Stuart Smith’s battle with post-traumatic stress disorder has come to light following the brutal attack by Raja Johnson at the KnokX Pro Wrestling event on Saturday night.
Smith, who goes by “Syko Stu” in the ring, is a U.S. Army veteran who has been open about his PTSD and the fact that he has been using wrestling as an outlet to manage his struggles with mental health.
The Army vet began wrestling in 2017, just six months after returning from active duty, and has said that the ring serves as a space where he could stem his trauma into performance, refocus, and reconnect with civilian life.
You can listen to him talk about it in the video below, which surfaced on Twitter/X after the incident.
Stuart Smith Thought The Beef Was Over
Unfortunately, that same ring was the place where Stu is believed to have nearly lost his life over the weekend. He was attacked by Jackson, who punched him over 20 times while he lay unconscious on the mat.
The assault stemmed from Stuart Smith smashing a drink into Jackson’s head before going into the ring. Apparently, he was under the impression that Jackson, an MMA fighter, was another wrestler and was trying to remain in character.
They appeared to settle their beef in a video, shaking hands, explaining their mistakes, and apologizing to each other.
Jackson was invited to play a part in a storyline, so he was expected to crash Smith’s match. He clearly took it too far.
