Stars sweat it out to realise childhood WWE dreams
Rinku Singh and Saurav Gurjar are two of the familiar faces at the Dubai tryouts of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), but they achieved fame on completely different career paths.
Rinku Singh was the first Indian to play baseball professionally after he won the ‘Million Dollar Arm’ competition in 2008.
On the other hand, Gurjar found success in the world of television as he was part of wellknown shows like ‘Mahabharat’ and ‘Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanuman’.
However, both of them are willing to risk their established careers for a shot at WWE dream and, currently, they were sweating it out in Dubai to become the latest recruits of the pro-wrestling promotion.
When asked about the reason behind his decision to come for the tryouts, Gurjar said, “I always wanted to be a pro-wrestler. I know this is a big risk for me, but I am not willing to give up on my childhood dream of joining WWE.”
The 31-year old actor from Gwalior is a former national kickboxing champion and has played a variety of sports like wrestling, basketball and boxing during college days. Though he has been a regular on Indian TV shows since 2013, Gurjar believes this is where he truly belongs. “I have achieved a lot of fame and money by doing television. But somewhere in my heart, I know this is what I want to do.”
The 28-year old Rinku Singh hails from a rural village in Bhadohi, UP. He was a junior national javelin medallist before he won the ‘Million Dollar Arm’ reality show. The win did wonders for him as he received a tryout in front of 20 Major League Baseball (MLB) team scouts and was eventually signed by Pittsburgh Pirates.
He went on to become the first Indian to play in a professional baseball match and spent several seasons with Gulf Coast League Pirates. He made the World Allstar team for the 2011 Australian Baseball League All-star Game and was also the subject of the 2015 movie ‘Million Dollar Arm’.
However, Rinku is on the verge of changing his career again as he vies for a spot in the WWE roster.
“I have changed my career twice already and right now, I am focused on fulfilling my dream of joining the WWE. I know this is a big change for me but I am just treating as just a new challenge.”