There’s a joke in here about it being clobberin’ time or in this case, shovin’ time. Punk has a recent history of putting his hands on others, including former coworkers and allegedly making his former boss feel unsafe. This fact makes it easy for some people to jump to conclusions regarding his alleged behavior towards fans. TMZ Sports painted both recent incidents with fans as scandalous and sensational. After TMZ’s initial report of the first incident, other witnesses came forward to say Punk was protecting his wife along with their good friend from a grown man who had been harassing them. As of now, we only have the fan and interpreter’s version of events since no police report was filed in relation to the second incident. It’s unclear if the second fan incident happened before or after Punk, Lee, and Bayley were being harassed by another fan.

Punk is just one wrestler who has been vocal about aggressive fan behavior. During WrestleMania weekend, Booker T says a fan was filming him in the bathroom. Drew McIntyre tweeted about fans using their kids to guilt them into autographs and pictures. Rhea Ripley and Asuka are among women wrestlers who have publicly spoken about being harassed and stalked by fans. In one of the most extreme cases, a “fan” broke into Daria Rae’s home. 

Social media has created parasocial relationships, especially with wrestlers who use it to connect with fans and further storylines. Combined with a lack of security during WrestleMania weekend, it creates the perfect storm for things to escalate between talent and fans. If you’re following someone into the bathroom, you need a reality check. Boundaries and safe guards need to be put into place and talent need better protection, especially at events like meet and greets. No one owes you access to them, especially if they’re not working.