Seth Rollins was attacked by a fan during Monday Night Raw in Brooklyn, New York, and WWE released a statement on the situation. According to ESPN and Wrestling Inc, the fan, whose name is Elisah Spencer, left his seating section at 9:20 p.m. local time, jumped the barricade and tackled Rollins, who suffered swelling to his lip. Rollins refused medical attention and WWE announced Spencer was arrested for the incident.
“WWE takes the safety of its performers very seriously,” the statement said. “The individual who attacked Seth Rollins has been turned over to the NYPD and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” Marc Raimondi of ESPN later reported that Spencer has been charged with attempted assault and attempted violation of arts and cultural affairs. TV cameras did show Rollins being attacked for a second before cutting back to the ring and not showing it again. Fans who were ringside did record the attack on their phones, and it was on social media very quickly.
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The attack didn’t phase Rollins as he was back at ringside later in the show to watch Big E defend the WWE Championship against Austin Theory. But this isn’t the first time Rollins had to deal with a real-life altercation involving a fan. In 2016 during an episode of Raw, a fan jumped into the ring and went face-to-face with Rollins before being taken down by security.
Rollins has become one of the top heels in WWE and is married to Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch. He was recently interviewed by Ariel Helwani following Survivor Series to talk about the situation between Lynch and Charlotte Flair.
“I can’t even relate to the experience she probably went throughout there tonight,” Rollins said, per ComicBook.com. “It’s one thing to go out and perform on a high level on a pay-per-view, having a near one-year-old baby that you also have to take care of, but when you have fallen out with your best friend, and I can tell you, legitimately, that’s been a process that’s been going on for years and it really reached a boiling point recently, as all the reports have said. There was nothing about going into this match she was comfortable with and I imagine it was an extremely cathartic experience for her.”
