Though WWE has not issued a public response to a story claiming Mark Henry was allegedly arrested following an incident with a fan in a Northern Ireland bar.
The story claimed that James McClay, the fan, ended up at the same Hilton Hotel bar as many of the wrestlers and approached them for autographs. Noting that he was trying to put together a birthday card for his son and add to his personal collection, McClay said the most of the wrestlers readily obliged.
With Henry, however, the story is different. McClay claims that while Henry did ultimately sign, he was “abusive and ignorant.”
McClay claims that as he walked away, Henry threw a drink at him and approached him, as if to start a fight. John Cena and Randy Orton allegedly held Henry back, while Chavo Guerrero, according to McClay, was “egging” him on.
Not everyone within the lockerroom, however, shares that take. According to F4WOnline.com, some wrestlers claim that the incident was almost entirely the fan’s fault, adding that some fans even took to Twitter in support of Henry. They also claim that McClay was “kicked out” of the bar, which disputes his claim that WWE security escorted him out.
Others, however, are more sympathetic to the fan’s story, supporting everything (including the fact that Henry was arrested) but the accusation that Chavo Guerrero attempted to instigate a greater problem–wrestlers instead say Chavo played ‘peacemaker.’ Chavo himself took to Twitter, noting “Thank u to all ppl who believe me!If I could get Henry to kill someone,Why wouldn’t I have him kill the writing team,not a drunk nobody? lol.”
It should be noted, however, that Chavo personally aligns with the former camp of WWE stars, arguing that Henry was simply not at fault. “If u don’t believe me, then follow the lying fan,not me! Why would the drunk fan get thrown out& not Henry?C’mon ppl,” tweeted Chavo, who claims he “protected” the fan by getting him thrown out.
There was also a claim that McClay was pushy regarding the autograph request, and as one wrestler noted that he was looking for multiple autographs, there was concern he was just trying to sell all the signatures on eBay.