Raja Jackson, the son of former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, allegedly assaulted a professional wrestler during a Saturday match at the Knokx Pro Wrestling event in Los Angeles, resulting in injury. Rampage Jackson said that the incident was part of a wrestling angle that went wrong.
The incident was shown on Kick, a live streaming platform, and revealed Raja Jackson slamming Stuart Smith — also known as “Syko Stu” — to the mat before punching him several times in the head while the wrestler was motionless on the canvas.
KnokX Pro Entertainment & Academy released a statement Sunday morning, which condemned Jackson’s actions and apologized to its fans.
“First and foremost our thoughts and prayers are with our brother Mr. Stuart Smith (Syko Stu) as he remains a priority and we are monitoring his wellbeing. What was supposed to be a planned and agreed upon wrestling spot, turned into a selfish, irresponsible act of violence against Mr. Smith. This egregious act is reprehensible and never should have occurred. In the 17 years of operation of KnokX Pro Wrestling Academy, there has never been anything as heinous take place such as this and we apologize to our patrons and fans.
Raja Jackson appeared to strike Smith more than two dozen times in the face before he was restrained by other wrestlers at the event. Footage of the fight is disturbing and may not be suitable for some viewers.
Rampage Jackson addressed the incident on social media early Sunday.
“I want to clear up the misinformation about my son Raja. I’ve been confirmed that the wrestler (Stewart Smith aka Syko Stu) is awake and stable,” Rampage Jackson wrote. “Raja was unexpectedly hit in the side of the head by him moments before Smith’s match, Raja was told that he could get his ‘payback’ in the ring, O thought it was apart of the show. It was bad judgement, and a work that went wrong.
“Raja is a MMA fighter not a pro wrestler and had no business involved in an event like this. I don’t condone my son’s actions AT ALL! He suffered a concussion from sparring only days ago and had no business doing anything remotely close to physical contact. As a father, I’m deeply concerned with his health AND the well being of Mr. Smith. That being said I’m very upset that any of this happened, but my main concern now is that Mr. Smith will make a speedy recovery. I apologize on his behalf and to KICK for the situation.”
