FOXSports.com picked up on the story of fans dressed as WWE legends being forced to change their clothes at RAW this past Monday night in Des Moines, Iowa.
As noted, WWE security took the fans from their seats a few minutes into the show and had them change their clothes, telling them that apparently their attire was “too distracting,” something that is reportedly a pet peeve of WWE producer Kevin Dunn.
A WWE spokesperson apologized to the fans for inconveniencing them and offered them free tickets to an upcoming event.
Below is a photo of the fans in their gear before they were forced to change.
.@wwe We weren't looking to hijack the show or steal the spotlight. Wrestling is supposed to be fun, right @CMPunk? pic.twitter.com/VlQIrU9ixC
— Kris Laufer (@Laufered) March 17, 2015
Additionally, here’s a letter that one of the fans sent to WWE and posted on the Reddit web forum.
“As a life-long fan of your product, I was very excited to attend your show last night (Des Moines 3/16/2015). I had secured 10 tickets in the front row at $100 a ticket. By my math that is $1,000 that we paid the WWE to attend your event. The seats were in the front row. Being a huge fan, I made sure to invite 9 other rabid fans and we all made the decision to pay tribute to our favorite wrestlers and dress like them. Within 10 minutes of the show starting, we were told that our outfits were “too distracting” and to change clothes, or we would be moved. I assure you none of the members of our party were being in any way unruly or belligerent. You can watch the taping and see for yourself. We were merely watching the show. Now, I have heard rumblings in the past of people being booted from their seats for costumes, but I always sided with the WWE and assumed that those fans HAD to have done something else to lose their seats, and WWE wouldn’t boot people for simply dressing up. Now I know that they indeed will do that, regardless of how respectful you are. This seems to contradict your “Be a Star” promotions (which ironically enough was running on the screen as we were being scolded by WWE producers) that seem to encourage fanaticism.
I guess at the end of the day, all I am looking for is an explanation as to why you would boot fans who spend the time, energy, and money on advocating your product. Seems like just the kind of people you would want in your corner.
For the record, I am still in your corner, however disappointed I may be.
Thanks for your time, Matt Sheridan
PS – Had we all been dressed as John Cena or Roman Reigns would the outcome have been different? Please advise so I can let the other 9 guys know for future shows.”
