Bret Hart jumped by fan during WWE HOF speech
A fan jumped the barrier and tackled Bret Hart in the ring during the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony Saturday night at Barclays Center in New York.
Hart, who was accepting induction for the second time — this time as part of the tag team The Hart Foundation along with the late Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart — was standing at the podium inside the ring alongside Neidhart’s daughter Natalya when a fan wrapped his arms around Hart.
Johnny Gargano defeated Adam Cole to win the vacant NXT championship, while WALTER defeated Pete Dunne to win the NXT UK championship. The War Raiders, Shayna Baszler and Velveteen Dream successfully defended their titles.
The WWE Network feed of the ceremony went to black for a few moments while the fan was subdued by a large group and removed from the ring.
Video of the incident appeared to show former UFC heavyweight Travis Browne, who is the husband of WWE Raw Women’s champion Ronda Rousey, and WWE wrestler Dash Wilder among the group that swarmed the ring to protect Hart. Browne could be seen pulling the fan away and throwing several punches at him while on the ground.
“An over-exuberant fan surpassed our security at ringside and made his way briefly into the ring,” WWE later said in a statement. “The individual has been turned over to the proper authorities.”
A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that the 26-year-old man was in custody and facing criminal charges.
Hart, 61, was able to finish his speech.