Former WWE Champion Raj Dhesi, formerly Jinder Mahal, discussed Indian representation. He admitted he is surprised by WWE’s current situation. India remains one of WWE’s biggest markets worldwide.
Despite India’s huge WWE fan base, Mahal sees limited representation. However, he believes representation alone isn’t enough. Indian wrestlers must also reach WWE’s top level.
Raj Dhesi discusses the lack of Indian representation in WWE
Speaking with Denise Salcedo, Dhesi was asked about India. He was asked if WWE’s limited Indian representation surprised him. Dhesi didn’t hesitate with his answer. He said, “Very surprised. But at the same time, we can’t just expect representation. We ourselves have to be at that level to compete with Roman Reigns, with Seth Rollins, with the rest of the WWE roster, with the rest of the locker room.”
Dhesi believes India still lacks proper wrestling infrastructure. He explained, “So there’s just no infrastructure in place properly yet. But I think in the future there definitely will be. And there’s some great young talent there.”
Dhesi then highlighted one wrestler he believes deserves attention. He mentioned Kevin Malik from WXM Wrestling. Dhesi compared Malik’s style to Jeff Hardy. He said, “The promotion that I wrestle for, WXM, if you guys want to look up a guy, his name is Kevin Malik.”
“He’s incredible. He reminds me, like, like a kind of a Jeff Hardy type, where he’s a little bit of an enigma. Kind of quiet. Has a quiet charisma, but super jack, super agile. He actually had a match with Zack Saber Jr. It’s on YouTube. I encourage everybody to check it out.”
According to Dhesi, India already has talented wrestlers. The bigger issue is giving them the right platform. “Like, India has some lit wrestlers. They just don’t have the proper platform yet.”
Mahal parted ways with WWE in 2024 and is currently active on the independent wrestling circuit. Apart from Mahal, another Indian wrestler who won a WWE World Heavyweight Championship was The Great Khali.
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