AJ Mana, the wrestler shown to encourage Raja Jackson to "get a receipt" in clips circulating after Jackson's attack on Syko Stu, has broken his silence on the matter.
Jackson was planned to interact with Stu at a KnokX Pro Wrestling show on Saturday night, preceded by a clip of Stu throwing a worked strike with a beer can to the side of Jackson's head. However, when he went into the ring he dropped Stu flat on the back of his head and followed up with a multitude of punches, unprotected, to the unconscious wrestler. With much of the night captured on Jackson's now-unpublished Kick streaming account, clips circulated of a moment prior to the incident where Mana, real name Andre Joel Hudson, encouraged Jackson to get a receipt and to "tag that sh**."
Hudson has since taken to Facebook to address the matter. He said:
"I want to take a moment to address the recent incident at KnokX Pro. First and foremost, my thoughts are with Syko Stu and his family no one ever wants to see a fellow performer get seriously hurt. There's been a lot of speculation online about my role that night. The truth is, I was in character and speaking in the language of wrestling. Everything I said was part of the show, and I never intended or encouraged real harm. This was a situation that unfortunately got out of hand due to miscommunication behind the scenes. Wrestling is built on trust, respect, and protecting each other in the ring. That's what I stand for, and anyone who has worked with me knows that. I respect this business, I respect the fans, and I respect the performers who step between those ropes. I hope we can focus on Stu's recovery and making sure something felt like this never happens again."
Stu's family has set up a GoFundMe page following the incident, with LAPD detectives assigned to the case following a felony battery report filed against Jackson. At the time of writing, it's unknown whether an arrest has been made.
