Last summer, an incident at an independent pro wrestling show in Southern California made news the way few wrestling stories do, regardless of whether they’re works or shoots.
What happened at KnokX Pro on August 23, 2025 was a shoot, but it may have involved a few wrestlers and/or bookers working pro MMA fighter — and son of MMA legend Quinton “Rampage” Jackson — Raja Jackson. Ultimately, the younger Jackson legitimately attacked Stuart “Syko Stu” Smith in the ring in retaliation for a pre-show incident
where Smith hit Jackson in the head with a beer can without realizing he wasn’t “one of the boys”. Jackson livestreamed the entire incident online.
Raja Jackson pleaded not guilty to felony assault charges, and this week we learned that he’s struck a plea deal to close the case entirely. The New York Post’s California bureau was the first with the story.
News of the deal came as Jackson, now 26, plead not guilty to a single felony count of battery with serious bodily injury in a preliminary hearing. He also also admitted to two special allegations: personal infliction of great bodily injury, and engaging in violent conduct.
Sentencing is in late June, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office to the Post his “anticipated sentence is 90 days actual county jail; restitution of $81,703.38; and two years formal probation.”
We haven’t heard from Stu or his family in a while, but he still represents KnokX Pro on his Instagram bio. He worked an appearance for the promotion in Las Vegas during WrestleMania week
KnokPro lost its WWE ID program affiliation after the incident. Just last weekend one of the school’s founders, WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi, posted on social media that he’s “taking his leave” from the promotion and school.
That’s the criminal case closed; know we’ll see if there’s any additional fallout from a terrible situation. Let us know what you think of how it’s been dealt with so far in the comments below.
