Daily Update: Cody Rhodes-Danhausen, Shingo Takagi, The Rock
Daily Update
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- For subscribers: Dave Meltzer on NJPW ownership change
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Wednesday Update
WWE
- WWE uploaded the full Lola Vice vs. Izzi Dame NXT Women’s Championship match from last night.
- To promote Clash in Italy, Cody Rhodes appeared on ESPN’s SportsCenter, First Take, Get Up, and The Rich Eisen Show today.
- Rhodes told ESPN Unsportsmanlike that Danhausen is the “king” of WWE’s merch sellers right now:
- I think it’s safe to say Danhausen is one of the most popular people in all of WWE at the moment, and I don’t see it really stopping. He overtook the merch game. There’s all kinds of market confusion because the WWE Shop website has a thing that people actually believe, but I’ll tell you who’s the king right now of the merch game – it’s Danhausen. He’s beating us all.
- For an ESPN video, Seth Rollins looked back at some of his WWE highlights.
- Though it’s not confirmed that he’ll be attending, Dana White told Time that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been invited to the UFC’s show at the White House next month:
- At least 1,200 of the approximately 4,300 seats will go to active military members. The White House, TKO, and the UFC will divvy up the rest: White has invited Adam Sandler, Guy Ritchie, Tom Brady, Jared Leto, Jason Statham, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, and Mario Lopez.
- AJ Styles’ son Avery shared training footage of himself doing his father’s patented Spiral Tap into a crash pad.
- Today marks 30 years since Scott Hall arrived in WCW by invading Nitro. To celebrate the anniversary, WCW’s YouTube channel posted that full Nitro episode.
Other Wrestling
- Shingo Takagi commented on the news that NJPW’s ownership is transferring from Bushiroad to TV Asahi & CyberAgent:
- I know the [Bushiroad] owner personally, and I want to say once again, thank you for the past 14 years. It was the same when LIJ (Los Ingobernables de Japon) disbanded, but I’m in a situation where I’m wondering ‘what’s going to happen,’ and I can’t help but be excited. I just have to work hard and stay positive, showing a bright future.
- AEW wrestler Max Caster filed a trademark for the term “Volume 2” on May 26. Along with that, Caster posted a tweet calling indie promotion Beyond Wrestling/Wrestling Open his new home and the only place where people will be able to see him every week:
- My new home. Proud to be a part.
- The only place you’ll see the Best Wrestler Alive every week.
- The Young Bucks uploaded a new Being the Elite video focused on Stadium Stampede.
- 94WIP in Philadelphia interviewed Wheeler Yuta.
- Indie wrestler Erick Stevens announced that he’s stepping away from the ring for what might be the final time:
- Thank you to all of the promotions who brought me in, all of my opponents, and all of the fans who supported this run.
- Pro wrestling owes me nothing. I just hope that I’m leaving it better than I found it.
- I’ve learned to never say ‘goodbye’ in this business. Did that a couple times and looked like a dummy when I came back. Even though this feels like my last run, you really just never know. With that being said, I’ll leave you with this:
- See you later.
Joseph Currier
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.