During this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw , fans were shocked to see a fan unexpectedly enter the ring after the match between AJ Styles and Akira Tozawa, with security officials rushing in soon after to tackle the man before he could make a scene on camera. While it was later revealed by Raw announcer Vic Joseph that the man was actually the pastor in Lana and Bobby Lashley’s wedding from the previous episode returning for another in-ring segment, the latest rumors suggest that this week’s incident may have been planned beforehand and not a case of miscommunication.
Citing sources familiar with the situation, Pro Wrestling Sheet ‘s Ryan Satin wrote on Tuesday that WWE had staged the security run-in, which ostensibly looked like a case of officials not being informed that the actor playing the wedding officiant was due to enter the ring. He added that this appeared to be even more evident based on footage shared by the actor via social media, where WWE’s security team seemed to act differently than they normally would in the event of fans running into the ring.
In a Facebook post quoted by Pro Wrestling Sheet , Rick Malone — the man who played the role of Lana and Lashley’s pastor — commented on the unusual incident on this week’s Raw .
“This is what happened tonight at WWE/RAW: I needed to get into the ring in order to consummate the ‘Bobby Lashley and Lana Wedding’ (which was totally disrupted last Monday night in Hartford CT), but security prevented me, so I had no other choice but to dive into the ring headfirst. Security was not pleased! But the married couple was very happy!”
Wait … why did the preacher guy roll into the ring after AJ Styles’ match, before the Lana/Lashley segment was starting on #RAW ?!?
Dude totally got chased by security, who seemingly thought he was an overzealous fan.
Wild ? pic.twitter.com/9kkX62z9rM
— Ryan Satin (@ryansatin) January 7, 2020
It’s still unclear why WWE allegedly staged a security incident on Monday Night Raw , but in a separate report, WrestlingNews.co speculated that the company might have been trying to “get some buzz” on mainstream news sites for the storyline with Lana and Lashley. As the outlet pointed out, WWE appears to have been successful if that was the case, as publications such as TMZ did end up covering the story earlier in the week.
All in all, the incident involving Malone and WWE’s security team seemingly provides further evidence that the promotion remains fully behind Lashley and Lana’s angle despite its polarizing nature. As previously reported by The Inquisitr , WWE owner Vince McMahon is still a huge fan of the storyline — so much so that he purportedly wouldn’t mind extending it until WrestleMania 36 in April.
