The War Raiders have won the World Tag Team Championship on WWE Raw, ending The Judgement Day’s reign at 175 days.
Many had hoped Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh would lose the titles as they had shown huge reluctance to defend the gold. This week’s WWE Raw (12/16/24) marked just the third time in 175 days that the Irish duo had put the championship on the line.
You can watch the WWE Raw match in full at the bottom of this article. The title changed topped a chaotic WWE Raw in which CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins was booked WWE Raw on Netflix on January 6.
The loss marks a bad week for Bálor who also failed in his attempt to win the World Heavyweight Championship at Saturday Night’s Main Event against Gunther and Damian Priest.
Priest played a major role in the War Raiders’ victory. When Bálor failed to win after his Coup de Grace, he sent McDonagh to get a steel chair. The referee stopped McDonagh, but that meant Bálor saw the chance to grab one of his own behind his back.
But Priest appeared and won a tug of war for the chair. The impact sent Bálor into the barricade who then – disorientated – rolled back into the ring. The War Raiders hit the War Machine on Bálor to take the titles.
Priest and Bálor have been embroiled in a rivalry since Bálor turned on his former Judgement Day friend at SummerSlam.
The War Raiders Win World Tag Team Championship
It will be The War Raiders’ second Tag Team Championship reign in WWE. They held the championship for 98 days in 2019/20 known as The Viking Raiders. They are also former NXT Tag Team Champions, RoH Tag Team Champions and IWGP Tag Team Champions.
This victory marks an impressive return for the team of Erik and Ivar. They made their return to WWE in October after almost a year away as both men suffered injuries.
During this time off, they reflected on the precariousness of life as a WWE athlete and returned with a more serious approach. They dropped the Viking gimmick to present a more realistic version of themselves.
EXCLUSIVE: The War Raiders get emotional about what it means to overcome potential career ending injuries to win the World Tag Team Titles for the first time in over 5 years.#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/62agCJJdKW
— WWE (@WWE) December 17, 2024
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