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The 2019 WWE Hall of Fame was actually quite an incredible ceremony. It didn't go on as long as it usually does and the speeches and inductions were extremely memorable. Unfortunately, that isn't what made the headlines over the past many hours.
What did make the headlines was the unfortunate incident where an attacker came and took down Bret "The Hitman" Hart during his speech. Thankfully, enough people came in on time to prevent any damage from happening and the 2-time WWE Hall of Famer is fine. He even continued his speech and finished it.
While it's obviously shaken up people around and the WWE Universe, hopefully, we can put the incident behind us and look forward instead. However, there is undoubtedly a lot of interest in the topic and quite a few details have been revealed about the incident. Here's what you need to know about the attack incident on Bret Hart.
#5. The Identity of the attacker
The identity of the attacker was brought to everyone's attention thanks to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com. He's been integral in bringing to light some of the information with regards to him.
The identity of the attacker is a man named Zach Madsen. Aged 26 years old, he is an amateur MMA fighter with the record of 2-1. Based out of Nebraska, Madsen had quit his full-time job at Allstate in order to pursue his MMA career - one that obviously hasn't worked out as well as hoped. Fightful further reported, saying:
Prior to that he worked at the Allstate Contact Center on a chat team primarily assisting insurance agents via IM on life insurance policies.
There's even a video of his last fight, where he's seen getting choked out
#4. Madsen's tweets indicate serious mental health issues
This is a very serious concern because mental health issues are no joke. Fans and other sites have dug up Zach Madsen's social media profile and from what it seems (especially with his WWE-related tweets), he doesn't exactly seem to be mentally stable.
Fightful reached out to a fighter that Madsen knew, who said that he "seemed harmless and nice, but often didn't make sense."
As we said, mental health issues are no joke and must be dealt with immediately. In such cases, it's very evident that it falls beyond just borderline issues. These are legitimate problems that require major treatment from a psychiatrist.
If that doesn't happen, someone in his life is going to get seriously affected. The fact that he had the guts to go out to the ring and assault Hart says it all. There's no way that he could possibly have not known about the consequences of his actions.
If you're interested in seeing more of his tweets, click the link here
#3. Dash Wilder and Travis Browne socked him in the face
WWE superstars were the first to rush to the ring the moment that the incident happened. That's right. Not security - but WWE superstars who were ringside made sure to rush to the ring the moment that Bret Hart was taken down.
In fact, it was Ronda Rousey's husband and MMA fighter Travis Browne that got to the ring first. He seemed to notice the fan running in and slid in, but was a second or two late. He would still end up smacking Madsen in the face.
When Madsen was being dragged out, RAW Tag Team Champion Dash Wilder also made sure to sock Madsen right in the face, knocking him down, but not out.
It's hard to argue that he didn't get what he deserved. Whether you agree with it or not, you won't find Wilder receiving much punishment for what happened.
What is questionable, however, is the security situation that led to this.
#2. He's been arrested and charged for the incident
Zach Madsen was immediately turned over to the authorities, where he was charged with 2 counts of assault in the 3rd degree and disorderly conduct, according to Arash Markazi, Sports Columnist for LA Times. It's not known exactly how much damage he caused, because Bret Hart didn't need any medical treatment.
However, CBS Sports had a bit of a contradictory report. Here is their version of the incident (H/T) WrestlingInc
CBS Sports reported that Madsen was taken to the NYPD's 78th Precinct in Brooklyn to be charged with two counts of assault and trespassing. The main CBS website then noted that the man was still being held in custody while the charges were being filed, at around midnight ET. That report said Madsen faced two counts of assault, one count of trespassing and a misdemeanor charge of violation of local law.
Regarding the damage done, they elaborated, saying
CBS reports that the man also caused minor injuries to a security guard who tried to hold him down, in addition to the minor injuries Hart suffered. It was noted that the man punched Bret at least once, but Bret did not need medical attention
#1. There were many WWE superstars involved in the incident
Dash Wilder and Travis Browne made the most headlines out of everyone because of their involvement in attacking Madsen. However, they weren't the only ones that rushed to the ring to get help.
Some of the superstars who got directly involved afterwards included Shane McMahon, Curtis Axel, Heath Slater, Dash Wilder, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Travis Browne, all three members of The New Day, and Titus O'Neil.
Even afterwards, Mustafa Ali, Braun Strowman, D-Von Dudley, Mark Henry and more can be seen either dragging him out or following right behind him to make sure that all is under control.
Slater was the first one to pull Hart out of the fiasco and ensure that he's safe. The fact that Madsen thought he could do that with multiple fighters and athletes around him shows nothing short of stupid thinking.
We reiterate again, asking what on earth the security was doing during the entire incident?
