Luke Littler made his American debut in sensational style on Friday, but he did it without his iconic walk-on music after receiving a message from WWE champion Cody Rhodes.
Littler's adopted anthem of Green Light by Pitbull, Flo Rida and Lunchmoney Lewis became an instant hit with fans at Alexandra Palace when the teenager shocked the world and reached the final of the World Darts Championship in January.
But he changed things up at Madison Square Garden as he made his bow in front of a capacity crowd stateside. Littler has made no secret of his WWE fandom; Green Light was the theme song for Wrestlemania 33 in 2017 when he was just 10 years old.
READ MORE: Luke Humphries proposes to girlfriend in New York as Luke Littler congratulates rival
READ MORE: Luke Littler calls out 'loser' TikTok star for boxing match - 'I don't like him'
'The Nuke' made a trip to WWE HQ in Connecticut in the days before his opening match at the US Darts Masters, being given a tour by British wrestling legend William Regal. And Regal had a surprise for Littler, with a recorded message from "The American Nightmare" Rhodes playing on a big screen.
Premier League odds and betting tips
"My friend, I am a fan of yours," Rhodes said. "I have an appreciation for you as an athlete and a performer and a competitor. My man, you are a champion's champion. From one champion to another, Luke, see you down the road."
Littler, 17, was blown away by the message, and he decided to repay the favour by using Rhodes' walk-on music for his opening round clash with Canada's Matt Campbell. Downstait's anthem Kingdom has become one of the most revered walk-ons in wrestling history and the darts crowd certainly appreciated it at MSG as Littler arrived on stage and copied Rhodes' signature raised arms pose.
When the action got underway, the Premier League champion was at his brilliant best, steamrolling Campbell in just nine minutes and 52 seconds en route to a resounding 6-0 victory, averaging more than 103 on his American debut.
Littler faces another Canadian in the second round on Saturday, taking on Jeff Smith in the quarter-finals after he stunned former world champion Michael Smith 6-1.
Littler said: "I couldn't wait to get on that stage tonight. I felt really comfortable, everything just went well and I can't wait to play tomorrow now."
"With the amount of top athletes that have performed here, it would mean the world to lift this trophy, and hopefully I can go all the way."
Littler faces a tough task if he is to add another trophy to his collection, though, with Luke Humphries, Nathan Aspinall, Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen all reaching the last eight in New York City.
Whether Littler keeps up the change to his walk-out music remains to be seen, but he was not the only man to mix things up on Friday, with American favourite Jules van Dongen played onto the stage by a live performance from a rock band.
World Cup hero wants Man Utd move as doubts over Harry Maguire's future grow
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
