Although India has been the WWE’s second-largest market, very few Indian wrestlers have been hired.
And this all despite the rich culture of traditional wrestling in the Indian subcontinent.
Gama Singh was the first Indian who worked with WWE in the 1980s for a long time.
But it’s nothing compared to the Great Khali’s popularity among the wrestling fans not just in India but throughout mainstream WWE.
Following NXT’s launch in 2013 as a superstar, WWE has chosen to support the quota for many Indian athletes in the subcontinent. Many Indian athletes are, therefore, currently working with WWE.
To know some of them, here are the top 10 famous Indian WWE players:
10. Kishan Raftar
Lovepreet Sangha is an Indian wrestler who is currently retired. Under the ring name Kishan Raftar, he worked in WWE’s NXT brand. Since The Great Khali, Sangha was the second Indian pro-wrestler to be signed into the WWE. Sangha made his debut in the battle of the royal match won by Baron Corbin and Samoa Joe on 26 September 2015 after signing the WWE. On January 15th, 2016 he went back house to defeat Jason Jordan the following year. On the following night’s house show, Raftar defeated Chad Gable, Jason Jordan’s partner in the tag team. Raftar and Jeet Rama defeated Jason Jordan & Chad Gable later on during the show. On 10 February Raftar wrestled in a no Contest-match, wrestling against Cheng Yuxiang. Raftar was released from the contract with WWE on May 13.
9. Akam
Popularly known by his ring name Akam, his real name is Sunny Dhinsa. He is a professional Canadian Wrestler.
In 2011, 2012, and 2013 he has earned the Canadian national freestyle wrestling championship.
Team Akam and Rezar won WWE Raw Tag Team Champion once and WWE NXT Tag Team Champion.
They also won Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in 2016.
Akam made his debut in 2015 April on NXT. His finishing move, Pumphandle Death Valley Bomb, was very famous at that time.
8. Shanky Singh
The Indian wrestler in WWE, Gurvinder Singh Malhotra, also known under the ring name of Shanky Singh, is the former CWE World Heavyweight Champion.
He got selected by WWE in Feb 2020. In 2015, when he was 24, he joined Continental Wrestling Entertainment (CWE).
He won the Battle Royal on September 5, 2016. He won CWE’s first royal rumble match on February 28, 2016, in Dehradun, India, by eliminating super Khalsa.
7. Jeet Rama
Indian WWE superstar, popularly known as Jeet Rama, won a “Hind Kesari” title in India because after being inspired by The Great Khali. In mid-2015, Satendra started his training at WWE Performance Center. Rama competed in a No. 1 Contendership Battle Royal during the November 29 house show for the NXT Championship but unfortunately lost the game.
6. The Singh Brothers
The Bollywood Boyz, aka The Singh Brothers, is a Canadian professional wrestling tag-team that includes brothers Gurvinder Sihra and Harvinder Sihra. On June 13, 2016, Gurv and Harv were broadcasted as participants in WWE’s upcoming Global Cruiserweight Series tournament. Gurvinder Sihra started his training in 2004 and made his debut with Ohio Valley Wrestling in October 2005. In 2017, he and his brother made their SmackDown debut. Though they were not so famous in the wrestling world, they are famous basically in Bollywood films.
5. Saurav Gurjar
Gurjar is best known for his role as the mighty Bheem in the TV show Mahabharat (based on an ancient Indian epic of the same name).
Gurjar is now renowned as an Indian professional wrestler playing for WWE NXT matches. He started his combat sports career by winning Gold in the State Kickboxing Championship in Indore, Madhya Pradesh 2007.
He recently signed an agreement with WWE on January 14, 2018.
In WWE, he debuted under the ring name Deadly Danda beating an opponent named Puma.
4. Mahabali Shera
Shera was the well-known Indian wrestler ever to be signed by the TNA. He currently lives in the US. From 2015 to 2018, Shera fought in several independent circuits under many other names. He made his debut for Tried-N-True Pro Wrestling on September 6, 2015, under the ring name Khoya. In February 2016, he made his debut for NWA TCW. Shera signed an agreement with WWE on February 14, 2018.
3. Kavita Devi
Kavita Devi is an Indian professional WWE Indian fighter performing on their developmental territory NXT.
Kavita stood for India in the 2016 South Asian Games and placed Gold Medal in the 75KG weightlifting category. She was trained in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). After that, she learned about the police sources and became a police constable and was then promoted to Sub-Inspector under the sports quota. She joined the Great Khali’s Continental Wrestling Entertainment School after her retirement.
2. Jinder Mahal
Jinder won the WWE Championship and the WWE United States. In 2010, he worked for WWE until June 2014. The (Canadian) Indian pro wrestler has trained under as many as 4 ex-wrestlers.
1. The Great Khali
The Dalip Singh Rana, popularly known as The Great Khali, is an Indian-American professional wrestler, promoter, and actor.
He is mainly famous for his wrestling career in WWE. His debut in WWE in the year 2006, he has become a household name in India (it could be his towering height). Indian wrestler Khali reached the peak of his career after winning the World Heavyweight Championship in a 20 man Battle Royal SmackDown.
