WWE superstar Roman Reigns admitted that being assaulted by a fan during a special WWE event in Victoria, B.C., was a scary moment for him.
The incident took place on Aug. 8 while Reigns was taking on Bray Wyatt in an exhibition match. But then, during the match, he felt something hit him at the back of the head, Wrestling Inc. reported.
At first, the 30-year-old athlete though Wyatt smacked him with a foreign object. But upon seeing the fake Money in the Bank briefcase that a male fan threw into the ring, Reigns immediately realized that something was wrong.
The match between the two was temporarily stopped and the fan was immediately apprehended by members of the WWE security and escorted out of the venue.
Although Reigns was unhurt and still managed to beat Wyatt, the incident made him realize how a reckless action by a member of the audience could have ended his career.
"I'm a character and a sports entertainer and a wrestler, but I'm also a father and a husband and a provider," he told the Miami Herald. "So for me that's scary, because I'm just going out there to put on a good show and provide for my family and take care of my future, and if somebody takes that away from me...For what? For 10 seconds of Internet fame."
"That's tough to deal with," Reigns added. "That's hard to process."
Despite the incident, the wrestler seems to have a pretty solid career in the WWE. From being a newcomer as part of The Shield with former teammates Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, Reigns was able to make a name for himself and became a fan-favorite.
However, the start of 2015 was rough for Reigns after fans turned on him and started booing him. This began after he eliminated Russian wrestler Rusev in January's Royal Rumble main event.
According to Inquistr, the fans may have turned against him because they wanted to see Daniel Bryan win the match. Another theory suggests fans simply don't like wrestlers who are being fully supported by the WWE.
But, everything changed after Reigns lost to Rollins during a triple-threat match with Brock Lesnar during the recent WrestleMania 31. It seems now that Reigns has returned to his underdog status, fans are beginning to like him again.
For Reigns, however, being booed by fans was hard especially because he believes he didn't deserve that kind of treatment.
"It's not like I was trying to hurt anybody," he told Sporting News. "I was just trying to do my thing, make my art the way I want it and have a good time and hopefully it reflects that."
"It's shocking, it's hurtful but it's just part of the world," Reigns added. "Just like anything else, any other form of bullying that the world's dealt with, we're going to get past it. Strong people are strong for a reason — they can hold that weight."
