WWE has been encouraging fans to bring more signs to live events. They even had a sign making station outside WrestleMania 40, but asking everyone to share their opinion is a dangerous game, as WWE found out this week on Monday Night Raw. During a commercial break, they were showing different ones people were holding up when the camera panned to one about rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, whose house was recently raided as part of a sex trafficking investigation.
Popular ring announcer Samantha Irvin was reading off each of the signs as they came into frame when she got blindsided by the Diddy one, which read “Watch Out For Diddy.” She started to read it before realizing what it said. The crowd couldn’t get enough of the awkward moment, and as they were laughing, she said, “You got to tell him no.” Video taken from the crowd has been racing around social media. You can watch it below…
Fr @SamanthaTheBomb I didn’t even hear that because I was laughing so hard at the sign 😂 but I gotchu goat 🫡 https://t.co/jpPgAYWViY pic.twitter.com/qe0DVsdCf6April 9, 2024
If you’ve never been to a WWE live event, let me explain how it works during commercial breaks. If there’s a match going on, the match simply continues and you don’t notice a change if you’re inside the arena, unless you’re looking closely at the cameramen or commentators. If there’s not a match going on, you’re either shown a video package on the Jumbotron or they play some kind of game inside the arena where they ask fans to do something like an impression of a famous wrestler.
One of those games they always play is called Sign Of The Night. They ask everyone in the crowd to hold up any signs they may have brought, and the ring announcer reads whatever comes into view. When all goes according to plan, it’s a mix of little kids showing support for babyfaces and older fans with fun references to the past. Now and again, however, an unexpected sign sneaks into view, and those are always good for a shocked reaction from the crowd. I’ve been to probably fifteen live events, however, and I’ve never seen one Samantha Irvin or her colleague Mike Rome refused to read. Given the backlash others have gotten though, it's hard to blame her.
The dude who made the sign was part of a crowd of more than 20,000 fans who collectively made it the highest grossing Monday Night Raw gate in company history. That huge attendance is just the latest in a run of positive momentum for WWE that has seen the company sign a gigantic Netflix deal, sell out more than a dozen consecutive live events and receive a level of positive fan response not seen in decades.
As for Diddy, his houses in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by the FBI as part of a larger investigation. Several people close to him have reportedly lawyered up after being contacted by federal authorities, and there’s a growing amount of smoke around accusations of alleged sex trafficking. No arrests have been made, however, though the State is reportedly still building its case.
