Randy Orton – Official WWE Universe Facebook Page

WWE superstar Randy Orton was attacked in South Africa Tuesday by a fan who jumped a barrier and slugged him from behind.

The fan gave Orton, the youngest WWE champion in history, a low blow from behind while Orton was posing on the turnbuckle. Security quickly detained the fan and a fired-up Orton followed up for good measure with a kick to the head.

The fan is lucky that Orton didn’t catch him before security officers did because Orton would have put a beating on him far worse than any law enforcement official could have. Wrestlers aren’t allowed to attack fans, but if they are provoked it becomes a matter of self-defense. Back before the WWE became a mainstream sport, fans got away with a lot of pushing and shoving of wrestlers at ringside or even outside the arena after shows. Those days are over.

Although professional wrestlers play their characters well on TV, most of them not named John Cena are pretty tense and stressed out while performing. These athletes go from city to city, or country to country, and get a lot less sleep than your average guy. Attacking them is about the stupidest thing a fan could do.

WWE apparently must also tighten its security at its overseas show. This type of security breach shouldn’t happen. Orton is one of the sport’s biggest stars and the WWE needs to protect its roster of talent. The guy who attacked Orton should be banned from all WWE shows.

WWE wrestlers are professional athletes and entertainers.

Joshua Molina is a mixed martial arts and pro wrestling writer for www.rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECMolina and  add him to your network on Google.