Pro wrestler Chris Jericho punched a woman outside Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre after a World Wrestling Entertainment bout yesterday, an altercation captured by a witness on a cellphone camera and posted on YouTube.

Witnesses say the incident occurred when Jericho was surrounded by hundreds of people heckling him after he lost yesterday’s RAW Live WWE bout.

Victoria police confirmed there was an altercation outside the arena, but said the wrestler left before police had a chance to speak to him. Two fans were arrested but later released. Const. Theresa Tuttle said no charges have been laid and the incident is under investigation.

WWE issued a statement saying that Jericho’s car was “attacked by a mob” when he was attempting to leave the parking lot. It said when he got out of the car to clear a path, he was physically and verbally assaulted, until arena and WWE security arrive to re-establish order. The statement said the attackers fled the scene, but it made no mention of Jericho throwing a punch.

One witness said she saw the 225-pound wrestler spit in a woman’s face after she approached his white Chevy Tahoe and castigated him for losing the heavyweight championship to John Cena. With spit dripping down her face, the woman started hitting him, said Darshan Stevens, who watched from about a metre away. Jericho turned and punched her in the face, she said.

“I was really surprised that a pro wrestler would do that with everyone watching,” Stevens said. “And hit a girl, what are you thinking?”

Jericho took off, she said, just minutes before several Victoria police cruisers arrived.

The woman who was hit, 20-year-old Ashley Levey, said the altercation began when her boyfriend, Kalen Johl, heckled Jericho as he drove through the parking lot. Jericho got out of his vehicle, Levey said, and made a derogatory comment to Johl, who is South Asian. She said Jericho pushed Kohl first. Levey called Jericho a racist, so he spit on and punched her, she said.

Levey said she and Johl were later arrested but released without charge.

Watch the YouTube video taken by Shandy Jorgensen (must be 18-years-old due to foul language) here.