LAPD Investigating Raja Jackson Incident At Rikishi's Knokx Pro Wrestling Academy

A serious incident occurred at WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi's pro wrestling training school on Saturday, August 23 as Raja Jackson - the son of Rampage Jackson - brutally attacked Syko Stu (real name Stuart Smith).

Knokx Pro Wrestling Academy held their Knok-X-Perience event in Sun Valley, California on Saturday night and Raja Jackson was in attendance for the show, streaming on his Kick account, having been invited to the event by ECC Champion AJ Mana. Issues quickly arose, however, as Syko Stu mistook Jackson for a wrestler and hit him with a prop beer can.

Jackson immediately became angry and Stu apologised once he realised Rampage Jackson's son was not a part of the show. After initially refusing, Jackson eventually shook hands with Stu over the misunderstanding after it was decided that Jackson would run in during Stu's match as part of an angle.

Later in Jackson's Kick stream, AJ Mana encouraged Raja to "give Stu a receipt." Jackson replied that he would be happy as long as he "gets his lick back." The live chat on Kick then repeatedly goaded Raja, asking why he didn't knock Stu out, while Rampage called his son during the stream and allegedly made several homophobic comments about pro wrestling, which only angered Raja further. Shortly before the planned run-in, an angry Raja noted on the stream that he was going to hit Syko Stu as hard as he could until he was pulled away.

This all led to an incident where Raja Jackson entered the ring during Syko Stu's match and slammed him to the ground. Stu was instantly motionless, at which point Jackson mounted him and punched a clearly unconscious Stu 21 times until several wrestlers managed to pull Jackson away.

As the Kick stream continued, Raja Jackson declared outside of the venue after the incident that he was tired of being disrespected and claimed he was only standing up for himself. Raja later received a call from AJ Mana, who said doctors could not wake Stu up and he had "flatlined" in the ring. Raja simply responded by saying, "My bad."

Following the incident, Syko Stu was transported to a local hospital. Stu's brother Andrew Smith noted he is currently stable but is in critical care, writing on Facebook:

"Thank you everyone for your prayers, concerns, and kind words for my brother Stu. Please continue to keep him in your prayers. He's currently stable but in critical care. At this time we're focused on his recovery and appreciate all the support. Also we currently do not a Gofundme set up, any links posted are not affiliated with us."

Douglas Malo, one of the wrestlers who pulled Jackson away from Stu, told USA Today that Syko Stu had sustained broken bones in his face and lost "a lot of teeth."

The Los Angeles Police Department were called to the Knokx Pro event on Saturday night following the incident and took a police report. The LAPD confirmed to TMZ and the New York Times that the incident is being investigated.

Knokx Pro issued the following statement about the incident:

"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 well being.

"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."

In the immediate aftermath of the incident, Rampage Jackson claimed his son suffered a concussion just days before he was at the Knokx Pro show.

"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 former UFC fighter wrote.

Knokx Pro, the wrestling school run by Rikishi and Reno "Black Pearl" Anoa'i, is affiliated with the WWE ID programme. WWE have yet to make an official announcement about the incident, but PWInsider noted it was being discussed at a level within WWE to the point they would be surprised if no action is taken.