The fan and security issues at WWE’s hotel during WrestleMania 42 weekend were far more widespread than the incidents that made headlines, and the sentiment among talent is nearly unanimous that TKO and WWE need to do better.
Fightful spent the week speaking with WWE talent about the situation, and the response was telling from the outset. When asked about security at the hotel, a number of wrestlers responded with the same question: “What security?”
Almost unanimously, wrestlers across all locker rooms agreed that WWE and TKO should provide on-site security for talent at major events when performers are staying at a centralized location. During most events, talent are responsible for booking their own hotels. At events like WrestleMania, accommodations are provided by WWE. Despite that, a number of wrestlers chose to stay at different hotels specifically to avoid the concentration of fans and autograph seekers, though Fightful was told that decision makes it more difficult for WWE to arrange travel services for those performers.
The incidents that did become public were only a fraction of what occurred. CM Punk knocked a fan’s phone away after the fan followed AJ Lee and Bayley into an elevator bank. Almost every talent Fightful spoke to said the fan had it coming, with only one wrestler expressing the view that Punk should have handled things differently given his history of physical incidents. WWE sources do not expect legal action. Royce Keys was seen asking a fan to respect his time. Booker T revealed a fan filmed him in the bathroom, something multiple other wrestlers privately echoed to Fightful. Seth Rollins had to nudge a fan who stepped directly into his path as he and Becky Lynch were moving through the hotel. Sean Waltman said he was physically assaulted and had a camera shoved in his face. Damian Priest had to confront a fan who would not respect the personal space of female wrestlers.
A WWE source also flagged concerns about physical contact at Meet and Greets, noting that videos and photos had surfaced of fans initiating hugs with talent, and encouraged fans not to make unsolicited physical contact with wrestlers given both comfort concerns and health risks.
Talent also offered their own theories on why the situation has been getting worse. One wrestler pointed to the skyrocketing prices associated with WWE under TKO and Fanatics, suggesting that fans who would normally pay for official meet and greet access can no longer afford to do so and resort to approaching talent in uncontrolled settings instead.
“They charge inaccessible prices,” the wrestler said.
Other comments captured the range of frustration felt throughout the locker room. A former WWE Champion noted that fans frequently use their children to pressure wrestlers into signing items, adding “If we don’t, they put phones in our face and try to guilt trip us.” Another WWE superstar offered a more resigned view: “It’s WrestleMania and there are wrestling fans in town. What do people expect?” A WWE staff member joked that talent “should be allowed to superkick one annoying fan a day.”
One prominent women’s talent captured the broader structural problem in a single comment.
“It’s Vegas, we were f*ed 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,” she said.
The overall sentiment among talent is that the responsibility falls on TKO and WWE to either fund proper security at major events or begin covering the cost for talent to hire their own.
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