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The Viking Raiders return to Monday Night RAW

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It’s time for a raid, as Monday Night RAW saw the return of The Viking Raiders. Erik and Ivar returned on RAW after WrestleMania 37, facing off against former Hurt Business members Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin.

The Raiders haven’t been seen together since 2020. Back on September 7th, Ivar suffered an unfortunate cervical injury in an eight-man tag team match, working with Ricochet and Apollo Crews to take on The Hurt Business.

Ivar would go on to have neck surgery and was forced to remain on the sidelines. His partner Erik would appear here and there on the main roster, losing to the likes of Titus O’Neil and Riddick Moss on WWE Main Event.

Erik did manage to win his first singles title with the company, capturing the 24/7 Championship on November 9th. Unfortunately, he’d lose it shortly after.

The Viking Raiders wage war on RAW

On this week’s Monday Night RAW, The Viking Raiders made their long-awaited return to the red brand. They faced off against Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander, looking to get a little revenge for Ivar’s injury seven months prior.

Cedric Alexander wore down Erik in the early goings of the match. However, it didn’t take long for the Raiders to fire up, especially once Ivar tagged in.

The big man had a lot to prove and ran through both of his opponents with impressive power. The Viking Experience would spell the end for the former RAW Tag Team Champions, giving The Viking Raiders a successful return to the red brand.

With the former RAW Tag Team Champions back, the rest of the division is definitely on notice.

With Cedric and Shelton down, there are only a few teams left before the newly crowned champions, AJ Styles and Omos. They may want to keep an eye on Erik and Ivar, as they could be back into title contention quickly.

Are you happy to see The Viking Raiders back? Let us know in the comments section below!

Published 13 Apr 2021, 06:30 IST


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“It hasn’t completely sunk in yet” – Bobby Lashley discusses winning the WWE Championship

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Bobby Lashley won the WWE Championship from The Miz on an episode of RAW at the start of March. He has since held on to the title and will defend it at WrestleMania 37.

Lashley has received a ton of praise from wrestling legends and fans alike. This was his first WWE Championship win ever since he started his wrestling career sixteen years ago.

Speaking with WWE Now India, Bobby Lashley discussed his reaction to winning the WWE Championship and how it felt like holding onto the belt. The WWE Champion said:

“It’s one of those things you can’t prepare for mentally. You always think that when you get there, there’s certain feelings that are gonna come out, you’re gonna get excited or go crazy but when I got it, it kinda like- it was overwhelming. The first few days of being the WWE Champion were just- it was like nothing else.”

“I was getting calls from so many people that I trained with, people that I competed with, friends, family, everyone is just calling me, congratulating me, telling me that I deserved it and all of that made me feel great. It was overwhelming. It was something that it hasn’t completely sunk in yet.”

“Winning that title and finally getting it, it was just amazing and it has been an amazing feeling ever since.”

Since winning the title, Bobby Lashley has been frequently featured on Monday Night RAW, week in and week out, as a dominant WWE Champion.

Bobby Lashley will defend the WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 37: Night One

Match graphic for Bobby Lashley vs Drew McIntyre
Match graphic for Bobby Lashley vs Drew McIntyre

Heading into 2021, Drew McIntyre was the WWE Champion until his title run was brought to an end at the Elimination Chamber by The Miz.

Bobby Lashley played an integral role in the title change since he ambushed The Scottish Warrior before The Miz cashed in his Money in the Bank contract.

However, not long after Lashley defeated The Miz for the WWE Championship, a title match was set between Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley on the first night of this year’s WrestleMania event.

The upcoming clash will mark Lashley’s second WWE Championship defense.

Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley will kick off the first night of WrestleMania. This will be the first WWE show to feature a large live crowd in over a year.

Published 10 Apr 2021, 18:25 IST


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“I can’t wait for it” – Drew McIntyre teases potential heel turn

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Drew McIntyre is currently the biggest babyface on Monday Night RAW, but the former WWE Champion has revealed a heel turn is inevitable.

McIntyre is set to challenge Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship in the opening match of WrestleMania 37 Night One.

Last year, the Scottish Warrior captured the title for the first time in his career by defeating Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania 36. Due to the pandemic, fans weren’t present, which robbed McIntyre of his big moment.

During a recent conversation with Steven Muehlhausen of DAZN, Drew McIntyre opened up on his adjustment to the pandemic era and revealed he can’t wait to turn heel.

“It was a big adjustment for me. We had to figure out different ways to do things, specifically when we had no fans in the Performance Center. I looked at it as ‘Okay, it’s a challenge. How can we reach everyone?’ I watched a couple of shows that I hadn’t been on and how people were approaching it. I could see they were struggling. They were doing promos and talking to imaginary people. I was like, ‘No, this is not how we go to do it.’

“You mentioned the pressure, and some people have not been able to handle it in the past that being champion, all the eyeballs on you, and all the responsibility is on you. Everything I’ve been through prepared me for everything. Nothing gets my eye off the prize. I’ve done this for a very long time. I know how to do my job. I do it to the best of my ability. If the fans are digging it, that’s cool. If they don’t like it, that’s cool, too. Eventually, big Drew’s going to have a big heel turn. I can’t wait for it.”

Drew McIntyre could finally get his WrestleMania moment which he was deprived of last year if he defeats Bobby Lashley in front of thousands of fans at Raymond James Stadium.

Drew McIntyre on what fans can expect at WWE WrestleMania 37

The Scottish Warrior is ready for WrestleMania!
The Scottish Warrior is ready for WrestleMania!

WrestleMania 37 won’t be the first time that Drew McIntyre has locked horns with Bobby Lashley in a wrestling ring. The two stars faced each other at IMPACT Wrestling Slammiversay a couple of years ago and they also clashed for the WWE Championship at Backlash last year.

Drew McIntyre revealed what fans can expect from his match with The All Mighty on Saturday night.

“Lashley-McIntyre will be highly physical and be highly athletic. It’ll be like a modern-day heavyweight classic, and I guarantee you that people will be talking about it for a very long time.”

WWE WrestleMania 37 Night One kicks off tomorrow night.

Published 10 Apr 2021, 05:53 IST


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Vitality Netball Superleague: Manchester Thunder move into top four; London Pulse beat Severn Stars

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Coverage of the Vitality Netball Superleague continues on Friday with Round 10 and the start of a 10-match weekend live on Sky Sports and streamed on the Sky Sports YouTube channel

Last Updated: 05/04/21 9:03pm

Manchester Thunder showed their strength with two excellent victories in Round Nine (Image Credit – Ben Lumley)

Manchester Thunder moved up into the top four after a second successive victory in Round Nine of the Vitality Netball Superleague.

Karen Greig’s outfit added a 59-37 result against Saracens Mavericks to the impressive way in which they ended Loughborough Lightning’s seven-match winning streak on Sunday.

Meanwhile, in the first match on Monday evening, London Pulse finished the round on a high as they beat Melissa Bessell’s Severn Stars by five goals.

If you did miss any of the action, then you can watch every match back in full on the Sky Sports YouTube channel and the competition returns on Friday with a 10-match weekend.

Vitality Netball Superleague – Round Nine Results

Sunday Manchester Thunder 59-50 Loughborough Lightning
Sunday Severn Stars 47-35 Celtic Dragons
Sunday London Pulse 37-49 Wasps
Sunday Saracens Mavericks 39-38 Team Bath Netball
Monday Severn Stars 36-41 London Pulse
Monday Saracens Mavericks 37-59 Manchester Thunder

Thunder turn it on against Mavs

Manchester Thunder, the 2019 champions, showed that they’re getting into an excellent rhythm as they backed up their performance against Lightning with another assured outing on Monday night.

After seeing Mavericks beat Team Bath Netball the previous day, Greig’s team knew they needed to start fast, and they did.

Thunder put the building blocks in place during the opening minutes, before they pressed down hard on the accelerator and kept their foot there for the whole of the first half.

Quarter-by-quarter scores

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 FT
Saracens Mavericks 9 11 9 8 37
Manchester Thunder 15 15 10 19 59

Elia McCormick and player of the match Laura Malcolm were tenacious in defence, while Amy Carter and Caroline O’Hanlon picked up where they left off on Sunday and showed their creativity in attack.

With Eleanor Cardwell and Joyce Mvula being such a tight unit, Mavericks weren’t able to gain the same amount of ball as they did against Bath. That was proving to be costly and it meant that Thunder were able to create a 30-20 lead at the interval.

With their head coaches’ words ringing in their ears and personnel changes for Mavericks, both teams upped the ante in the third quarter and there was plenty of body-on-body as it played out.

Mavericks’ confidence grew as they found shooter Britney Clarke, who’d arrived on for Ine-Mari Venter earlier in the match, in good form, while in defence they hassled and disrupted Thunder more.

The reward was a much closer quarter, just 10-9 in Thunder’s favour, and although Mavericks began the last strongly, they couldn’t sustain it.

In contrast, the 2019 champions accelerated again. With Malcolm leading by example, they continued to add to their tally and didn’t let up for a moment. In the final minutes, Greig introduced a number of her players off the bench and the final 22-goal margin will have been noted by every other side in the competition.

Pulse prevail over Stars

London Pulse put in a strong first-half performance to finish Round Nine on a high with a 41-36 victory over Severn Stars.

The outfit’s third win of the season was built off the back of a confident start and connections at both ends of the court coming together.

Meanwhile, in the first two quarters Stars struggled to match Pulse’s height across court and found themselves under intense pressure in attack.

Halimat Adio led London Pulse superbly on Monday night (Image Credit - Ben Lumley)

Halimat Adio led London Pulse superbly on Monday night (Image Credit – Ben Lumley)

Ahead of the contest, both head coaches highlighted how evenly matched the two teams were and the majority of the first quarter went goal-for-goal.

Initially Stars looked settled going forwards, despite fielding a new attacking line-up after losing Beth Dyke to injury on Sunday and Liana Leota earlier in the season.

However, as the first half played out the dynamic Funmi Fadoju performed superbly at WD and alongside her defensive colleagues, she made life difficult for Stars.

Pulse then used the second quarter to really tighten their grip on the contest and their productivity meant that they led by 12 at the midway point.

Quarter-by-quarter scores

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 FT
Severn Stars 7 5 11 13 36
London Pulse 12 12 9 8 41

After the break Stars hit back, as they backed themselves more in attack and found Georgia Rowe and Paige Reed more frequently in the circle. Not only did they force Pulse into making changes in their defensive end, but they won the quarter 11-9.

At 33-23 down, Stars knew that they had to make inroads into the 10-goal deficit quickly. Initially, they weren’t able to do that as the industrious Halimat Adio kept the pressure on Rowe, and Lindsay Keable’s arrival added further experience in the circle.

Then, with four minutes to play, Stars made their move. As the minutes ticked by, Bessell’s team grew stronger however when Adio stepped up at key moments, it meant that Pulse were able to hold firm and Stars ran out of time.

Sky Sports is your home of netball. The Vitality Netball Superleague continues on Friday with Round 10 and the start of a 10-match weekend, live on Sky Sports and streamed on the Sky Sports YouTube channel.


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