4 WWE Champions who were fined for attacking the referee

WWE officials, especially the referees, play an important role in facilitating apt narration inside the squared circle. However, the job often fetches its share of unfortunate events that subject the match officials to unnecessary injuries.

Gone are the days when WWE Superstars could get away with hitting a referee. Today, even an unintentional strike at the match official can land the Superstars in trouble, often ending with a hefty fine. Not only does this help WWE in establishing the overall dynamics of do’s and don’ts, but it also helps the creatives with the build-up of the respective storylines.

Over the last few years, we have seen several wrestlers -- including the likes of Brock Lesnar and Charlotte Flair – slapped with a fine for attacking the referees. Even the title-holders cannot escape the consequence of their actions and rightfully so.

In this list, we take a look at four WWE Champions who were fined for attacking the referee.

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#4 Becky Lynch

Becky Lynch was fined for attacking the referee at Clash of Champions

WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch recently had her name added to the list when she inadvertently attacked the referee at Clash of Champions, 2019.

During the match between Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch for the RAW Women’s Championship, The Boss found a way to bring a steel chair inside the ring. However, she was stopped by the referee who reminded her that it would lead to her disqualification.

During the commotion, Lynch regained her momentum and got her hands on the steel chair. She was about to attack Banks with the chair when she accidentally hit the referee. The official was knocked out and Banks decided to run amidst the bleachers to escape The Man’s wrath. But Lynch continued to punish The Legit Boss before the match ended in disqualification.

Lynch retained her title but was fined $10,000 for striking the referee with the steel chair.

#3 Ronda Rousey

It's never a good idea to piss off the 'Baddest Woman on the Planet'

In March 2019, former RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey walked out to face Dana Brooke on Monday Night RAW. What happened next left the WWE Universe speechless.

At that time, she was engaged in a feud with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair as the three were set to meet in triple threat match at WrestleMania the following month.

The weeks leading up to this historical main event were stressful for all the three female Superstars as well as the WWE officials. The latter were exposed to their worst nightmare when the former UFC Champion unleashed the beast inside.

After defeating Brooke inside the ring, Rousey continued to assault her before WWE Officials came out to separate the two. At this point, The Baddest Woman on the Planet was set to make her heel turn. That idea was perfectly executed when she took out a group of WWE officials and referees one by one.

Later that week, WWE announced that Rousey had been fined for her unprofessional behavior. Below is the official statement by WWE following the incident.

“Ronda Rousey has been fined by WWE as a result of her unprofessional actions last Monday night on Raw. Due to the confidentiality of Rousey’s contract, the amount of the fine will not be disclosed. Appropriate action has been taken.”

#2 Sheamus

Back in 2012, Sheamus was enjoying his WWE World Heavyweight run. But he could not earn a place in the good books of John Laurinaitis – the then General Manager of RAW and SmackDown. Laurinaitis went as far as saying that he expects more out of a champion. He also stated that his champion cannot go around ‘kicking people’s heads off’.

An angry Sheamus responded to the above statements by stating that the only people who get their heads kicked off are the ones who truly deserve it. Shortly after that, Sheamus did something that left the arena in shock.

It was his match against Alberto Del Rio and the latter was fighting to win a shot at the title. During the match, Sheamus picked up a steel chair. The referee for the match, Chad Patton, disqualified Sheamus on accounts of using the chair as a weapon and Del Rio won the match.

An angry Sheamus turned towards Patton and delivered a monstrous Brogue Kick. The latter was knocked out and the medical staff immediately rushed towards the ring.

WWE officially released a statement from a WWE physician which read, “As [Patton] fell backward, he sustained some trauma to the back of his head. We found that he had some dizziness and disorientation ... He’s currently undergoing further evaluation and treatment for his head trauma and we’ll have further updates when they’re available.”

Following that, Sheamus was slapped with a $500,000 fine by WWE for his actions.

#1 Roman Reigns

Two years ago, WWE Superstar Roman Reigns was up against Samoa Joe on Monday Night RAW, with his Intercontinental Championship on the line.

During their bout, Reigns accidentally hit the referee, John Cone. Prior to his attack on the referee, The Big Dog continued to assault Joe despite the referee’s count. Cone stepped in to separate Reigns from his opponent but that did not go very well for the referee.

Reigns shoved Cone to one side and continued his vicious attack on Samoa Joe. The match ended in disqualification and Reigns retained his title. Following the incident, Reigns was slapped with a $5,000 fine for attacking the official during the match.

This fine had little to no effect on Reigns who took to his Twitter account and said that his actions were ‘worth every penny’. Reigns also went on to say that he has nothing to worry about. He then added that he is having fun and completely underplayed the punishment laid out for him.

Worth every penny. No time to worry...Tonight I’m in NYC at #WWEMSG #WitnessMe https://t.co/sfdiCpsV5u
— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) December 26, 2017