Last week was bittersweet for wrestling fans in South Africa. While most were thrilled to see their WWE heroes perform live, the attack on Randy Orton by a Cape Town fan put a damper on things.
Tonight caught up with wrestler Damien Sandow who shed some light on the attack on Orton.
“Yes, it happened that a fan got too excited and decided to join in the fun. It was unfortunate, but that is behind us now,” he said.
Interestingly, Sandow pointed out that such incidents occur fairly regularly wherever the WWE wrestlers perform.
But then there have been incidents in the past in which a wrestler has masqueraded as a “fan”, only to attack fellow professional wrestlers during the show. In future episodes the so-called “fan” will then feature on WWE as a converted full-time wrestler. We wondered if this was the case with the Cape Town skirmish.
“It is possible, but I can’t confirm that. I didn’t know anything about it beforehand so I am totally in the dark. However, it is now at a stage where WWE as a company has to handle the legal aspects that come with such situations. All I know is this is just going to tighten our security from this point onwards,” he said.
Switching to the current storyline, Sandow just hinted at some vital information, not wanting to spoil things for his fans.
“All I can say is friendships are going to be tested and at some point we all have to look out for ourselves. I am sure fans in South Africa will enjoy the chapter we are about to enter,” he said.
For people who are always on the road, it is unclear when these humungous guys find the time to train or be with their families. Sandow said they had a strict regimen which helps them stay on schedule and do every-thing that needs to be done on time.
“We are on the road for about two-and-a-half weeks or so and wherever we land we find the closest gym, workout, eat right, rest, then perform. It is like that constantly as time is not abundant. When we get some down time we fly to our respective homes and spend time with our families,” he explained.
• WWE Smackdown airs every Wednesday at 8.30pm on e.tv.