RVD tries to explain his “I back Raja” comment…
Over the weekend there was an incident at KnokX Pro Wrestling Entertainment, which is the school and promotion ran by WWE Hall of Famer, Rikishi, which saw Raja Jackson – son of MMA legend Rampage Jackson, legitimately knocked out and assualted a local California independent wrestler by the name of Syko Stu during a match on Saturday August 23rd.
Rob Van Dam has addressed his recent “I back Raja” comment regarding the controversial incident involving Raja Jackson and Syko Stu Smith during the latest episode of his podcast, 1 Of A Kind With RVD.
RVD opened the show by sending his best wishes to Syko Stu, expressing his concern for Stu’s recovery following the incident. “I want to start out by saying, best wishes to f***ing Syko Stu Smith. Hopefully, he will regain his health and do it quickly. That’s a shame. He definitely didn’t deserve what happened to him,” Van Dam said.
In response to backlash over a previous statement where he voiced support for Raja Jackson, Van Dam clarified that his comments were misunderstood. “If you thought that me saying that was somehow hypocritical because my text said that ‘I back Raja,’ then you are one of the basic thinkers that can’t understand how those can both be true in the same universe,” he explained. “I’m not picking a side [with that post]. If I did, I’m not even saying that it would be Raja. All I’m saying, it’s like when [Jim Ross] said that Vince [McMahon] was looking ugly, and then he said, ’Well, that’s the pot calling the kettle black.’ One has nothing to do with the other. Right? So I’m not saying that this guy Stu deserved what happened to him by saying that ‘I got Raja’s back.’”
Van Dam elaborated further, saying his support for Jackson was not an endorsement of the incident, but rather an understanding of the events that led up to it. “When I watched everything and when I say that ‘I have his back’ I’m not saying I’m going to stand back to back and fight a crowd of f***ing million people that are trying to lynch him. What I’m saying is, I see the pathway that he took that led to what happened.”
During the episode, RVD also provided a breakdown of the events, analyzing the behavior of those involved and pointing to what he described as a lack of proper preparation and oversight at KnokProX. “He’s not a pro wrestler. He shouldn’t have been part of this at all,” Van Dam stated.
The former ECW and WWE Champion emphasized that several parties contributed to the situation escalating the way it did and called out the circumstances that allowed it to occur.
You can watch the full episode of 1 Of A Kind With RVD here: Full Episode.
(h/t Dom DeAngelo for the transcription/quotes.)
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