Many in the wrestling world and beyond watched with disgust in 2025 after footage surfaced of streamer Raja Jackson, son of ex-UFC star Rampage Jackson, brutally attacking independent professional wrestler Syko Stu.
The attack, live-streamed on Kick from a KnokX Pro event in California last year, landed Jackson a 90-day prison sentence over a felony battery charge. The 26-year-old, who paid $81,000 in restitution to Stu and is serving a two-year probationary period, finished his prison sentence over the summer.
A year removed from the disturbing incident, Stu continues to battle with the effects of the attack. Among the injuries due to the flurry of punches he took were a shattered maxilla, numerous broken teeth and a severe traumatic brain injury.
Stu opened up on his recovery process recently when he appeared on the Space of Solace Podcast. He described not being able to work for a year due to the head injury, noting that his day job requires working with technology and thinking.
“I was off work for an entire year, just going to doctor’s appointments,” Stu said on the podcast. “I’m still waiting for the dental to come through for my teeth. They’re giving me implants for these teeth. I’m still continuing with the traumatic brain injury doctors and stuff like that. It’s an ongoing thing.”
Stu believes his short-term memory has been significantly affected by the head injury: “My wife, she’ll tell me something, then five minutes later I’ll forget it,” he said.
After the incident, Stu recalled being in the hospital for five days. He was only released once he was able to pass a series of tests, including showing that he could walk.
“I had to relearn how to walk,” he recalled.
Stu hasn’t wrestled since suffering his injuries in 2025. He said that one of his bigger concerns with performing again is less about his physical state, and more about whether his changed mental state could make it harder to put together matches.
“It’s all psychology,” Stu said about wrestling. “You’re telling the story, but you’re telling it with your body. You still need the same psychology to put it together to make the match make sense.”
When asked if he plans to wrestle again, Stu seemed inclined to eventually return.
“My doctors tell me I shouldn’t,” he said. “But, you know, it’s one of those things. You have a love for something so much you really want to find any way that you can make it happen. Whether it’s gonna happen or not still remains to be seen.”
