Stalkers: When Admiration For Wrestlers Turns Into A Dangerous Obsession

Stalkers: When Admiration For Wrestlers Turns Into A Dangerous Obsession

We all are fans of certain things such as a movie franchise, book series, television show or sports team. Often, people will show their support for these things by buying merchandise, attending public events promoting these things or showing our appreciation online to those who work hard to make these things we love possible. However, sometimes admiration can turn into something more dangerous when showing support for an athlete, author, supermodel, actor, musician etc. and that is when someone chooses to overstep personal boundaries and begin to stalk the public figure they admire, causing thar notable figure to begin fearing for their safety. Sadly, this type of behavior has affected the world of professional wrestling in the past and continues to do so in the present. Listed below are just a few of the countless examples of why this is a frightening matter to be concerned over.

While Former WWE NXT Women’s Champion, Sasha Banks and 2014 WWE Money In The Bank winner, Seth Rollins have been vocal about feeling uncomfortable with fans showing up to airports, gyms, restaurants and hotels to ask for pictures and autographs, one of the most scariest occurrences where a wrestler has been stalked involves former WWE Divas Champion, Maryse. The star of “Miz and Mrs” was a victim of stalking back in 2011 when a 61-year-old man by the name of Lee Sibler was sending Maryse numerous letters and voicemails on her personal phone. The letters and phone messages were said to be highly disturbing and that Sibler even discussed traveling to Los Angeles, California so that he could take Maryse “to Heaven with him.” Fearing for her life, Sibler’s actions prompted Maryse to file a restraining order against the obsessed man. Due to the situation, WWE also took action by increasing security measures at their events.

Another terrifying incident that occurred to a female wrestler happened in 2007 to Former WWE Divas Champion, Eve Torres. Shortly after signing a contract with WWE, she stopped at a gas station to fill up her vehicle with fuel and to purchase some water and snacks. She had no travel buddies with her at that stage in her career so she was traveling alone. Three men at the gas station noticed her and immediately began harassing her and trying to convince her to leave with them. Feeling worried, she put down the snacks she planned to purchase and immediately began to leave the gas station.

The three men followed her out of the gas station and continued to aggressively threaten her, call her inappropriate names and shout obscenities at her. She hurried to her vehicle, locked the car door and drove off. At one point, when she was in a safer area, she pulled over, so distraught by the incident that her body was shaking. This was the incident that prompted Eve Torres to learn self-defense. As a way of giving back and helping other women that have experienced similar situations, she now teaches Women’s Self-Defense at the Gracie Academy with her husband, Rener Gracie.

Former TNA Knockouts Champion, Angelina Love has also been a victim of stalking. Her incident occurred with a man from the United Kingdom who flew all the way from London, England to Las Vegas, Nevada to watch one of her fitness competitions. He found out what hotel she was staying at and where she would be at every moment. Some of the many encounters she had with this man involved him sitting at her table at breakfast, him recording her while she was on stage in a bikini, following her around the city, buying her diamond earrings that he left for her at the front desk of the hotel, getting on her Facebook page to ask her private details about her family and waiting by a slot machine at 4 a.m. when she was leaving the hotel to attempt to hug her multiple times.

Additionally, WWE Hall Of Famer, Lita and Former WWE Divas Champion, AJ Lee were victimized by the same stalker, Armando Montalvo, who has shown up at the WWE Performance Center in Florida several times, causing disturbances and making threats. He even was shot at by police in 2015 when trespassing at the WWE Performance Center. Despite a previous incarceration, a restraining order from WWE and banning from all WWE events, Montalvo recently showed up again at the WWE Performance Center, confronting WWE Superstars, Lacey Evans and Dana Brooke while they were there to film for WWE Programming.

While women in the wrestling business are probably more likely to deal with stalkers, that certainly does not exclude male wrestlers, who have also been victimized by stalking within the professional wrestling industry. One example includes a woman named Deeann Siden who stalked WWE Hall Of Famer, Ric Flair back in 1990. She followed him around for 8 years, getting kicked out of multiple venues throughout that time. At one point, she even threatened to kill him. In 1992, she gave birth to a daughter, claiming Flair as the biological father.

In 2001, Siden once again threatened to murder Flair as well as her own child if he did not agree to meet up with her. Siden also threatened Elizabeth, Flair’s wife at the time. Afterwards, Flair finally pressed criminal charges on Siden.

However, this did not stop Siden from stalking wrestlers as she also began stalking Olympic Gold Medalist, Kurt Angle in 2003. Siden would constantly follow Kurt Angle around while he was touring the country, would cancel his airline reservations and even called Kurt’s current wife at the time, Karen Angle, leaving her alarming voicemails where Siden threatened to harm Karen Angle as well as Kurt and Karen’s children. Siden was eventually arrested on stalking charges.  

AEW Superstar, Jon Moxley and his wife, WWE Superstar, Renee Young have also been victims of stalking. Moxley and Young have often received death threats due to their relationship with each other. While the couple has tried to keep their relationship as private as they can, they have received harassment from obsessed fans through phone calls as well as at their private residence and at hotels while touring for wrestling events. “Anti-Renee Young” pages were also made online, solely to bully and harass Renee Young for her relationship with Moxley. Additionally, WWE Superstars, Dana Brooke and Dolph Ziggler also faced similar treatment from obsessive fans during the time in which they dated each other.

Additionally, many professional wrestlers, both male and female, have been vocal on social media sites using the hashtag, #SpeakingOut, where they have discussed incidents of abuse, bullying and harassment in the professional wrestling industry. Some have even spoken out how they were stalked by other wrestlers in the industry that they have trained with or worked matches with inside the squared circle. Each of these personal stories that these strong, courageous individuals have opened up about should definitely be taken seriously and each of these wrestlers that chose to speak out about the abuse, harassment and bullying they have received in the industry deserve respect and much better treatment in the profession than they have received in the past.

This does not even begin to include the ones who still have stories to tell but are not ready to do so just yet. Stalking is a serious and dangerous matter and should not be taken lightly. It is not something to laugh or joke about as so many have been victims of this terrible offense. If you know someone who has been a victim of stalking, please be kind to them. It is not an easy thing to ordeal and the last thing they need is someone bullying them, blaming them or ridiculing them for it. Please respect their boundaries. They deserve their privacy just like everyone else.

Fans, it is ok to appreciate a wrestler for the hard work they have done and the accomplishments they have had in their career but it is never ok to invade their privacy by asking personal details about where they live or work at, asking them for their personal email or private phone number or somehow obtaining their personal phone number without their permission in order to excessively and inappropriately call or text them. It is also not ok to ask for personal and private information about their family, friends or significant other. It is never ok to follow them around wherever they go, whether that’s their place of employment outside of the squared circle, their home, their high school or university that they go to etc.

It is also never ok to harass a wrestler online whether that’s by sending them nudes or other unsolicited photos, touching them inappropriately at a wrestling event especially while they are working a match, asking or demanding them for nudes, sending them risqué text messages, demanding that they dump their significant other and date you instead, demanding them to chat with you constantly at all hours of the day or night regardless if they are busy or not, asking them to film a sex tape or other sort of pornography with you etc. If a wrestler blocked you because of any of these things, it is definitely not ok to show up at their autograph signings or wrestling events they are working to continue to obsessively stalk, bully and harass them all because they blocked you because you decided to behave irresponsibly and immaturely. A wrestler is at events to entertain the fans and should never be made to feel unsafe or uncomfortable doing something they love and also should never have to feel like they cannot promote any events they are a part of just because another person cannot accept or respect their personal boundaries. To conclude, please just be respectful, polite and kind.