"You find the SOB that did that" - 5 times fans attacked WWE women
Over the past few years, a few WWE fans have stepped over the line and attacked superstars. Last November, Seth Rollins became the latest victim of a fan attack on Monday Night RAW. 24-year-old Elisah Spencer, ambushed the former Universal Champion as he headed backstage after completing a match. Following the attack, police arrested Spencer and charged him with assault.
Similarly, some fans have also previously attacked a few WWE women superstars. While one got shoved in the face, another got a bottle thrown at her. On one occasion, former CEO Vince McMahon offered fans money to point out the attacker of a female superstar.
Here are five times fans attacked WWE women.
#5. Paige
During her time in WWE, Paige was among the most popular superstars. However, one fan was seemingly not very fond of the former Divas Champion. He attacked her as she left the Allstate Arena following Money in the Bank in 2018.
The 29-year-old was greeting fans from her car when a man shoved her in the face and insulted her appearance. As Paige took off, other fans confronted the man.
The former Divas Champion later addressed the incident, posting an Instagram story in which she was eating. She also sent the attacker a message.
"To the fan that decided to pie face me through my car window and then told me to 'lose some weight Paige', you inspired me to keep being myself and eat whatever the f*** I want. Good luck with your karma!" Paige wrote.
Paige retired from the ring in 2018 due to injury. Earlier this year, she left WWE after her contract expired.
#4. Natalya
In 2008, Natalya debuted on WWE's main roster. Eleven years later, she made history by being one of the competitors in the first-ever women's match in Saudi Arabia at Crown Jewel in 2019.
Although the Canadian superstar seemed excited as she headed to the ring for her match against Lacey Evans, she was surprised when a fan threw a bottle of water at her.
Although the bottle hit Natalya's leg as she made her way to the ring, she continued on her way and did not give it much attention. Several fans on Twitter later praised the former SmackDown Women's Champion for her professionalism.
"She's a pro and won't let haters hate," one fan tweeted. (H/T: The Sun)
In an interview with Yahoo! Sports, Natalya later commented on the incident, stating that she had much worse than bottles thrown at her.
"When that water bottle was thrown, it was kind of symbolic of my life, our lives as people. I have yet to meet a person who has yet to have a struggle in their journey. For me, all I could think of in that moment was that ‘Oh, a bottle was thrown.’ I was going to keep going forward because forward is forward no matter what the pace is. Because of that mindset I’ve gotten to where I am today. I’ve had so much worse than bottles thrown at me," Natalya said.
The 40-year-old is currently active on SmackDown. She recently unsuccessfully competed in a gauntlet match for a shot at the SmackDown Women's Championship.
#3. Linda McMahon
Alongside her husband Vince, Linda McMahon built WWE into a global phenomenon. Together, they founded Titan Sports, Inc. in 1980 before buying WWE a few years later from Vince's father, Vince McMahon Sr.
Linda also held the position of WWE CEO for many years. Although she mostly worked backstage, she also participated in a few storylines in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
On the March 20, 2000, episode of Monday Night RAW, Linda, playing a face WWE official at the time, made an appearance to inform Triple H that Mick Foley would be in the main event of WrestleMania despite The Game retiring him a few weeks earlier.
However, a fan seemingly was not happy with Linda. Hence, he jumped the barricade and headed towards the former CEO as she made her way to the stage before making the announcement. Triple H then broke character and tackled the guy to save his now-mother-in-law. Meanwhile, Linda seemed a little shocked and confused.
In 2009, Linda McMahon resigned from her position as WWE CEO to pursue a career in politics. Although she is technically still married to Vince, recent reports have claimed they are currently not living together.
#2. Becky Lynch
Bianca Belair dragging Becky Lynch over to a fan and letting the fan hit Becky with her braid 😭
The smile on that girl’s face is awesome, this is what wrestling is about 💛 https://t.co/VxGn7OPAPZ
Unlike previous cases, the young fan who attacked Becky Lynch did not step over the line. Instead, she participated in the performance Lynch and her opponent Bianca Belair gave at a live event.
The incident happened last year as Lynch and Belair battled at a live event. During the match, the current RAW Women's Champion spotted a young girl sporting a braid similar to hers. She then dragged Big Time Becks towards the fan and told the young girl to smack Lynch with her hair.
As the girl whacked Lynch with her hair, the former RAW Women's Champion sold the move and acted hurt. Belair then high-fived the fan and headed back to the ring.
#1. WWE Chairwoman and Co-CEO Stephanie McMahon
After working a few backstage jobs, Stephanie McMahon became an on-screen character in the late 1990s. Although she debuted as a face character, she later turned heel, aligning herself with Triple H.
One fan seemingly was not very fond of The Billion Dollar Princess' character. Hence, he threw a baseball at her at a WWE event, as Kurt Angle revealed on his Kurt Angle show podcast.
Instead of calling the police, Angle called Stephanie's father, Vince McMahon. The former chairman was so unhappy with his daughter getting attacked that he ordered security to offer fans money to point out Stephanie's attacker.
"Vince McMahon went to security and said, 'You find the SOB that did that. I don't care how much money it takes; you tell fans, you keep offering money until they say yes.' 100 dollars, you know if they don't want to do it for 100, 200, 300, 400, 500. So, security was going around asking the fans, and they weren't going to tell, and they ended up doing a really high number, and one of the fans said, 'He did it,'" Angle said.
Vince McMahon recently retired from WWE amid allegations of misconduct. Stephanie has since become the new Chairwoman and Co-CEO alongside Nick Khan.