Bret Hart was attacked by a fan as he made his acceptance speech for being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for the second time on Saturday night.
The Hitman, along with partner Jim 'The Anvil' Neidhart, were being honoured as members of the Hart Foundation tag team. Neidhart, who died last year, was represented on stage by his daughter Natalya who is also a WWE wrestler.
Both the 61-year-old Hart - a cancer and stroke survivor - and Natalya were knocked to the canvas during the event which was being held at the Barclays Center in New York.
"An over-exuberant fan surpassed our security at ringside and made his way briefly into the ring," the WWE said in a statement issued to Sky Sports.
"The individual has been turned over to the proper authorities."
I’m so proud of my uncle @BretHart tonight during our HOF ceremony. Bret is a cancer survivor, a stroke survivor and one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. He didn’t deserve to be attacked or have his moment or my dad’s diminished. We got it back on track. Thank you, guys🙏
— Nattie (@NatbyNature) April 7, 2019
According to LA Times journalist Arash Markazi, the 26-year-old man was charged with two counts of assault in the third degree and disorderly conduct.
This was the view on the WWE Network. The broadcast was interrupted as the attack occurred.
Wild scene at WWE Hall of Fame ceremony w fan attacking Bret Hart during speech. pic.twitter.com/zC4VVKxDlW
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) April 7, 2019
And the view from the crowd.
Someone from the crowd just ran into the ring and tackled Bret Hart during his WWE Hall of Fame speech. Here’s the aftermath. pic.twitter.com/oZXjnUj2kp
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) April 7, 2019
Last night's ceremony was taking place ahead of Wrestlemania 35 which is being held at the Metlife Stadium tonight.
