During his most recent episode of The Phenomenally Retro Podcast, WWE Hall of Famer AJ Styles shared his fan incidents from last weekends WrestleMania 42 in the Las Vegas area.
Styles specifically noted that fans assume the wrestlers are not exhausted after meet-and-greets. He also shared how a fan pursed him relentlessly for a photo while he and his family were just trying to get their hotel room after a long day.
“Well, there you know, here’s the thing that fans got to accept. Even though, just because we’re walking through the hotel to get to our room, we’re not even hanging out. We’re just trying to get to our room. We have been at signings all day and you get kind of exhausted because we’re trying to be in a good mood for you at that point. Especially for people who paid to see it. We want to make sure you get your money’s worth. And it’s a little exhausting. I know you’re like, ‘Well, what are you gonna do? All you do is stand there.’ But we’re doing it for a couple hours. I don’t think anybody was impolite to a degree. For instance, I’m not taking pictures because once I start, I’ll never stop. So if I have my family with me, I can’t do that. I said, ‘Hey, I’m not taking pictures right now. I’m sorry.’ And they just swarmed me like bees. Even this one guy, even though I told him no pictures, he was walking and laying on me and stuff like that. I’m like, ‘Whoa! Whoa!’ And finally, security was able to find me and take me to the elevator.” I understand that they think they know the superstars because they’ve watched them for so long, but at the same time, you’ve got to remember that they’re real people. It can get overwhelming when that many people swarm you like that. I get it. No means no with pictures and whatnot. If they ask you not to, chill out.”
You can watch the full episode below:
There were several other fan incidents with talent that occurred during WrestleMania 42 weekend. WWE Hall of Famer Sean Waltman had a camera shoved in his face and was followed to the bathroom. Fellow Hall of Famer Booker T said on his podcast, that he had fans attempting to film him while in the bathroom.
A fan had approached Bayley and AJ Lee in the lobby of the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. The fan attempted to grab Lee for a hug despite being told no. This led to CM Punk swatting away the fans phone. That fan has since said he is not looking to sue Punk, he only wants an apology. Damian Priest stepped in when fans swarmed a female talent, wanting photos and autographs.