Lars Sullivan’s Anxiety Attacks Caused By Fear Of Controversial Comments Resurfacing

It was reported and later confirmed by WWE earlier on this week that Lars Sullivan had been fined $100,000 for racist, homophobic and sexist comments he made online over six years ago. Interestingly, the fine was the joint-second largest in the history of WWE and it was also reported that per the request of the company, Sullivan will be forced to attend sensitivity training.

WWE has confirmed to Fightful that they've fined Lars Sullivan $100,000, and he'll be undergoing sensitivity training.

— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) May 14, 2019

Those within WWE knew of Sullivan’s comments for over a year, and the risk that bringing him up could increase the likelihood of those comments surfacing was known.  Sullivan issued a public apology, and also privately approached New Day, Titus O’Neil and other WWE stars to express his regret. It is believed that WWE were actually unhappy with Sullivan apologising publically, as they felt it drew attention to the matter.

He (@LarsSWWE )will in my opinion grow from this, Learn a lot about why his past behavior has been and will continue to be Offensive and Oppressive to certain demographics of People, And Ultimately prove A lot of Naysayers WRONG and Hopefully We all can Learn,Heal and Grow!! https://t.co/O9puNH3LHL

— Titus O'Neil (@TitusONeilWWE) May 16, 2019

It is widely known at this stage that Sullivan was actually supposed to debut around the time of the 2019 Royal Rumble, attacking John Cena and ruling him out of the Royal Rumble match. This would have set the former NXT star up for a match with the 16-time world champion at WrestleMania. However, Sullivan’s debut was delayed due to him suffering anxiety attacks, and he instead debuted the night after WrestleMania 35.

It has now been reported that the anxiety attacks were linked to the controversial comments Sullivan made back in 2013. At the time, it was believed that the anxiety was caused by “stage fright”, with Sullivan having fears of performing in front of the larger crowd on the main roster compared to what he was used to down in NXT. However, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer noted that this is not the case.

Meltzer notes that while Sullivan was fearful of performing in front of the live crowd, his anxiety was more caused by the horrific comments he made previously, and the fear that these would once again resurface. It is being reported that he was nervous about not only the potential consequences that it could have on himself and his career, but also on the wider company.

• Anxiety Attacks
• Lars Sullivan
• John Cena
• wwe

Share this article with friends