WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry has weighed in on the recent, controversial incident involving Raja Jackson, the son of MMA legend Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and independent wrestler Syko Stu. Speaking with TMZ (scroll down to watch the video), Henry placed the blame for the situation on the veteran wrestler and stated that the era of “hazing” in professional wrestling is over.
Mark Henry, a respected veteran in the wrestling business, offered his analysis of the situation to TMZ. He began by attributing the incident to a lack of experience and proper training. “That’s what happens when people are not experienced to our business, and you have to be fully educated, you got to be fully trained,” Henry said. “I don’t know the full story, but I do know what I saw, and it looked like he wasn’t smart to what was going on, and the dude that was messing with him bit off more than he can chew.”
Blame Placed on the Veteran
Henry was clear in his assessment that Syko Stu, as the veteran in the situation, was primarily at fault, especially if reports of him drinking before the show are accurate. “What kind of example are you as a veteran for… messing around with a kid?” Henry questioned. “If, indeed, what I saw was what I saw, which is people before the show during the daytime, drinking and intoxicated… and you bust a bottle over a guy’s head, you know, and talk trash like that guy was not going to do nothing. Yeah, you’re at fault.”
The End of the “Hazing” Era
Henry also used the incident to make a broader point about the culture of professional wrestling, stating that the “old school” mentality of hazing and disrespecting younger talent is no longer acceptable in the modern era.
“The hazing days, the corny, bullshit days are over with,” Henry stated. “Every one of these journeymen guys that get drunk before the show and sit around and talk crap to all the younger kids and tell them how the old days were, that over with, because the guys that’s coming in are former MMA guys or college students like my son, people that’s in entertainment and have other walks of life, and you can’t act like, you know, corny bullshit to to these, to these guys and girls.”
A “Bad Look” for The Promotion
While Henry does not believe the incident reflects poorly on the entire wrestling industry, he was critical of the promotion where it took place. “It’s not a bad look for pro wrestling. It’s a bad look for the company that he performed at, and it’s a bad look for him, and it’s a it’s a worse look for the guy that got beat up, because now we know you can’t fight,” he said. “And back in the old days, if you lost the fight, you lost your job.”
Henry concluded by saying that such incidents are rare in today’s wrestling world and that the fallout from this situation will likely serve as a cautionary tale for a long time.
