RVD Issues Controversial Response To Raja Jackson Incident With Syko Stu Smith

While fans were quick to push back on his take, he decided to dive further into it on his podcast Monday night.

“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.

“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."

The 54-year-old indicated that despite publicly saying he had Jackson's back, he was not firmly backing one side over the other.

“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.’"

“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.”

RVD On Jackson's Involvement

The 25-year-old Jackson is currently being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department for the alleged assault on Smith. He does not have professional wrestling training, though his father "Rampage" Jackson has wrestled matches for both TNA and Bloodsport.

While it is unclear at this time as to whether or not the promotion was in on what Jackson planned to do to Smith, Van Dam firmly indicated he believed he should not have been in that position in the first place.

“He's not a pro wrestler," the ECW legend said. "He shouldn't have been part of this at all.”

The WWE legend most recently wrestled on TV for AEW in 2024, winning a four-way against Isiah Kassidy, and Komander, and Lee Johnson. He also appeared in the MLW Battle Riot this past April.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help with Smith's recovery, having raised more than $60,000 in three days.