Roman Reigns was the victim of a fan attack at a WWE Live Event in 2015 where a fan threw a plastic briefcase into the ring, hitting Reigns in the head.
Before he was known as The Tribal Chief and The Head of the Table, Reigns was pushed heavily to the WWE Universe, leading to much rejection from fans both at home and in the arenas. One fan would take their hatred of Roman Reigns to the next level, choosing to launch the case at Reigns.
“That’s Tough To Deal With, That’s Hard To Process” – Roman Reigns
Speaking to The Miami Herald about the incident, not seeing where the projectile came from, Reigns would assume that this was an attack by Bray Wyatt, who was the opponent at the house show:
“I was confused at first, I thought Bray hit me in the head with the kendo stick, so immediately I was like, aww man, you’re about to get it brother.”
The realisation then came to the 2015 Royal Rumble winner that it was not Wyatt who hit him but was in fact an angry fan in attendance. Reigns reflected on how lucky he was that it was a replica briefcase that was thrown and not something worse. The leader of the Bloodline also acknowledged how frightening it can be when someone wants to target their rage at him personally.
“He was escorted out briefly after and luckily for me, the briefcase was plastic, so it didn’t hurt, but it’s scary. What if it was something that could have hurt me, hit me in the eye. I’m a character and a sports entertainer and a wrestler, but I’m also a father and a husband and a provider, so for me that’s scary because I’m just going out there to put on a good show and provide for my family and take care of my future and if somebody takes that away from me, for what? For 10 seconds of internet fame? That’s tough to deal with, that’s hard to process.”
Back in 2015, the former Shield member was being positioned as the top star in WWE following the implosion of the faction the year prior. Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose would each go their separate ways, with all 3 men holding the WWE Championship following the group’s departure. In an interview to mark 10 years since The Shield debuted, Seth Rollins would state that “None of us are as close as we were.”
In 2022, Roman Reigns can be seen as the head of The Bloodline faction, who were victorious in the main event of the first ever main roster WarGames match at Survivor Series. In the match, an unplanned spot caused The Tribal Chief to be “heated” upon returning to the backstage area.
H/t to Wrestling-News.net for the use of transcriptions.