The WWE Hall of Fame ceremony is designed to honor some of the company's most accomplished superstars. Sadly, a rogue fan had another idea on Saturday night when he decided to rush the stage and attack former WWE champion Bret "The Hitman" Hart as he was being inducted as part of the Hart Foundation tag team along with recently deceased partner Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart.
WWE cut away from the incident and the screen went to black as Hart stood alongside Natalya, Neidhart's daughter and an active WWE superstar.
Bret Hart’s assault #WWEHOF pic.twitter.com/Hj9cIqfKx2
— Javier V. (@javvera) April 7, 2019
This is probably the best angle of the incident involving a fan (and I use that term loosely) attacking Bret Hart. Disgusting. This guy deserved everything he got in the aftermath. Glad to hear Bret was OK and able to resume his speech. #WWEHOFhttps://t.co/6j1Rf8pkMb pic.twitter.com/pXwDdcIo6s
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) April 7, 2019
Tweets from fans in attendance show dozens of current and former WWE superstars -- including Shane McMahon, Xavier Woods, Tyson Kidd and Curtis Axel -- immediately rushing into the ring to save Hart, 61, who has survived both a stroke and cancer battle. Travis Browne, husband to Ronda Rousey and a UFC heavyweight, also appears to have gotten involved, as did Davey Boy Smith Jr., a relative and the son of the British Bulldog. (Smith Jr. wrestles but does not perform for WWE.)
Fan tackles Brett Hart at the Hall of Fame awards and gets destroyed by wrestlers and Rhonda Rousey’s husband. Nothing fake about this! pic.twitter.com/WKdE6KVLlB
— Danny Albers (@daboss00701) April 7, 2019
Literally on the verge of tears. Some horrible bastard fan just rushed the the ring and rugby tackled poor Bret Hart. #WWEHOF pic.twitter.com/DPGUVrmmpK
— Gorilla Position (@WWEGP) April 7, 2019
A fan jumped into the ring during the Hart Foundation speech and tackled Bret Hart. This is the aftermath #WWEHOF pic.twitter.com/yEfgb7oXiW
— Mamba (@mambalouis) April 7, 2019
The 26-year-old fan, an amateur MMA competitor from Nebraska, was promptly removed from the building and is facing charges from the New York Police Department, according to the Associated Press. Per Arash Markazi of the Los Angeles Times, the attacker has been charged with two counts of assault in the third degree as well as disorderly conduct. In unearthing some of his previous social media activity, it was discovered that he had continually sent harassing messages towards the company and chairman Vince McMahon.