Newly crowned WWE champion opens up about career-ending injury
A top WWE Superstar captured a major championship on this week's Monday Night RAW. In a recent interview, Ivar reflected on the career-ending injury that sidelined him for several months in 2024.
Ivar and Erik of The War Raiders defeated Finn Balor and JD McDonagh of The Judgment Day on the December 16, 2024, edition of the red brand to become the new WWE World Tag Team Champions. However, before the duo returned to television in October 2024, they were sidelined due to injuries.
After losing the NXT North American Title match against Oba Femi in April of this year, Ivar suffered a neck injury. During an appearance on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, the War Beard shared details about his neck injury that initially appeared career-threatening.
The 40-year-old WWE Superstar disclosed that he underwent a second neck surgery to address a herniated disc at the C4-C5 level, following a previous fusion at C5-C6-C7. Doctors warned Ivar that this additional surgery could potentially end his wrestling career due to the increased risk associated with multiple spinal fusions.
"So if we’re talking about another level fusion, because the MRI showed I had another herniated disc in my neck the level above. So two levels, C5,6,7, they’re all fused together. This was C4 and 5, so the one directly above, another fusion would probably be the end of my career," he said.
The RAW Superstar added:
"So, yeah, they were there preparing me for the worst for when I went to see my surgeon. My surgeon had read the result in the MRI, and he pretty much felt the same way that this was it. So for five days, I think this is it. It’s over with." [H/T: CVV]
Check out the episode below:
WWE star Ivar further shared the severity of the injury
One-half of The War Raiders further described the initial fear and anxiety following an MRI that revealed a herniated disc. However, a subsequent examination showed that the herniation was not pressing against Ivar's spinal cord, significantly reducing the risk of severe complications.
During the same interaction with Chris Van Vliet on INSIGHT, the World Tag Team Champion acknowledged the fortunate turn of events and expressed gratitude for the positive prognosis.
"This one, the herniation happened, instead of shooting in towards the cervical cord, it went out away from it. So he was pretty sure. Because my symptoms weren’t too bad, we could probably rehab it without having to do surgery. And if we did have to do surgery, he knew a different surgeon who would go in through the back and just shave the herniation down arthroscopically, which wouldn’t require fusion," he added. [H/T: CVV]
It remains to be seen who will challenge The War Raiders for the WWE World Tag Team Championship in the coming weeks.