4 WWE Champions who were fined for attacking the referee

#2 Sheamus

The referee did not see that one coming

Back in 2012, Sheamus was enjoying his WWE World Heavyweight run. But he could not earn a place in the good books of John Laurinaitis – the then General Manager of RAW and SmackDown. Laurinaitis went as far as saying that he expects more out of a champion. He also stated that his champion cannot go around ‘kicking people’s heads off’.

An angry Sheamus responded to the above statements by stating that the only people who get their heads kicked off are the ones who truly deserve it. Shortly after that, Sheamus did something that left the arena in shock.

It was his match against Alberto Del Rio and the latter was fighting to win a shot at the title. During the match, Sheamus picked up a steel chair. The referee for the match, Chad Patton, disqualified Sheamus on accounts of using the chair as a weapon and Del Rio won the match.

An angry Sheamus turned towards Patton and delivered a monstrous Brogue Kick. The latter was knocked out and the medical staff immediately rushed towards the ring.

WWE officially released a statement from a WWE physician which read, “As [Patton] fell backward, he sustained some trauma to the back of his head. We found that he had some dizziness and disorientation ... He’s currently undergoing further evaluation and treatment for his head trauma and we’ll have further updates when they’re available.”

Following that, Sheamus was slapped with a $500,000 fine by WWE for his actions.