Fans behaving inappropriately around wrestlers have made headlines multiple times this year, and several stars have called out unruly conduct while requesting more privacy in places such as airports and hotels.
Add Paige to this list of stars after she posted about a recent encounter she had at an airport with someone she said wanted her to sign multiple photos.
According to Paige, this person was among the subset of autograph seekers who intend to sell signed pics for money.
“Airport scalpers are morphing…Had
someone waiting for me as I was getting off the plane at the gate of my connecting flight with like 30 pictures,” she wrote on X (Twitter) on Sunday (August 23). “I’m easy going with this stuff but pulling up to my gate is f***ing weirdo behavior. Don’t do that.”
An X user responded to Paige’s post by writing: “Legitimate question. You can’t get to a gate without a boarding pass, how are the scalpers getting past security with this stuff and no ticket? Are they buying plane tickets to do this?”
The English star wrote back, saying: “Yes exactly. It was my connecting so I wasn’t coming to baggage claim. He probably thought he could make that money back and more thinking I was gonna sign all those pics at my landing gate. He probably thought it was gonna be worth it. It wasn’t.”
Other people in the post’s comments wrote messages in support of Paige, and some called for WWE stars to have more security in public places.
While such behavior from fans has been present throughout wrestling history, it’s seemingly becoming more common. A boiling point was reached around the time of WrestleMania 42 this year when CM Punk swatted a phone out of someone’s hands.
The incident involving Punk occurred after the main event of the second night of WrestleMania. At just after midnight local time on April 20, he had an encounter with a fan in a Las Vegas hotel lobby after the person reportedly continued to film a private moment between Bayley and Punk’s wife, AJ Lee.
The person appeared to continue filming on his phone despite Bayley asking him to go away, leading to Punk’s intervention. In the video, which was shared by TMZ, Punk can be seen walking over and slapping the phone out of the fan’s hands.
Following the incident, Fightful Select reported speaking unanimously with WWE stars who complained about a lack of security during WrestleMania week.
Another report said Damien Priest helped a female star during a situation with a fan, and a video of Randy Orton trying to avoid a mob of fans in a hotel lobby spread across social media. Booker T also spoke out against unruly fans on his podcast around this time, saying a fan had even filmed him in the bathroom.
A few weeks before WrestleMania, Stephanie Vaquer wrote on social media about a fan following her around an airport and filming her without permission. According to Vaquer, the person followed her “for a long time, saying hurtful things and making me feel uncomfortable. I told you no multiple times, and you kept following me and recording.”
What do you think about Paige’s message, Cagesiders? Is she right about such behavior? What kind of fan behavior do you feel goes too far? Let us know in the comments.
