Backstage Reactions To Fan Behavior At WrestleMania 42, TKO Not Providing Security

Toxic and disrespectful fan behavior is a big discussion point coming out of WrestleMania 42, and a new report has details on the reactions from talent to the matter. As has been reported extensively over the last couple of days, there were a number of issues with fan behavior toward talents over WrestleMania week. The most notable of these involved CM Punk smacking a phone out of the hand of a fan who followed Bayley and AJ Lee to where they were trying to have a private moment and filmed them. Bayley had told the guy to “get out of here” and he went to continue filming, only to have Punk smack the phone down.

It has been reported that the situation was compounded by a number of factors, including WWE renting out a hotel attached to a casino (now known to be the MGM Grand) — which meant there was no way to restrict fan access — and TKO/WWE not hiring additional security. Fightful Select has spoken to a number of talent in WWE about the matter and shared their reactions.

According to the report, a number of talent replied to questions about security with “what security?” It was almost universally agreed by talent across the board WWE and TKO should be providing on-site security for talent when they are staying at a centralized location for major events. While talent is responsible for their own hotels for most events, shows like WrestleMania see WWE provide lodging. However, a number of wrestlers chose to do their own lodgings at different hotels to avoid the swarms of fans and autograph seekers. That reportedly makes it more difficult for WWE to arrange travel.

One source pointed out the videos and pics of talent being approached for hugs and asked fans not to try and initiate physical contact with the wrestlers, not only due to comfortability issues but also do to health risks. One wrestler said that they believe the situation is getting worse due to higher prices for WWE under TKO and Fanatics and said they don’t think that they’re as “financially accessible” to fans who want to meet them, and thus would normally pay for meet and greets.

Regarding the CM Punk incident, one wrestler thought Punk should have handled things differently considering his past physical incidents but sources in WWE don’t expect any legal action to be taken. Every other talent said that the fan had it coming.

In addition to Punk, a number of people had issues. As noted, both Booker T and Sean Waltman said that they were filmed or stalked into the bathroom, and Waltman said he was physically assaulted. A number of WWE talent echoed Booker’s sentiment to Fightful. Royce Keys was caught on video asking a fan to respect his time when the fan came up to him for a photo. Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins were coming through a room at one point and Rollins had to nudge a fan who stepped in his way aside. And as previously noted, Damian Priest had to come to the aid of a female wrestler who was surrounded by fans minutes before the Punk incident.

One former WWE Champion told the site, “A lot of fans use their kids to get us to sign things. If we don’t, they put phones in our face and try to guilt trip us.” Another star said, “It’s WrestleMania and there are wrestling fans in town. What do people expect?”

One prominent member of the women’s roster told the outlet, “It’s Vegas, we were f**ked from the beginning. WWE never actually pre-arranges good security. It’s like they wait until s**t happens, then they do damage control or add security. We love the personal security teams, and they did as much as they could but hotel security was busy taking care of the problems you already have in Las Vegas.”

The overall sentiment among talent is that is that TKO and WWE need either spend money to protect the talent, or start paying for the talent to get their own private security.

WWE did not respond to a request from Fightful for comment.