Son of UFC legend ‘Rampage’ Jackson gets plea deal in wrestling beatdown case
-
Click here to listen to this article - Share via
See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search. Set us as preferred
- Raja Jackson, the son of UFC legend Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, will likely serve 90 days in jail after pleading no contest to charges stemming from a bloody beatdown he delivered to a professional wrestler last year.
- The victim, a wrestler known as “Syko Stu,” was hospitalized for nearly a week after the incident and lost several teeth.
- The incident raised questions about the boundaries between what is real and what is staged in a professional wrestling ring.
Raja Jackson — the son of mixed martial arts legend Quinton “Rampage” Jackson — pleaded no contest Wednesday for his role in a bloody beatdown of a professional wrestler last year in an incident that blurred the lines between real and scripted combat.
Jackson, 25, is expected to serve 90 days in jail for battery after slamming Stuart Smith to the ground and striking him roughly 20 times, according to a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. The professional grappler, who performs under the name Syko Stu, suffered cuts, trauma to his jaw and the loss of several teeth.
Jackson, who did not have a criminal record before the incident, will also be placed on two years’ probation and must pay roughly $81,000 in restitution to the victim, according to the spokesperson. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for late June in the San Fernando Courthouse.
Jackson’s attorney declined to comment. Smith did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment.
“The plea offer was extended after considering the totality of the circumstances, including the nature of the injuries, the defendant’s conduct, and the available evidence,” the district attorney’s spokesperson said in an email. “The issue of what aspects of the altercation were scripted versus real was discussed and taken into account, but it did not negate the seriousness of the harm inflicted or the defendant’s personal responsibility for causing it.”
A violent match that left a professional wrestler unconscious during a staged event is now the focus of a Los Angeles Police Department criminal investigation.
The incident happened on Aug. 23, 2025, at a KnokX Pro Wrestling Academy event in Sun Valley. Jackson was a guest at the event and livestreamed his visit on the platform Kick when he was approached by Smith backstage.
Smith slammed a beer can over Jackson’s head. Video of the incident show the two men standing face to face in confrontation, but Smith would later apologize to Jackson, motioning to the livestreaming camera and explaining he thought Jackson was “a worker,” or someone involved in staged matches.
Professional wrestling violence is normally scripted, meaning both parties agree to hit each other with punches, kicks, throws and even sometimes weapons to tell a violent story in the ring. Wrestlers are supposed to stay in character in the presence of fans and when on camera, a concept known as “kayfabe.”
Other wrestlers who witnessed the incident last year told The Times they believed Smith was in character. It was unclear if Jackson understood that.
Later in the show, when Smith was in the ring working his scheduled match, Jackson ran out from backstage. Part of Jackson’s stream captured another wrestler, Andre Joel Hudson, telling Jackson what to do when he confronted Smith.
“Give him his receipts,” Hudson, who invited Jackson to the show, says on the video. “You remember what a receipt is?”
In wrestling parlance, a “receipt” refers to retribution for a perceived slight or unnecessary use of physical force during a match. But Jackson said on his livestream he wasn’t following any preset plan.
Jackson can be heard saying it “isn’t going to be scripted,” before hitting the ring, lifting Smith over his shoulder and slamming him to the mat.
Smith appeared to lose consciousness almost instantly. Jackson then mounted the crumpled wrestler and punched him in the head and face more than 20 times, according to the video.
Times staff writer Sal Hernandez contributed to this report.
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
William Mulholland was the water boss who made L.A. possible. His reputation gave him unchecked authority as a dam builder. In 1928, that led to one of America’s deadliest disasters--and the question of whether it was a crime.
It started as a ploy to scare Texas out of redrawing its congressional map and ended with California voters approving a new map of their own, one that could hat could help alter the balance of power in Washington.
On this week’s episode of Boiling Point, Miranda Green speaks with Los Angeles Times climate reporter Hayley Smith about how AI bots are meddling in California’s clean energy policymaking.
