WWE star Rusev is weighing in on the viral incident between "Rampage" Jackson's son, Raja Jackson, and Syko Stu—and he's taking the latter's side.
Raja was captured on a viral video allegedly pummeling Stu (whose real name is Stuart Smith) in the ring. "Former Army sergeant/wrestler for Knokx pro entertainment and territory league," his X profile reads.
"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," Rusev wrote on X on August 24.
Raja's dad, the UFC fighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, apologized for his son in his own statement on X.
"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," he wrote.
According to Quinton's statement, "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 a part of the show. It was a bad judgment, and a work that went wrong."
He said that, as an MMA fighter, his son shouldn't have been involved in the event, but he added that Raja Jackson suffered a concussion.
The viral video, which is very graphic, shows Raja picking up Stu, throwing him down on the ground, and then repeatedly punching him.
According to The New York Post, the video came from Kick, which streamed the incident and took place on Aug. 23 at KnokX Pro’s KnokXperience event in Sun Valley.
KnokX Pro posted a statement on Facebook.
"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," the company alleged.
"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.”