Last month, a Knokx Pro event saw Raja Jackson, the son of MMA legend Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, enter the ring and legitimately knock out a wrestler named Syko Stu following an earlier exchange backstage.
The attack continued long after Stu was rendered unconscious, and he was later rushed to the hospital, where he was initially in critical care. He's since regained consciousness, though we've yet to receive an update about police involvement in the matter. While Jackson's actions have been widely condemned, some have spoken out in his defence, including WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam.
His comments were met with widespread backlash, as many fans felt RVD was defending a very real assault. However, rather than back down and apologise for his comments, the ECW icon is doubling down and has no time for his detractors.
"To answer your question about responding to the internet mark community, first off, they’re not real people," he stated. "The real people say things to your face. You know, right? Bullies. Look for targets that are weaker physically, in person and on the internet. The bullies can reach anybody because they can’t reach them."
"That’s a problem for the Internet Mark community, you’re not allowed to have an opinion that’s different from theirs," RVD continued. "They feel obligated to send all kinds of just toxic junk."
Despite feeling like he unfairly came under attack, RVD explained why he sticks by his original comments (which saw him blame Stu for the circumstances leading up to his physical altercation in the ring with Jackson).
"They’re in love with the words, people that are on this argument, that have taken it so passionately and sensitively to it, to something that I totally don’t care as much as you do about it," he noted. "I don’t really think that Raja wanted to kill him, and I don’t care if I get heat for that, by the way, if I’m wrong, I don’t mind being wrong either. He definitely went too far."
"He should have known that could do some serious damage. I don’t think that his intention was to actually murder him. And I really don’t think most of the people that are even talking about this or thinking about this, think that his intent was to actually murder him," RVD concluded.
It's easy to see where RVD is coming from, as the "IWC" does have a habit of blowing things like this out of proportion. It was definitely a questionable decision to speak out in Jackson's defence as quickly as he did, but RVD is entitled to his own opinion.
You can hear more from the WWE Hall of Famer in the player below.