It was supposed to be a scripted fight between a professional wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter \u2014 a crowd-pleasing crossover performance intended to draw maximum online fans with a dramatic storyline.<\/p>\n
But the battle quickly turned ugly and violent as shocked spectators watched MMA fighter Raja Jackson slam opponent Stuart \u201cSyko Stu\u201d Smith to the mat and unleash a torrent of blows to the motionless wrestler\u2019s head. <\/p>\n
As multiple wrestlers rushed to subdue Jackson, Smith lay bleeding and convulsing on the canvas.<\/p>\n
Now, as the Los Angeles Police Department investigates the Aug. 23 incident as a case of suspected felony battery, detectives and event organizers are trying to determine how a routine wrestling match could go so horribly wrong. <\/p>\n
In a sport that derives its popularity by blurring the line between fiction and reality, professional wrestlers are encouraged to stay in character whenever they are in the public eye \u2014 an ethos known as \u201ckayfabe.\u201d But recorded images of the incident and interviews with witnesses suggest this tacit agreement between competitors was tragically absent during the Sun Valley bout.<\/p>\n
Some suggest the bloody scene at KnokX Pro Wrestling Academy was instigated backstage, and was the result of a fateful clash between two very different sporting cultures. Professional wrestlers, they say, are accustomed to performing predetermined matches that blend entertainment and athleticism. MMA fighters, however, compete in an actual combat sport where matches are decided on the basis of strength and technique, not a theatrical script.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
KnokX Pro Wrestling Academy in Sun Valley.<\/p>\n
(Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
Jackson did not respond to multiple inquiries from The Times about the incident. <\/p>\n
The son of former UFC light-heavyweight champion Quinton \u201cRampage\u201d Jackson, the MMA fighter had been invited to watch the match and was broadcasting his visit on the livestream platform Kick. That\u2019s when he first met Smith, who surprised Jackson by slamming a beer can on his head in front of his own streaming audience.<\/p>\n
According to interviews with wrestlers who witnessed the incident, Smith appeared to be in character, and playing a persona familiar to his wrestling fans. <\/p>\n
Jackson, however, appeared to have taken the action as a real affront. Although Smith attempted to apologize, video showed that Jackson initially refused to shake his hand. Meanwhile, other wrestlers spun the beer can assault into a dramatic storyline: Jackson, they say, should run into the ring during Syko Stu\u2019s match and exact vengeance \u2014 but only as a performance.<\/p>\n
Video shows it went beyond that. Two witnesses said children in the audience screamed in horror as Jackson delivered 23 punches to Smith\u2019s head, breaking teeth and drawing blood. Four wrestlers jumped in to pull Jackson off as others looked on horrified, unsure whether what was happening in the ring was real. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole situation is just god-awful,\u201d said Douglas Malo, a wrestler who pulled Jackson off Smith. \u201cThere\u2019s no way through that. Everybody is hurting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018They should have aborted\u2019<\/p>\n
Maven Huffman, a former WWE wrestler, said it is common to draw on real-world stories and tension to create storylines that add drama to matches. <\/p>\n
\u201cPersonal issues draw money, and if there\u2019s real-life animosity between people who want to use that, you want to get mileage out of it,\u201d Huffman said. \u201cBut it\u2019s done between guys that are workers, who know the business.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even if real tension is used for a wrestling storyline, Huffman said, it needs to be used by professionals who know where to draw the line, and who trust each other to keep each other safe in the ring. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re telling the other person, I trust you, I trust you as much as possible with my health and safety,\u201d Huffman said. \u201cYou can utilize real-life storylines, but you need all parties to be on the same page.\u201d<\/p>\n
Huffman, who viewed several portions of the livestream, said it seemed as if Jackson \u2014 a trained competitive fighter \u2014 may have taken a real offense to the incident. He wondered whether they neglected to check with Jackson and how he would respond in the ring. If they didn\u2019t do that, it could be dangerous, he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe moment that he hits him with the can, Raja, his mindset, his temperament completely changed,\u201d he said, based on what he saw in the livestream. \u201cThey should have aborted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Give him his receipts\u2019<\/p>\n
Huffman said streaming now adds a complicated layer to the industry, as wrestlers captured in the middle of ongoing, nonstop streaming look to stay in character when they otherwise wouldn\u2019t be. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe live in a world now where as much attention happens to what happened outside the ring and backstage as to what goes on in the ring,\u201d Huffman told The Times. \u201cPeople make a living from behind the scenes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jackson, whose livestream had generated a large online following, was invited to the event by another KnokX wrestler, Andre Joel Hudson, who told The Times he paid $30 a piece for VIP backstage access tickets for Jackson and a friend.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis friend was the one with the freaking camera,\u201d Hudson said.<\/p>\n
Footage from the livestream, as well as witness interviews, suggests Jackson was not about to brush off the beer can episode \u2014 even after Smith expressed remorse.<\/p>\n
\u201cI apologize,\u201d Smith is heard saying in the video, at one point gesturing directly to the camera. \u201cI didn\u2019t know, I thought you were a worker\u201d \u2014 meaning someone in the industry who wrestles and performs under a stage name and a persona. <\/p>\n
Malo, whose stage name is \u201cThe Epic,\u201d said Jackson\u2019s visit backstage with a camera prompted several of the performers to stay in character, including Smith. <\/p>\n
\u201cStu is thinking, we\u2019re going to do something with this, the camera is here, this is a setup and I have to perform,\u201d Malo said. \u201cBut Raja [Jackson] isn\u2019t a worker. He\u2019s a fighter.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an Instagram post addressing the controversy, Jackson\u2019s father, Quinton \u201cRampage\u201d Jackson, blasted wrestlers for hitting his son, but also criticized his son for not going to police after being hit with the beer can. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf my son would\u2019ve just went to the police when the beer can incident happened then the whole event could\u2019ve gotten shut down,\u201d Jackson wrote<\/a>. <\/p>\n Reno Anoa\u2019i, one of the co-owners of the venue, did not respond to a request for comment, but in a statement KnockX confirmed that the attack had been initially planned as a wrestling spot. <\/p>\n Anoa\u2019i is also heard in the livestreamed video telling Smith that Jackson would be running into the middle of his scheduled match for a planned confrontation in the ring, what is commonly referred to as a \u201crun-in.\u201d<\/p>\n Later that day on the video, Hudson is seen walking down a hall with Jackson in a black hat and costume. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen you run out on his s\u2014, you f\u2014 give him his receipts,\u201d Hudson tells Jackson on the video. \u201cYou remember what a receipt is?\u201d<\/p>\n As match time approached, Jackson sat in the stands and seemed to express frustration over his treatment. <\/p>\n \u201cYou just can\u2019t hit a can on my face,\u201d Jackson said on livestream as he sat in the stands awaiting his cue. \u201cThis s\u2014 isn\u2019t going to be scripted.\u201d <\/p>\n Malo, who had just finished a match, said he was told of the planned \u201crun-in\u201d between Smith and Jackson just as he was told to head out to the stage and keep an eye on the match, just in case. <\/p>\n He said he was still trying to find out what was supposed to happen when he looked into the ring, saw Jackson holding Smith in the air and saw him violently dropping his body on the mat. <\/p>\n \u201cIt kind of looked like work for a second, but then the slam happened,\u201d Malo said.<\/p>\n Another wrestler, Kevin Thomas, said he couldn\u2019t see the ring, but that he suddenly heard the screams of fans, and knew something was terribly wrong. <\/p>\n Malo said he ran into the ring and tried to restrain Jackson. <\/p>\n Jackson swung at Malo, hitting him on the side of his head and splitting his scalp open, he said. Malo bit the martial arts fighter at one point, worried he\u2019d be overpowered by a better-trained fighter. <\/p>\n When three other wrestlers jumped into the ring, they were able to hold Jackson back. <\/p>\n In the wake of the incident, Kick has permanently banned Jackson from the streaming platform. \u201cKICK\u2019s community guidelines make it clear that excessive violence is not permitted,\u201d a company spokesperson told The Times.<\/p>\n \u2018You need to explain this\u2019<\/p>\n