Raiders while their finisher was renamed to "The Viking Experience". They relinquished the NXT Tag Team Championships at the May 1
NXT television tapings (
aired May 15). After relinquishing the championship, however, The Viking Raiders were challenged to one final
NXT match for the titles by The
Street Profits. The match, however, ended in a disqualification after The Forgotten Sons attacked Ivar, followed by an ensuing brawl between the teams. On the September 9, 2019 episode of
Raw in Madison Square Garden, The Viking Raiders saved
Cedric Alexander from
The O.C., thus turning
face once again. On the October 14 episode of
Raw, Erik and Ivar captured the
Raw Tag Team Championship from
Robert Roode and
Dolph Ziggler, becoming the first tag team in history to win tag team championships in ROH, New Japan and WWE. However, they suffered their first loss as a team in WWE at
Crown Jewel in a
tag team turmoil match for the WWE Tag Team World Cup, ultimately losing the last match against The O.C. At
Survivor Series, they defeated The New Day and The Undisputed Era in a champions triple threat tag team match, scoring Raw's only victory at the event, which was ultimately won by NXT. On the January 20th episode of
Raw they lost the titles to
Seth Rollins and
Buddy Murphy ending their reign at 98 days. On the May 4 episode of Raw, The Viking Raiders defeated The Street Profits in a non-title match. In the following weeks, The Viking Raiders would feud with The Street Profits as they faced each other in several competitions such as basketball, axe-throwing, golf, bowling, and a decathlon which was later dubbed as the "Anything You Can Do, We Can Do Better" series. A running gag in these segments would see the women involved in the competitions flirting with Ivar and ignoring Erik much to his annoyance. The series would end with a 3–3 tie between the Street Profits and The Viking Raiders. This led to a match scheduled between the two teams for the Raw Tag Team Titles at
Backlash. However, the match never began as The Street Profits and The Viking Raiders brawled backstage which also saw them work together to fend off
Akira Tozawa and a gang of ninjas on motorcycles. The Street Profits and The Viking Raiders continued brawling afterwards until they fell into a dumpster. On the June 22 episode of Raw, The Viking Raiders finally received their Raw Tag Team Title match against The Street Profits where they were defeated. On the September 7 episode of
Raw,
The Hurt Business defeated
Apollo Crews, Ricochet, and the Raiders in an eight-man tag team match, with Alexander scoring the pinfall over Ricochet, with the match being forced to an abrupt ending due to Ivar suffering a legitimate cervical injury during the match. On September 14, Ivar underwent successful surgery to repair a neck injury thus rendering him out of action and putting the team on hiatus. After a seven month absence, The Viking Raiders returned on the April 12, 2021 episode of
Raw, defeating Cedric Alexander and
Shelton Benjamin. On the June 7 episode of
Raw, The Viking Raiders would win a battle royal to determine to #1 contenders for the Raw Tag Titles. It would be announced that The Viking Raiders would face the Raw Tag Team champions,
AJ Styles and Omos at
Money In The Bank. At the event, The Viking Raiders would fail to capture the titles, as Styles and Omos retained.
Brand switches and hiatus (2021–2024) In the
2021 Draft, The Viking Raiders were drafted to the
SmackDown brand. On February 19, 2022 at the
Elimination Chamber, they were attacked by
The Usos before their match for the
SmackDown Tag Team Championship, but on the March 4 episode of
SmackDown they unsuccessfully challenged the Usos for the titles. On the June 24 show of
SmackDown the Viking Raiders would return with new gear and face paint, being called "The Vicious" Viking Raiders, and would violently attack The New Day & Shanky, turning heel, and began a feud with the New Day ending on the September 2 show of
SmackDown in a Viking Rules Match (No rules, Falls Count Anywhere) which the Viking Raiders won. It was later reported that Erik suffered an injured foot in that match, and will be sidelined indefinitely, putting the team on hiatus. On the April 9, 2024, Ivar returned to NXT to challenge
NXT North American Champion Oba Femi for the title but failed to defeat Femi at Week 2 of ''
Spring Breakin'. On the May 14 episode of NXT'', Ivar,
Wes Lee and
Josh Briggs were victims from a backstage attack by the returning
Gallus. Ivar would later confirm that he is suffering from a spinal injury.
Return (2024–present) In October 2024, cryptic messages began airing on
Raw featuring Nordic characters that translate to "WAR" to promote the team's return. On the October 14 episode of
Raw, Ivar and Erik returned defeating
Alpha Academy reverting back to their
War Raiders name and gimmick, re-establishing themselves as
fan favourites. They would win the World Tag Team Championship from
The Judgment Day (
Finn Bálor and
JD McDonagh) on the December 16 episode of
Raw. At Night 1 of
WrestleMania 41 on April 19, 2025, they lost the titles to
The New Day (
Kofi Kingston and
Xavier Woods), ending their reign at 124 days. On June 2, Valhalla announced that WWE had chosen not to renew her contract. On the January 31 episode of
AAA, The War Raiders are teased to make their debut 2 weeks later. On the February 2 episode of Raw, they were both attacked by
Oba Femi. ==Championships and accomplishments==