UPDATEDx3: ‘Fan’ That Attacked Randy Orton Was a Local Independent Worker

UPDATE x3: WWE reached out to 411, and noted that the attack on Randy Orton was not a part of a storyline. They also sent along the following statement…

“On Tuesday night at a WWE live event, Randy Orton was attacked in the ring from behind by a South African fan, who is being held by authorities pending criminal charges. Thankfully, Randy is well enough to continue performing on the tour in South Africa.”

UPDATE 2: WWE’s spokesperson released a statement to PWInsider on Randy Orton’s condition, noting:

“Randy is well enough to have performed tonight in South Africa.”

UPDATE: South African news site ENCA.com spoke with Tshepo Sekhabi, the man who attacked Randy Orton at a Cape Town, South Africa house show. In the article, Sekhabi says he quit his job in Johannesburg in order to make it to the show and received a black eye and a swollen face after Orton kicked him while he was being yanked from the ring.

When asked why he did it, Sekhabi said he’d planned it in advance, noting, “I just don’t like Randy Orton, this was an opportunity for me so I got up there and made a name for myself.”

The article notes that while Sekhabi wasn’t formally arrested, he was banned for five years from the resort where the show was being hold and was thrown out of the resort’s hotel, which he was staying at.

When asked for comment about whether Orton felt bad about attacking Sekhabi, WWE said, “Randy Orton was the victim in this incident and suffered an injured groin.”

ORIGINAL: The following reports were sent in by fans in attendance of yesterday’s house show, where a “fan” attacked Randy Orton…

From Jaco Breytenbach: I was at the Cape Town event last night. The incident with the fan and Randy Orton may be a work. The “fan” is a local wrestler called Blacksmith. He trains regularly (4- 5 days a week) at the gym where I am a manager. Adding fuel to the matter is that some people who were in attendance claim that the event security opened up a gap towards the finish of the Orton/Langston match where the “fan”/Blacksmith was able to enter the ring.

From M. Huntley: The guy who ‘attacked’ Randy Orton during last night’s event at the Gran West Arena was local South African wrestler The Blacksmith. Many fans in the arena found the whole incident strange and suspicious as he was posing for photos before the show with fans who recognized him. He was sitting 5 or 6 rows in front of my friends and I. He entered the ring when the event crew backed-off from the security spots giving him the window to proceed into the ring. Everyone on the bus home was suspicious about the whole thing, a few people reckon its a WWE publicity stunt to sell tickets or to take away attention from TNA’s August1 videos given the fact that people would be watching footage of Orton’s so-called attack.

From Daniel Hayward: I attended this infamous WWE event last night. People were posing for photos with the guy who attacked Randy Orton last night. The attacker is a domestic wrestler called The Black Smith. The general feeling in South Africa is that this whole thing is a PR stunt and not a legitimate incident as that of the Pieter van Zyl, the fan who attacked a referee in an international rugby match between South Africa and New Zealand back in 2002 which was a legitimate occurrence. Sorry to burst the bubble, but this thing was planned. The Black Smith was a plant. No Steve Bartman incident here.

– Judging by the fan reports, the knowledge that the “fan” was an independent wrestler and that WWE his posting footage the attack, many are speculating that he “attack” was nothing more than an angle. More on the story as it develops.

Credit: wrestlezone.com

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