Stuart Smith, the California-based independent wrestler known as "Syko Stu," will have "'a difficult recovery ahead" after sustaining "severe injures to his head," according to the latest update from his brother Andrew Smith, following a spot that took a turn for the worse at a Knokx Pro Wrestling event Saturday night, when the longtime wrestler was allegedly beaten by mixed martial artist Raja Jackson.
Video of the now-viral incident was captured live on Jackson's Kick stream this past weekend, showing Jackson picking up and slamming the wrestler. The impact of Smith's head colliding with the canvas appeared to knock Smith unconscious before Jackson punched him in the face undefended 23 times.
The alleged assault appeared to stem from an encounter between Smith and Jackson that was also caught on the live-stream earlier in the day. Smith, working in-character backstage, approached Jackson, whom he thought was also a wrestler, and they exchanged words before Smith smashed a beer can on Jackson's head. Later in the live stream, they apologized multiple times to each other for the misunderstanding.
Jackson, the son of former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, was restrained by a handful of wrestlers as the incident unfolded. One of whom was Douglas Malo, who has since spoken out to share more details on the Scaling Up Podcast.
"I just got done with my match. I was blown up, took the heat, did the s***," Malo said. "Then I get a whisper by somebody, 'Hey, something is not right. I might need you to go out there and check a scenario. This guy's going to do a spot.' When does the spot happen? 'We'll let you know.' You want to let me know, but you're not telling me when the cue is, when the spot's supposed to happen? You're just going to let me know just in case?
"So I'm stuck waiting for this cue. I walk up to somebody with the radio. 'Hey, talk to the back, when do you guys want me to go? What's happening?' I was informed about the beer can incident shortly before that, they told me they made up and shook hands, hugged it out multiple times, so it was going to be fine. Just wanted to make sure.
"I see the slam. I see the first punch, second punch — and by then, I've got people in front of me, and I just start moving. I kind of wish I would have sprung on the slam. ... I just went in there to stop it at first because I was in shock. I saw Stu, I saw the punches, it felt like slow motion."
“I think he would have killed him,” Malo added. “I promise you, he would have killed him.”
The disturbing incident is currently under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.
Knokx Pro Wrestling Academy, a WWE ID affiliate school operated by WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi, called Jackson's action "heinous" and "egregious" in a statement released Sunday.
Malo said Smith received immediate CPR after the alleged attack, resulting in him being stretchered out of the venue by paramedics. Malo claimed to try to go after Jackson afterward, but lost him in the whirlwind-like scene.
"Broken facial bones is from what I'm hearing, missing teeth, has no recollection of what happened. Incoherent," Malo said of Smith's condition as of the podcast recording. "Even from the people closest to it now that I'm disassociating with, they won't even put out the full story.
"Stu is pretty f***ed up, I'll put it this way. What happened [Saturday] is he choked on his own teeth and blood — a lot of [teeth were lost]. Broken facial bones, he was out on the slam, then the guy had made contact multiple times. I remember seeing that, kind of being in shock, then I just went running in.
"There were other people [in the ring] that could have got involved that I made eye contact with, but they just stayed by the stage. I'm sorry to Stu that the people that said that they were your friends let this happen."
Jackson could be heard throughout the Knokx Pro Wrestling show on Saturday making repeated comments to his Kick stream alluding to the violence he planned to inflict on Smith. "They told me to hit him and just leave, someone will pull me off of him and we'll leave," Jackson said on-stream at one point. "I'm telling you, I'm going to hit him as many times as I can. Watch."
Smith's brother, Andrew, has provided updates on social media since the incident. Late Monday night, Andrew revealed that his brother had regained consciousness but was far from out of the woods.
Stuart is resting since he sustained severe injures to his head. He is currently conscious and able to talk but will have a difficult recovery ahead.
With all the media and social media attention it’s been hard to get back to everyone. Stuart Smith appreciates all the love and support. He loves wrestling, his wrestling family, and all his fans and supporters. Wrestling has been a huge part of his life and he lives to put on a performance. He’s also just a regular guy with a life and family outside the ring.
We appreciate all the support during this difficult time, Thank you.
A military veteran, Smith joined KnokX Pro Wrestling in 2009 after he retired from his service. Smith said in previous promotional material that he "suffers from PTSD," which led him to wrestling as an outlet and way to readjust to civilian life.
An official GoFundMe has been created to support Smith's recovery.
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