WWE's Roman Reigns & Paul Heyman Comment On The Dangers Of Meeting Fans In Public

WWE's Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns have described why fans following them for autographs in public is sometimes a scary situation for wrestlers.

Several pro wrestlers over the years have implored fans not to follow them at airports and hound them for autographs, with the likes of CM Punk and Braun Strowman describing why it's important for wrestlers to have their personal space. Heyman recently discussed on "Vanity Fair" that wrestling stars are often worried about fans becoming unruly and doing something terrible. He pointed out that he is sometimes distressed by the thought that he could end up in a situation similar to that of singer John Lennon, who was shot by Mark David Chapman.

"You have to, at all times, consider this could be a Mark David Chapman type of thing. This could be a real fu**ing knucklehead," Heyman said. "The time to worry is not when they're outside looking for you. The time to worry is when they're not."

Reigns, on the other hand, looked at it from an optimistic mindset, calling the attention they get from fans even outside the ring a "blessed" problem.

"Good problems. We call them 'blessed men problems,'" Reigns added.

Stars from both WWE and AEW have complained about autograph hunters at airports, who take autographs only to make a profit by selling the memorabilia online. Sometimes, though, wrestlers are physically attacked by disgruntled fans, like the attack on Seth Rollins during "WWE Raw" in 2021 by a fan from the crowd. For some wrestlers, the harassment has crossed personal boundaries, which has even forced them to speak to the police, like Asuka did earlier this year, who explained that she felt like she was in danger.