Professional wrestler Syko Stu has given his side of the abhorrent Raja Jackson incident that took place at a KnokX Pro show back in 2025.
Jackson, the son of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, entered the ring and repeatedly hit Stu with punches to the head. Stu was knocked unconscious following the assault. The in-ring spot was planned, but Jackson went too far with his actions.
The footage was captured by a fan in attendance and sees Jackson strike Stu more than 20 times before wrestler Doug Malo intervened. Prior to the assault, Stu confronted Jackson outside the venue and smashed a beer can over his head. Stu seemingly thought they were working and was shocked that Jackson didn’t sell the shot. Stu later apologised and they shook hands.
“I don’t remember a lot of it. I do remember Raja coming backstage and he was filming. Usually you don’t film backstage like that. I know there was the can spot and I don’t remember too much after that. I do remember that we did call a finish and he was supposed to come in. I think he was going to give me one punch because of the can spot. It’s supposed to be a wrestling punch, but if he would’ve connected with it a little more, I could’ve sold it better. I don’t think anyone expected what was going to happen to happen,” he said.
Stu added that he was unconscious after being slammed by Jackson, and didn’t remember anything until the following Tuesday when he woke up in hospital:
“I was out on the slam. I don’t remember anything. The match went really good until that. I don’t remember anything until, I believe it was Tuesday. I woke up in the hospital. I was in and out of consciousness the whole time. I woke up on Tuesday and saw some of the wrestlers. Rikishi was there and we were talking. I was just trying to recover,” he said.
Stu stated that they wouldn’t show him the video or talk about it in the hospital, adding that his family was mad about what happened, but they remain a strong support group for him. Stu then spoke about his recovery, stating that he had to relearn how to walk due to the severe brain trauma.
“I really had to relearn how to walk. I couldn’t walk after that for a while. I did have a severe traumatic brain injury. I lost two teeth. I shattered my maxilla. I know there’s more stuff, but I can’t remember off the top of my head. I was off work for an entire year. With a severe traumatic brain injury, my job is a lot of computer work. Just going to doctor’s appointments. I’m still waiting for dental to come through. They’re giving implants for those. I’m still continuing with the traumatic brain injury doctors. It’s an ongoing thing,” he said.
Stu is also still dealing with the aftereffects of his brain injury, which includes short-term memory loss.
Syko Stu “Not Holding A Grudge” Over Raja Jackson
“That was a little bit out of context. What I actually said was, ‘I’m not holding a grudge.’ I never said anything about forgiveness. Everybody can learn something from this. I just didn’t want to hold a grudge because that brings the negative energy into it. When you have to let something go, it kind of helps you heal from it. As far as forgiveness, when we’re in the courtroom and I was reading that statement, I don’t think the LA Times heard the same statement that I read.”
Stu was then asked if Raja or his father had reached out to him after what took place. Stu stated that Rampage had called him while he was in the hospital and wanted to talk. However, Rampage had also been on various podcasts to let his views be known:
“I didn’t have my phone the whole time I was in hospital. My phone was going crazy. It took a while to go through all the messages, and I saw Rampage called and he wanted me to call him back, but then I saw him go on all these podcasts and was basically trashing me. I’m not going to call you back if you already made up your mind about me. I kind of let it go, but he was on different podcasts talking about me being drunk all the time. None of the statements from other people who actually know me would support that.”
Regarding his current health and potential wrestling future, Stu stated that he can physically wrestle, but he mentally can’t do it because he’s unable to remember matches and spots. He hasn’t wrestled since the incident and has been advised not to, but would like to wrestle again.
Raja served 90 days in prison after pleading no contest to one felony count of battery with serious bodily injury.
When asked whether 90 days was enough and justice was served, Stu replied, “We might have to hold off on that one for now.”
H/t to Fightful for use of transcriptions.
