The Viking Raiders have been missing from RAW since March of 2022, when the duo lost a handicap match to Omos in less than a minute live from the PPG Paints Arena in beautiful Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

While they have wrestled over a dozen house shows since, including two bouts for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, two matches for the RAW Tag Team Championship, and a pair of matches versus The Creed Brothers in NXT, the Raiders have been off of SmackDown for some time now, with no clear path back to the ring… at least until last week's edition of SmackDown, when their returns were suggested by the commentary team.

Unfortunately, that return came in the middle of a scheduled match between The New Day and the duo of Shanky and Jinder Mahal, where, right as the supersized dancers began to bust a move to “New Day Rocks,” his routine was cut short by the blare of a horn and a brutal beatdown by the Viking Raiders, now wearing sinister facepaint across their faces.

Goodness, that does not look good.

Later in the show, the Raiders took to the television once more and issued a warning to the rest of the SmackDown, nay, the WWE roster as a whole: The Viking Raiders have been disrespected for far too long and they are ready to lay siege to Vince McMahon's company until they secure a spot atop the tag team division once and for all. If their efforts versus New Day are of any indication, I certainly wouldn't bet against them.