Ivar of Viking Raiders excels on Speed despite minimal coverage by WWE

The Viking Raiders star picked up a big win amid WWE’s minimal coverage of its fast-paced show.

After crowning the first WWE Speed Champion, a new tournament started this past Wednesday to determine Ricochet’s first challenger, featuring Ivar vs. Apollo Crews in the opening round.

Ivar got the best of Crews early after swatting away the former United States and Intercontinental Champion’s attempt at a dropkick. But when Crews took over, he was relentless, peppering Ivar with an aerial assault that almost saw him leave victorious. But as has been the case in many of these Speed matches, one mistake is all it takes to spell defeat.

With Ivar reeling, Crews charged into the corner. But the Norse-inspired marauder got his legs up and collapsed onto the incoming Crews with a version of the old Earthquake splash. Next, Ivar ascended to the top rope and hit Crews with a “Doom-sault” to pick up the victory. Ivar now waits for the winner between Tyler Bate and Legado Del Fantasma’s Berto.

Despite the new title and tournament to determine a number one contender for champion Ricochet, WWE has not fully supported the Speed Championship beyond its presentation on the social media platform X, where it currently airs. While Ricochet is recognized as the Speed Champion on its Superstars page, the Speed Championship is absent from the title history page on WWE’s website. During last week’s Raw, Ricochet arrived for his King of the Ring tournament match with Ilja Dragunov without the title belt, though a graphic and announcer, Michael Cole, acknowledged him as the inaugural Speed Champion.

Still, the lack of acknowledgment for the Speed title and its champion may be another reason for Ricochet’s dissatisfaction with his current position in WWE. Following his loss to Dragunov, Ricochet expressed his frustration on social media about consistently falling short in crucial matches and hinted at potential changes ahead.

“I can train. I can challenge myself. I can give everything I got. But it seems that it’s never enough. It’s never enough, not when it counts. It’s never enough. So, I find myself in this position. Almost every week, I find myself in this position. Something’s gotta change,” said Ricochet.