WWE: When pro wrestling gets real

Professional wrestling fans play a big part in the industry, as they’re the source of turnover for an organization. More often than not, you see the promoters or bookers catering to the fans, as ultimately, they’re the ones who dictate if the product they’re watching is worth the money they spend. If a company is unable to please these fans, and do anything which turns them off, they suffer financially and inevitably go bankrupt. As they say, the business is a circus and the fans are the audience who decide to watch the performance or not.

Sometimes, the difference between the performance and reality gets blurred, which happens when the fans take things too seriously. One has to remember that these performers risk their lives every time they step into the ring, and hence, they have the fate of their opponent in their hands. One wrong move and it can prove fatal. As such, the performers take things seriously if they feel threatened by someone else.

There have been instances in professional wrestling when the fans forgot that what they were watching isn’t a soap opera. They aren’t watching two performers putting on just a show. Professional wrestling is arguably the most dangerous sport there is, and as such, with all the moonsaults and the piledrivers, they take extra precaution not to end up six feet under. But there were times when the fans got too close to action, and took things a little too seriously, invading the privacy, and sometimes, even the matches of these performers! In this article, I take a look at five such instances when the fans crossed the line between the two worlds.

5. Eddie Guerrero vs RVD (Ladder match)

All wrestling matches have equal risks. But when foreign objects are involved, that’s when the odds of someone getting seriously injured increases to greater levels, especially during ladder matches. Who can forget how severely Joey Mercury got injured during one of the ladder matches? So, when a fan gets involved out of nowhere, and pushes the ladder, it can result in the performer getting seriously injured, and that was what happened during a ladder match between Eddie and RVD. A fan rushed to the ring and pushed the ladder, but fortunately, Eddie landed on his feet and landed a couple of shots on the lunatic fan, as he was rushed out of the ring by the officials.

4. Dean Malenko vs Psycosis

During an episode of Monday Nitro in WCW, “The man of 1, 000 holds” Dean Malenko took on Psycosis. During the bout, a fan rushed to the ring as the referee Mark Curtis hit him with a knee, and took him down with a choke hold till the security and the other staff came into the ring and took him away. Malenko and Psycosis continued to wrestle during the whole time, which was amusing to say the least. It also gave Bobby Heenan an opportunity to share his brilliance, as he chuckled, “The smallest referee in the world just took him down! How tough is that guy?”

3. CM Punk decks a fan during RAW

It is dangerous when a fan enters the ring during a match, but it gets a whole lot worse when the superstars go into the crowd during their segments. When people enter through the crowd, they are usually accompanied by the security personnel who take care of the safety of the performer. But when CM Punk climbed through the aisles and into the crowd, the security he had was very little, and this led to the fans shoving and pushing the then WWE champion, as the chairman himself was in the ring.

What followed next garnered much interest and attention, as Punk was shoved by a fan, and Punk retaliated. The only downside was that Punk decked the wrong guy. Although Punk can never be blamed for what happened, this brings up the topic of performers’ safety when they go right into the belly of the beast, amidst the ravaging fans who can be more than just dangerous.

2. Sabu gets physical with a fan

The first rule in professional wrestling is to not get involved with the fans. But when the fans take the initiative, the performers retaliate to set them straight. And if that performer happens to be the toughest, meanest son of a gun in the business, the fan is in a world of trouble. During a tour in Japan, the fans were all over Sabu while he was making his way to the ring, and a specific individual took it upon him to pull the cloth off of Sabu’s head, which enraged the ‘deranged superstar’, as he went after him and delivered some stiff shots. It is known that the fans in Japan consider it an honor to be beaten up by a wrestler, and it looks like the fan was just following the tradition.

1. Jericho gets bullied by the fans

When you’re the biggest villain in Sports Entertainment, some people consider you a bad guy even off camera. And that was exactly what Jericho faced when he was surrounded by a group of hooligans who were using expletives against him, although only one fan was asking politely for a picture with him. As the fans got aggressive, a woman came and shoved Jericho, who retaliated. Although it wasn’t a pretty sight, it once again underlines the importance of proper security around these superstars. This video went viral and caused a huge uproar in the United States, and there were only a few sensible fans who backed Jericho in this matter.