Rampage Jackson issues statement after son attacks wrestler at indie show
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has released a statement regarding an incident involving his son, Raja, at a Knox Pro event in Los Angeles on Saturday.
In what is believed to have originally been a planned spot, Raja Jackson left the crowd and entered the ring during the event and attacked wrestler Syko Stu. Raja picked up Stu and slammed him to the mat, knocking him out. Stu was not moving as Raja hit him repeatedly in the face with punches until several wrestlers subdued him. Stu was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Fightful has since reported that Raja entering the ring to attack Stu was planned, but Stu was legitimately knocked out and unable to defend himself.
“Stu was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries. We are working to find out more and have Stu in our thoughts,” wrote Sean Ross Sapp.
We’ve opted not to include a link to footage of the incident, but videos are circulating online. There is also another video circulating that shows an incident before the event involving Stu hitting Raja with a beer can. It’s not clear what led to that interaction. Stu is later seen apologizing to Raja for it, and Raja appeared to accept the apology.
Rampage Jackson released a statement regarding the incident, mentioning that he’s been told Stu is now “awake and stable.”
“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. 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,i 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, im 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.“
The Knox Pro event was livestreamed on Kick. We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.
Rusev has since released a statement as well, noting that he has trained with Stu for 15 years.
“I’ve known and trained with @SykoStu for 15 years. He is a former US Army veteran and amazing guy. There are no excuses for what happened in that ring. Praying for strong Kick out.”