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By Austin Mullen and Phil Helsel
A man was arrested Saturday night after rushing onto the ring at a WWE event in Brooklyn and grabbing Bret “Hit Man” Hart as he was giving a speech, officials said.
The man punched Hart after grabbing him at the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Barclays Center, New York police said.
It did not appear Hart was injured, and charges were pending against the 26-year-old suspect, who was not immediately identified.
Video captured the tumultuous aftermath as security officers swarmed the man and the crowd roared. At least one man in the crowd yelled that he should be beaten up, in one the videos. Some who posted video online described it as a tackle, and video showed both men falling in the ring.
“An over-exuberant fan surpassed our security at ringside and made his way briefly into the ring,” WWE said in a statement. “The individual has been turned over to the proper authorities.”
WWE did not say if anyone was injured during the fracas.
Hart had said on his website that he and the late Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart would be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the event. The tag-team duo were known as the Hart Foundation, and they were also brothers-in-law.
Neidhart died last August at the age of 63 after falling at his home in Wesley Chapel, Florida, and hitting his head.
“I wish Jim was still with us to celebrate this moment, but I know he’ll be on stage with me in spirit,” Hart, 61, tweeted last month.