LOS ANGELES — The son of former UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was seen in a severe altercation with a professional wrestler during an independent wrestling show in Los Angeles on Saturday night. The elder Jackson described the incident as a case of “poor judgment and a staged scenario gone awry,” according to video footage of the event.
In the video, Raja Jackson enters the ring at a KnokX Pro Wrestling Academy event amidst a match and forcefully slams wrestler Stuart Smith, also known as Syko Stu, onto the mat. Jackson then precedes to pin Smith and lands nearly two dozen punches to Smith’s face before other wrestlers step in to break it up.
Smith appeared to lose consciousness during the attack and was unable to defend himself from the onslaught, lying motionless in the ring with blood covering his face. As of Sunday, his condition remained undetermined.
The elder Jackson said on X after that he had been informed Smith was “awake and stable.”
Norma Eisenman, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles police, confirmed that officers arrived at the 8500 block of Lankershim Boulevard and filed a report. The address listed by KnokX Pro Wrestling is 8548 Lankershim Blvd. Eisenman mentioned that no arrests had been made, and detectives would review the report on Monday to determine further action in the investigation.
Raja Jackson did not respond to a request for comment for further details through social media on Sunday night. Similarly, Smith did not answer a similar inquiry.
Quinton Jackson commented on X stating that the incident was the result of “poor judgment and a planned act that went wrong,” referring to “work,” a term used in wrestling to describe scripted events.
“Raja is a MMA fighter not a pro wrestler and had no business [being] involved in an event like this,” he said. “I don’t condone my son’s actions AT ALL!”
In a statement on Facebook, KnokX Pro Wrestling sent thoughts and prayers to Smith and apologized to fans. The promotion seemed to confirm the incident was not planned.
“What was supposed to be a planned and agreed upon wrestling spot, turned into a selfish, irresponsible act of violence against Mr. Smith,” it said. “This egregious act is reprehensible and never should have occurred.”
KnokX did not answer calls seeking comment Sunday night.
The attack was streamed on Kick. In a statement, a spokesperson for the livestreaming platform said Raja Jackson’s account had been suspended.
“KICK’s community guidelines make it clear that excessive violence is not permitted,” the statement said. “Content in breach of our guidelines is removed and users will be suspended or banned.”
Video preceding the attack showed Smith crushing a can on Raja Jackson’s head, seemingly not knowing Jackson was not a wrestler. Jackson got angry, but another video showed the pair apparently making up.
A third video after that showed another wrestler telling Jackson to give someone a “receipt.” It was not clear in the video whether the wrestler was referring specifically to Smith; a “receipt” in pro wrestling parlance means a legitimate strike or attack, usually as a form of retribution for a wayward spot during a match.
Quinton Jackson referred to that altercation in his post on X, saying his son, who he said had sustained a concussion during sparring just days earlier, was told he could get his “payback” in the ring.
“As a father, im deeply concerned with his health AND the well being of Mr. Smith,” Quinton Jackson wrote. “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.”
The elder Jackson is a decorated mixed martial artist who has held championship gold in the UFC and has dabbled in pro wrestling in the past. Raja Jackson, 25, has a professional MMA record of one win and one loss.
