Former WWE Star-Turned-Politician Charged With Murder

Daniel Rodimer, a retired professional wrestler and onetime congressional candidate, is the latest ex-WWE star to find themselves charged with murder. Rodimer, who competed in WWE under the name Dan Rodman in the mid-2000s, has reportedly already turned himself in. 

On March 6, the Las Vegas Police Department said in a statement that it had identified Rodimer as a suspect in the October 2023 death of 47-year-old Idaho man Christopher Tapp. Tapp spent two decades in prison for a murder he didn’t commit and went on to become an advocate for the wrongfully convicted. He died in Las Vegas; his lawyer said he was hospitalized and in a coma after he fell and hit his head on a coffee table in his hotel room. Upon further investigation, detectives found that Tapp had been in a fight before he went to the hospital. The county coroner’s office ruled his death a homicide as a result of blunt force trauma to the head. 

According to police documents, Rodimer and Tapp crossed paths at a party last fall in a Resorts World suite. Tapp allegedly offered drugs to Rodimer’s stepdaughter, and Rodimer allegedly responded in a violent fashion. Per police findings, he was overheard telling Tapp “If you ever talk to my daughter again, I’ll f–king kill you.” Witnesses say he then began punching Tapp violently. 

Rodimer turned himself in on March 6 on the open murder charge and is cooperating with authorities. “Mr. Rodimer is voluntarily surrendering to authorities and will post a court-ordered bail,” police told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “He intends on vigorously contesting the allegations and asks that the presumption of innocence guaranteed all Americans be respected.”

Back in 2020, Rodimer made a run for public office as a Republican vying for Congress in Nevada’s third district. After losing that race, he moved to Texas and ran in a 2021 special congressional election.

Rodimer posted a $200,000 bail and is set to appear in court April 10.