WWE wrestlers Damian Priest and R-Truth traded the wrestling ring for a batting cage at the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory. The visit, which included a friendly competition, took place ahead of Friday's SmackDown event at the KFC Yum Center. Both stars expressed excitement about the experience and the upcoming show.
On February 27, 2026, WWE superstars Damian Priest and R-Truth visited the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory in Louisville, Kentucky, where they participated in activities at the museum's Hitting Lab. Normally reserved for professional baseball players, the lab allowed the wrestlers to learn about the analytics behind a good swing and test their skills against some of baseball's greatest pitchers.
The pair received custom wooden bats and engaged in a batting cage competition to see who could hit the ball the hardest. R-Truth narrowly defeated Priest with an exit velocity of 62 mph, compared to Priest's 61 mph. This fell short of Houston Astros third baseman Cam Smith's record of 110 mph at the facility.
Priest, a self-described big baseball fan, commented on the visit: “I’m a big baseball fan. So, as soon as I found out, I was like, ‘ah that’s so cool.’ There’s certain places that you want to visit, but sometimes you don’t get time to. This was one that I was glad that I not only had the time, but it was set up by the company, where you guys could actually show us around and spend some time with us, so we’re always really excited about this one.”
Reflecting on the competitive nature of wrestlers, Priest added: “Guys will find competition in anything, eating, it doesn't matter, it's always a competition, always wanting to be better than everybody else.” R-Truth shared his satisfaction: “Satisfaction, you did it, you achieved it. you finished a day's work.”
The outing served as a promotional event ahead of WWE's Friday Night SmackDown at the KFC Yum Center, starting at 7:30 p.m. with doors opening at 6 p.m. Priest described the show as: “It's a home run of an event, you're going to see the spectacle, the Superstars, the pyro, the great matches, the drama, I mean we cover all the emotions you can think of.” Following the Louisville event, both wrestlers were scheduled to head to Chicago for Saturday's Elimination Chamber premium live event.
