Legit or fake?

[The Curmudgeon]

The way the internet works, I'll probably have an answer to this by the time you've read this. But it's still fresh and the debate is still raging - is this real or staged?

So the WWE are in South Africa right now, and everything is going to plan. Randy Orton, crowd favourite, has just won a match and is celebrating in the ring. A fan enters the ring and attacks him, trying to punch him in the balls.

The guards pulled him off, Randy Orton took a kick at him from behind the ropes and that was it. It was all captured on shaky camera phone fan footage. Shit like this happens all the time, and usually the fans get pulled out of the ring before they can even get near the wrestler, or they get knocked flat on their ass in two seconds by the wrestler. This time? Take a look.



And this was posted on WWE's official site;

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, yesterday 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.

So this actually made websites like TMZ and non-wrestling news websites, so have they managed to trick the general public and media, or is this just a spectacular lapse of effort in South America security, that they allow a (suspiciously well built) fan to enter the ring, stand there for a few seconds and then attack a wrestler from behind?

I say a very clever fake, and perhaps a way to introduce a new wrestler, because WWE never acknowledge fans jumping the barrier, never mind making it front page news on their website. What do you think?

[Quillford]

The attack it self looked fake as hell. Injuries unknown at this time? Come on, \all he did is attempt to punch him out and failed. It's either a fan thinking he's a wrestler or a poor attempt to big up Ortons career one last time before he has an I Quit match or some shit.
Either way, it's not exactly that awful in retrospect of what they endorse every night up there. It's awful if you think about it like someone coming up to you in your job and punching you for no reason. Did you find out?

[trashcanman]

If it was staged, you'd think they'd have had a real camera on it. But the attack looked like fucking pro wrestling. I don't think a single shot like that would've knocked anyone down. So basically, I don't have a clue.

[The Curmudgeon]

Well, this is a strange one. Pretty much every news source (even MTV) are treating it like a real assault.. but the attacker himself was a 20 year old South American indie wrestler who, it looks like, fake attacked Orton (that classic arm under the balls - looks like it hurts, obviously doesn't) but it doesn't seem like he was supposed to.

This is the guy after the incident (Orton kicked him in the face)



So it's clear Orton drops from the turnbuckle after being hit, but if you get punched in the balls you ain't getting up and stomping around the ring like that, so its obviously the attack itself was fake, even if the incident itself wasn't planned.

So in answer to my question of it being legit or fake? Turns out it could be a bit of both. Weird. Very weird.