Why Do Fans Still Try to Interfere with Wrestling Matches?
Last night, AEW Dynamite had their first Road Rager event kick off their first tour since Covid-19 shut events down last year. The Florida-based company aired their weekly Dynamite show in front of a packed crowd in Miami, Florida. The crowd was happy to be there, and you could tell the wrestlers were glad to be performing in front of a live crowd once again.
About halfway through the show, there was a promo segment between Chris Jericho and MJF. The two performers are in the middle of a heated and entertaining feud. Both men are great performers in the ring and on the microphone, so the fans were in for a treat.
Then it happened.
Jericho had just made his entrance, and fans were doing the traditional sing-along to his entrance music, “Judas” (performed by Jericho and his band Fozzy). Then a figure appeared on the ramp. Some heavyset fan in sunglasses appeared on the ramp and trying to get in the ring. At first, many viewers may have thought it was part of the show and maybe the introduction of a new performer.
Jericho was shown looking noticeably angry at being interrupted but stood poised. Jericho took a few swings at the fan before the cameras cut to the crowd. Then security began to struggle with the man, and MJF could be heard shouting, “Cut it!”
The show went to commercial, and when they came back, MJF and Jericho continued with their segment. Both men referenced the incident during their segment to the delight of the fans. MJF referred to it by asking if anybody else wanted their 15 seconds of fame. The rest of the show went on without further disruption.
Luckily this situation did not end in any serious injury to anyone, and likely this fan spent the rest of his evening in a Florida jail contemplating his choices. We will probably find out he was either inebriated, mentally ill, or possibly some small-time performer who wanted to get some exposure. Regardless, it puts a damper on one of the first events where live crowds have gathered in over a year.
This is just the most recent event in a long history of wrestling fans attempting to get involved in a wrestling show. A fan might think they can take on one of these “fake tough guys” in the ring. While we know that pro wrestling is a show, fans forget that some of these performers can handle themselves in a real fight. These never end well for the non-performer who enters the ring.
One of the most famous examples is a ladder match between Eddie Guerrero and Rob Van Dam on a 2002 Monday Night Raw. Everything went normal until, at one point, Guerrero was climbing the ladder, and a fan rushed the ring and pushed the ladder. Luckily, Guerrero landed on his feet while security rushed to grab the fan. Guerrero got a sharp right hand to the fan’s face, which appeared to knock him out as he was dragged out of the ring.
Another more recent incident occurred during the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. WWE had decided to try something different in the event's presentation, which usually included a stage in front of the audience of fans and wrestling personalities. This year they had a wrestling ring at the center of the crowd. The inductees would make their speeches. Bret “Hitman” Hart was giving his acceptance speech for the induction of himself and his late-partner Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart (his daughter and current WWE performer, Natayla, accepted on his behalf) as the Hart Foundation.
A fan identified as Zachary Madsen then rushed the ring and tackled Hart and Natalya to the ground. Several WWE wrestlers who were around the ring rushed to their aid. Most notably, current AEW star Dash Wilder threw several hard punches as Madsen was taken away.
I could go on and on. These incidents typically end in a few seconds of exposure on television, possibly some solid punches from the performers, and arrests.
So why do fans keep trying to interfere in pro wrestling events and matches?
“Kayfabe” is a term used to mean the illusion of wrestling. It may go back to the kayfabe days of the 1950s and 1960s. This was before it became common knowledge that pro wrestling was scripted and was a performance. Fans really thought these performers were their characters and reflected who they were in real life. While in some situations, this was true, mostly it was just a show.
There are stories of fans pulling guns and knives on the bad guys during shows or in public. The villains were often given police escorts out of the arena, and it was not uncommon for them to find their vehicles vandalized. Sometimes they may be at a local bar, and some drunk would try to see how tough these wrestlers really were.
There was an unwritten rule back in those days when wrestlers would get into a physical altercation with a fan. If a fan tried to start a fight, they better win it. Many promoters would fire a wrestler that lost a real fight, as it hurt their credibility.
There are also stories of wrestlers and promoters taking matters into their own hands when fans got out of hand. If a fan took a swing at a wrestler, they would usually find themselves arrested and taken to a backstage area of the arena. The officers may turn a blind eye while the fan was “taught a lesson” by the offended wrestler or promotor.
Luckily, by the 1990s, the cat was out of the bag as far as the realism of professional wrestling. While some fans still wanted to believe it was real, weapons being pulled on wrestlers and vandalism of their property were few and far between.
Unfortunately, as last night’s event showed, there are still those stupid fans who think they need to be part of the show. While most fans are happy to stay in their seats, cheer, boo, and chant with their favorite performers, some want to ruin it for everyone involved potentially.
When these performers are wrestling, a fan rushing the ring can be a potentially dangerous situation. While often security takes care of the incident immediately, sometimes they get too close to the performers. In those cases, survival instinct can kick in, and they take matters in their own hands and want to send a reminder not to cross that line.
So wrestling fans, if you are going to attend a live event, be smart. Keep your seat and enjoy the show. It’s not worth getting arrested, or your butt kicked.