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Independent wrestler Doug Drago, who was pretty much single-handedly responsible for preventing Raja Jackson from continuing to assault Stewart Smith aka Syko Stu at the Knokx Pro event in California this past Saturday, sat down for a discussion with The Scaling Up Podcast.
Some highlights from the discussion, which appears to have been recorded the day after:
Smith's injuries from the attack: "Broken facial bones, from what I’m hearing. Missing teeth, no recollection of what happened, incoherent. And then even from the people closest to it, now that I’m disassociating with [Knokx Pro], they weren’t even putting out the full story. Stu is pretty f**ked up. I’ll put it this way: what happened yesterday is he choked on his own blood. On his own teeth. [He lost' a lot of [teeth.] Broken facial bones. He was out on the slam and then [Jackson] made contact multiple times. I remember seeing that, kind of being in shock, and then I just started running in. There were other people that could have gotten involved that I made eye contact with, but they just stayed by the stage. Let me put it this way—I’m sorry to Stew. The people that said they were your friends let this happen."
How Drago got involved in the situation: "I had just gotten done with my match. I was blown up, took the heat, did the shit, and then I get a whisper from somebody: “Hey, something’s not right. I might need you to go out there and check a scenario. This guy’s gonna do a spot.” “When does the spot happen?” “Oh, we’ll let you know, we’ll let you know.” You want to let me know, but you’re not telling me when the cue is. When is the spot supposed to happen? You’re just gonna let me know just in case. So I’m stuck waiting for this cue. I walk out to somebody with the radio. I said, “Hey, talk to the back. When do you guys want me to go? What’s happening?” I was informed about the beer can incident. Actually, shortly before that, they told me they made up, shook hands, hugged it out multiple times, so it was gonna be fine. But they just wanted to make sure I talked to the person out front with the radio. I walked back to the ring, I see the slam, I see the first punch, second punch. And by then I had people in front of me and I just started moving. I wish I would’ve just sprung in on the slam. So that’s where I’m at. Honestly, there’s nothing worse than when you are somebody who cares about him. He’s a veteran. He is me. And these are people who are supposed to love him. And I’m the only one on the outskirts being told to watch this apparently. And then I’m in there and I’m battling, I’m doing whatever, trying to work this, and I’m telling the guy to calm down, and now he’s trying to fight me."
Whether Drago thinks he was asked because he was the only one who could legit shoot if needed to: " It felt like it, like how you would use a dog: “Hey, we’ll send our b**ch to go do this.”
Whether the attack was premeditated on purpose: "I think the premeditation part comes on the side of AJ Mana. You brought somebody that was volatile, that you knew had issues. So real quick—that’s the friend of Raja who brought him to the United. That’s the small calf, small-ass, chicken-legs bitch with the cowboy hat. So this fight, whatever you want to call it—Raja Jackson. Attempted murder, right? This was attempted murder. He landed like 20-something punches on him. Twenty-three punches on him. You pull him off and then he tried to go at you. So was he trying to continue beating him even further? I think the culmination between his dad picking on him and all his daddy issues came out, and all the shit that AJ gassed up into his head. Because, let me put it this way: I don’t like Raja. I think Raja’s a sh** person for what he did, but I think AJ’s a bigger sh** person for gassing him up to be in that f**king ring, leading him to ruin his own f**king life, to hurt somebody that AJ also has a f**king problem with. You can’t f**king tell me that’s not true. I don’t believe in coincidence."
If he believes Mana let Jackson get 'blood on his hands' for him: " Exactly. Because [Mana’s] not gonna do it himself. The few little backyard fights he got in where he got beat the f**k up. And then you got somebody that’s a real fighter, trained by somebody that was one of the greatest of all time. And then you had him do your dirty work. He ruined two people’s lives."
Note from Mike: Mana has claimed via a Facebook statement that everything he told Jackson to do was "in character" even though it was backstage and streaming on Jackson's Kick broadcast, not something was featured in front of fans on the Knokx event.
Getting involved and the response from others in real time: "I just went in there to stop it at first, because I was in shock. I saw Stu, I saw the punches. It felt like slow motion. I’m looking around, I’m looking at Stew’s friends staring at me, not running in. I’m the only one running in. Somebody f**ing pinned Stew after he got beat to death. People are so chicken sh** that they don’t understand violence, they don’t understand what’s going on. They don’t want to partake in anything. They weren’t willing to save their friend. They would rather worry about their own image, their self, their master, this. And sometimes the world stops. Sometimes the world stops. You could go to the store one day, be shopping for f**king groceries, and if you see an old lady get beat up and f**ing robbed, you have to do something. Sometimes the world stops. So these f**king people are sitting in the f**king ring watching a man get beat to death that they call a f**king friend. The people in the back are f**king telling me, “Hey, can you go out there and make sure nothing bad happens?” So now I’ve got all this responsibility. But at the same time, if I’m AJ Mana, if I’m the people that told me to f**king go out there, if that’s the person I brought, or I know this whole situation’s going on, I’d be right at the f**king ring. If somebody told me that Ian had the possibility of having a fingernail being put out of place because somebody might be a little off in the ring, you think I would take a f**king chance of my friend getting hurt? I’d be in the f**king corner of the ring, on the very side, in the front f**king row. You couldn’t move me from the f**king spot. I’d ruin the whole f**king junk. F**k all of you. That’s my friend. That’s my family. That’s somebody who means more to me than anything in the world. I would never let something f**king touch him. I would die before something hurts my family. And all the people that call him family...where the f**k were they? And then when we’re in the f**king ring and I’m breaking it up, and he shoots a f**king double leg on me—by the way, work a better f**king double leg, you f**king pr**k. And then I’m telling you to f**king calm down. I’m not even f**king fighting. I’m not even being f**king hostile. Then you’re trying to f***ing work and get lower, do this, change positions, and I’m over here having to swim with you, all this other sh**. And then you f**king punch me in the fu**ing eye after we’re breaking it up, you f**king loser. That’s why you got f**king headbutted. That’s why I f**king punched you. And you’re f**king lucky I was tired from the match before this. What kind of f**king person are you? You f**king low-life, f**king clown. You want f**king clout, so you beat up a guy that’s f**king half unconscious. You punch a guy that’s trying to break up a fight and not even trying to fight you. I wasn’t even trying to hurt you. The f**k is wrong with you?"
What would have happened it Doug hadn't hit the ring: "I promise you, he would’ve killed him. He would’ve killed me if he would’ve got the best of me, if he would’ve taken my legs out from under me like he was trying to. He was gonna do the same thing to me that he did to Stu. Clearly, he watched the stream when he’s walking away. 'I’m tired of people f**king with me.' I don’t care how many times you’ve been fingered in your life, bro, I don’t give a f**k. If you’ve got a f**king problem with the f**king world and the people around you, change the f**king people around you. Change it up a little bit. Go to therapy, get some f**king help. Don’t take it out on everybody else. And then you want to be trained by one of the best fighters to ever f**king live? Your f**king father uses f**king clout, uses f**king knowledge, and then you want to hurt people that don’t f**king train like that. You’re a f**king bully. You’re a b**ch. F**k you, and f**k everybody who taught you that."
What happened with Stu in the aftermath: "He was given CPR, he was choking on his f**king blood. The paramedics came. I rolled out once I realized that my f**king blood was leaking because [Jackson] caught me in the f**king goddamn orbital bone. I rolled out of the ring to go f**king fight that guy. I said, “F**k him, I’m coming.” Then everyone’s holding me back, and he had already run out of there, already gone. And then the only person who f**king met him is a f**king crackhead with f**king face paint, who’s f**king begging for f**king clout for the f**king internet. Man, that whole f**king night, there couldn’t be anything more mismanaged in my f**king life that I saw that night....Stu left by paramedics, in his own blood, choking. A veteran. A war veteran.... he was a load-and-go criteria after that."
The aftermath of the incident at the Knokx Pro live event: "There were kids crying. There were women and children upset. The little girl Sophia...she saw the whole f**cking thing. And as an adult, that’s my job, to protect everybody. And I fell really short. I talked to her dad. She said she saw everything. She tried to get out of the car, come back, and see if Stu was gonna be okay. And it’s just, it’s f**ked up. Like you have kids at the show, you have families at the show. We’re supposed to be here for a good time. And why I keep bringing up that f**king asshole with the stupid cowboy hat is because you brought somebody that was volatile. You knew he was volatile. You set him up. You had him do your dirty work at a show where you know everybody’s doing this for entertainment, and you wanted to do that. What a f**ing p**ck. Both of those f**king people. F**k everybody involved with that person. And here’s my thing about the Raja situation: his dad [Rampage Jackson] is gonna be hurting. His family’s gonna be hurting because of the trauma with the f**king son doing this shit. The embarrassment, all of that stuff, right? You have somebody that’s unhinged. He needs mental help, but he needs to go to jail as well. You have Stew’s family now, which I hold in way higher regard. The dad’s there, and I couldn’t imagine watching somebody I love getting beat to death. His dad was there, AJ was talking to his dad, from what I hear. So I’m assuming his dad was there and lying to him about what happened."
Whether the Police got involved: "Yeah. There were multiple reports. I talked to the cops. I gave them my information." [They arrived] Fifteen minutes after the little b**ch [Jackson] fled. Besides taking a report, did anything else come of it?
Whether Drago will remain with Knokx Pro: "No. What’s the point? They would watch me die. Facts. How can I trust you with my body? I’m gonna let you pick me up for a body slam. I think it’s all funny games. I’m having fun, I think it’s fun, I get hit with chairs, I’m laughing with my friends. But if I’m getting hit with chairs, metal f**king chairs, my head’s bleeding, I’ve got scars all over my body known from this sh**, right? And I’m having fun, and I’m thinking, “Ah ha, we’re all having fun together.” But then I realize you’re trying to hurt me. And then I’m thinking maybe, oh, they didn’t mean to f**king hurt me. But after this, it’s apparent, it’s terrifying. You trust other people in there to do their job properly and to keep you safe. When you’re a fighter and you have a fighting background like me, you’re taught to keep your hands up. You’re taught to protect yourself at all times. It is a rule of fighting. In wrestling, you are not allowed to do that. You have to present your chin, you have to present your neck, you have to present your entire body. And it’s always a fear in the back of your head: is this person gonna hurt me? Whether they’re not knowledgeable enough, whether they’re not experienced enough—it should never be a thought in anyone’s mind: was this person sent here to hurt me? When I am put in a position where I am literally required to not defend myself because we are putting on a show, this is entertainment. They broke every single f**king rule when they sent that person, when they allowed that person who is a known volatile, loose cannon of an individual into that ring. They knew exactly what the f**k they were doing. And everybody responsible needs to face the consequences. Yeah. I think this is the craziest thing since the Mass Transit incident of something like this happening. I still can’t get over the fact that little Sophia had to see that s**t, to know that she was crying, she was hurt. To watch Eli’s face, my friend’s kid that was there, and to see him. He wasn’t crying, but he was confused. He was sad. You could tell it hurt him. And that’s a kid that didn’t need that hurt. He needs love, he needs community. And we showed him that’s how adults act."
You can listen to the entire conversation below:
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