WWE Gives Us A Statement On Orton Fan Attack

UPDATE x 8: WWE reached out to us and noted that the attack on Randy Orton was not a part of a storyline. They also sent along the following statement…

“On Tuesday night at a WWE live event, Randy Orton was attacked in the ring from behind by a South African fan, who is being held by authorities pending criminal charges. Thankfully, Randy is well enough to continue performing on the tour in South Africa.”

UPDATE x 7: WWE’s spokesperson released a statement on Randy Orton’s condition, noting:

“Randy is well enough to have performed tonight in South Africa.”

UPDATE x 6: South African news site ENCA.com spoke with Tshepo Sekhabi, the man who attacked Randy Orton at a Cape Town, South Africa house show. In the article, Sekhabi says he quit his job in Johannesburg in order to make it to the show and received a black eye and a swollen face after Orton kicked him while he was being yanked from the ring.

When asked why he did it, Sekhabi said he’d planned it in advance, noting, “I just don’t like Randy Orton, this was an opportunity for me so I got up there and made a name for myself.”

The article notes that while Sekhabi wasn’t formally arrested, he was banned for five years from the resort where the show was being hold and was thrown out of the resort’s hotel, which he was staying at.

When asked for comment about whether Orton felt bad about attacking Sekhabi, WWE said, “Randy Orton was the victim in this incident and suffered an injured groin.”

UPDATE x 5: The following reports were sent in by fans in attendance of yesterday’s house show, where a “fan” attacked Randy Orton…

From Jaco Breytenbach: I was at the Cape Town event last night. The incident with the fan and Randy Orton may be a work. The “fan” is a local wrestler called Blacksmith. He trains regularly (4- 5 days a week) at the gym where I am a manager. Adding fuel to the matter is that some people who were in attendance claim that the event security opened up a gap towards the finish of the Orton/Langston match where the “fan”/Blacksmith was able to enter the ring.

From M. Huntley: The guy who ‘attacked’ Randy Orton during last night’s event at the Gran West Arena was local South African wrestler The Blacksmith. Many fans in the arena found the whole incident strange and suspicious as he was posing for photos before the show with fans who recognized him. He was sitting 5 or 6 rows in front of my friends and I. He entered the ring when the event crew backed-off from the security spots giving him the window to proceed into the ring. Everyone on the bus home was suspicious about the whole thing, a few people reckon its a WWE publicity stunt to sell tickets or to take away attention from TNA’s August1 videos given the fact that people would be watching footage of Orton’s so-called attack.

From Daniel Hayward: I attended this infamous WWE event last night. People were posing for photos with the guy who attacked Randy Orton last night. The attacker is a domestic wrestler called The Black Smith. The general feeling in South Africa is that this whole thing is a PR stunt and not a legitimate incident as that of the Pieter van Zyl, the fan who attacked a referee in an international rugby match between South Africa and New Zealand back in 2002 which was a legitimate occurrence. Sorry to burst the bubble, but this thing was planned. The Black Smith was a plant. No Steve Bartman incident here.

From struddersjnr: Hi, I live in South Africa, the guy who confronted Randy Orton at last night’s WWE event was a local wrester. Fully trained to make the whole incident look as shocking and as real as possible. It was reported on local radio stations that the whole thing is not real and was staged. Reports are that it was either current NXT star Leo Kruger or BlackSmith. Both have connections to Justin Gabriel as all three men wrestled in a local Cape Town promotion.

Judging by the fan reports, the knowledge that the “fan” was an independent wrestler and that WWE his posting footage the attack, many are speculating that he “attack” was nothing more than an angle. It doesn’t appear to be a work as the guy was legitimately arrested. More on the story as it develops.

UPDATE x 4: WWE Superstar Big E Langston tweeted the following about a fan attacking Randy Orton in the ring at Tuesday night’s WWE Live Event from Cape Town South Africa:

“That’s not exactly what we mean by “intimate fan experience.” #WWECapeTown”

UPDATE x 3: As reported earlier here on the website, there was a scary moment at Tuesday’s WWE live event in Cape Town, South Africa, as Randy Orton was attacked by a fan following his match against Big E Langston. TMZ.com, which is currently covering the incident as its lead story, reports that the fan is now in police custody.

WWE released a statement on the matter to the website, which states, “Tonight Randy Orton was violently attacked from behind by a South African fan, who is currently being held in jail pending criminal charges. The extent of Orton’s injuries are unknown at this time.” For what it’s worth, Orton is fine and didn’t suffer any injuries other than losing his breath after being hit in the you know what.

A short while later, WWE released the following statement on its company website, “WWE.com has learned that Randy Orton was violently attacked by an audience member during a SmackDown World Tour Live Event in Cape Town, South Africa, this evening. Footage of the attack was captured by a WWE fan and posted to YouTube, and shows the perpetrator striking Orton from behind. The matter is currently under investigation by the local authorities, and the South African fan is being held in jail pending criminal charges. The extent of Orton’s injuries are unknown at this time.”

The fan leveled Orton in the groin with a low blow as he was standing on a turnbuckle, causing him to fall to the canvas. The WWE Superstar retaliated against the fan as he was being dragged out of the ring by security personnel by kicking him in the head.

TMZ.com has published a 20-second clip of the incident — it is the same footage originally posted on this website.

UPDATE x 2: WWE.com has now picked up the story. They note that the fan has been arrested and is currently in jail.

Here is the WWE.com report:

WWE.com has learned that Randy Orton was violently attacked by an audience member during a SmackDown World Tour Live Event in Cape Town, South Africa, this evening. Footage of the attack was captured by a WWE fan and posted to YouTube, and shows the perpetrator striking Orton from behind. The matter is currently under investigation by the local authorities, and the South African fan is being held in jail pending criminal charges. The extent of Orton’s injuries are unknown at this time.

UPDATE: TMZ reports that the fan in question hit Orton with a low blow, which is what caused him to fall down.

A rep for the WWE said, “Randy was violently attacked from behind” by the fan, who is now in police custody. Orton was checked out by doctors to make sure he’s okay.

Here is the full TMZ.com article:

A crazed WWE fan has been arrested after climbing into the ring during an event in South Africa today … and blasting Randy Orton in the nuts, TMZ has learned.

The video is pretty wild — the fan jumps into the ring and sneaks up behind Randy while the wrestler is on the turnbuckle … and swings his arm up between Randy’s legs. Security immediately jumps in and drags the fan away, but not before Randy attempts to kick the guy.

A rep for the WWE tells TMZ, “Randy was violently attacked from behind” by the fan — who was not part of the show … and is now in police custody.

The extent of Randy’s injuries is unclear — we’re told docs are checking him out — but any shot to the jewels is serious in our book.

ORIGINAL: There was a scary moment at today’s WWE live event in Cape Town, South Africa, as Randy Orton was attacked by a fan following his match against Big E Langston, according to multiple eye-witnesses via Twitter, and PWInsider.com.

“Fan just attacked @RandyOrton! Wtf! #WWECapeTown#WWECapeTown (night 1) @WWE,” wrote a Twitter user by the name of Richard Kruse.

According to at least three more accounts, the fan leveled Orton in the groin.

“Someone from the crowd just hit in the nuts @RandyOrton #WWECapeTown,” wrote one user.

Orton did not retaliate against the fan, but threw the middle finger as he was being dragged out of the ring by arena personnel.

According to another user on the website, some fans who purchased tickets to the event included a meet-and-greet with various WWE Superstars following the event. However, due to the incident, it did not take place.

A user complained to the official Twitter account of GrandWest Casino and Entertainment World, the company that hosted the event, with the following: “@GrandWestSA your security sucks! And I feel cheated out of my R600 I payed to interact with wwe superstars.”

100% DIRECT LINK (MUGSHOT PHOTO): The Fan Who Attacked Randy Orton – WTF?!?!