Professional wrestling is scripted. Everyone knows that. It’s one of the most well-known facts in the world today. But, sometimes there are incidents which really push the boundaries and blur the lines between scripted and real. This was even more apparent before the widespread popularity of the internet, where kayfabe was still considered sacred.
All of these factors combined have led to some truly memorable moments in the world of professional wrestling, where fans were convinced that what they were seeing was indeed real and took it upon themselves to be good samaritans and alert the police.
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Today, we explore 5 such incidents where for one reason or another, a number of fans were so convinced that they were about to witness a tragedy that real life authorities had to get mixed up with all the shenanigans that take place in wrestling.
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So, without further do, here are 5 times pro-wrestling fans called the cops on wrestlers:
#5 Broken Matt crosses the line
Matt Hardy’s Broken gimmick is one of the most popular things to have hit the world of professional wrestling over the past year. But, it hasn’t been without its fair share of hiccups. One notable example of this is where Hardy posted a suicide note video on YouTube.
First and foremost, suicide is not something that should be used for the sake of a promo and there is no aspect of it that should be taken lightly. Even if this was done in an in-ring scenario, it would not go down well with people.
Hardy took this one step further by posting it as a video online and this obviously worried a number of fans who wanted to ensure the safety of the elder Hardy brother. They did the right thing by calling the cops to check up on Broken Matt.
Not the greatest move, Matt.
#4 The Bryan Pillman promo
Before he was Stone Cold Steve Austin, the Texas Rattlesnake was part of the tag team, The Hollywood Blonds, with Brian Pillman. When the two severed ties and started feuding, it led to one of the most controversial moments in all of wrestling.
In the now infamous “Pillman’s got a gun” segment, the WWE aired a segment where Pillman was waving around a handgun and threatening Austin from his home. While disturbing by itself, it had nothing on what was to come next.
Austin broke into Pillman’s house and beat up all of his former tag team partner’s friends, leading to shots being fired at him by Pillman, much to the horror of those who were watching. There were a number of phone calls made by concerned fans to the cops.
Luckily, the WWE had anticipated such a response from the WWE Universe and had informed the cops about the segment beforehand in order to avoid serious trouble.
#3 The NWO invasion
When Scot Hall, Kevin Nash, and Hulk Hogan arrived on WCW to form the New World Order, the landscape of professional wrestling changed forever. They would go on to have one of the most dominant runs in company history and it was in the early days of this run that Hall and Nash had the cops called on them.
They heavily assaulted a number of WCW Superstars in the parking lot including the likes of Rey Mysterio, Arn Anderson, and Buff Bagwell. They absolutely ripped Mysterio apart including flinging him at a production truck.
This level of violence not only had the fans call the cops due to the brutality but also had employees of the studio, where the incident was being filmed, wondering if they should call the cops as well.
#2 The Four Horseman assault Dusty Rhodes
This is an incident from the true days of kayfabe in wrestling. The Four Horsemen and Dusty Rhodes were in the midst of their now-legendary rivalry when the Horsemen decided to take their heelishness to the next level.
The filmed an incident where they assaulted The American Dream and broke his hand with a baseball bat. The fact that the whole incident was shot on a handheld camera further helped sell it as a real life assault on the beloved Rhodes.
This led to a number of fans calling the cops to arrest the Horsemen for their vicious assault as there was evidence through the footage that the Horsemen themselves had shot.
#1 Vince McMahon dies
There was an incredibly stupid angle in the noughties where Vince McMahon ran a segment where he “died.” The Chairman of the WWE was in his limo when the vehicle exploded and the WWE declared him missing, presumed dead.
The company went so far as to even get a few news outlets to run with the story in order to lend it some credibility. It got to a point where a number of fans actually believed the whole ruse and ended up contacting the cops.
Worse than this, though, is that local residents around the area where the explosion occurred had no idea what had happened, except for the fact that there was a loud explosion and a burning vehicle, and immediately called the cops as well.
All of this didn’t really matter, though, as Vince had to cut the angle short and make a return to announce the death of Chris Benoit and the Benoit family.
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