10 Terrifying Wrestling Attacks That Came From The Crowd
Including more than one match people actually wanted Triple H to win...
This article shouldn't and doesn't exist to glamourise hopping the rail. Nothing could glamourise that.
Tale as old as time but worth telling it again - jumping into the ring at a wrestling show turns a pre-determined event into a legitimate theatre of conflict, and it's one fans will lose 10 times out of 10. Only extremely good fortune will stop a person getting the sh*t kicked out of them by an understandably p*ssed off wrestler or security guard, and if they avoid that, police action or other legal ramifications await.
It's the stupidest possible way to engage with a show that actively encourages engagement in just about every other conceivable way. Shout, scream, sing or tweet away in the unique and idiosyncratic arena that is pro wrestling, but don't for a second think that the pro wrestlers or anybody else will tolerate you jumping the barrier and crossing a sacred line.
Infamous invasions await, by virtue of it being a legitimately dangerous act, there's an air of actual danger about the scene. And that's why it occasionally gets woven into the work...
10. Baron Corbin Obliterates Pat McAfee (WWE SmackDown, 22nd July 2022)
Pat McAfee being stationed ringside for SmackDown every week was seen as a marked improvement for the blue brand, but he was made to realise how prone that left him for assaults during his short summer feud with Happy Corbin.
Corbin had already gone for him at Money In The Bank, but - ahem - kicked things into higher gear when he levelled the commentator and fellow former NFLer with a brutal shot to the face from out of nowhere.
Out of nowhere, because it was revealed that Corbin had struck from the crowd yet again. Presumably, he'd rationalised that this was the most effective way to get to McAfee, and the attack at least worked until McAfee composed himself to talk up the SummerSlam clash between the pair. Crucially, the pair made an extremely shareable moment out of it too - a freeze-frame reveals the impressive severity (or even more impressive last minute pulling of the boot).