Wrestler Mania
India pro wrestlers who have ruled the ring
➘ TIGER JEET SINGH: For over 20 years, Tiger performed in Japan’s wrestling circuit, where he was famous for rushing the ring with a sword in his mouth
➘ TIGER ALI SINGH: Tiger Jeet’s son, Tiger Ali performed for New Japan Pro-Wrestling Dojo before his breakthrough to the WWF in the late 1990s
➘ MAHABALI SHERA & ‘RING KA KING’: In 2011, Impact Wrestling (previously known as TNA) held a novel pro wrestling competition in India, ‘Ring Ka King’, where Mahabali Shera (Amanpreet Singh Randhawa) was crowned World Heavyweight Champion
➘ DARA SINGH: The Godfather of Indian pahalwans, Dara Singh Randhawa was known for his dominance of Asian pro wrestling circuits, including iconic performances in the 1950s against the likes of Lou Thesz, King Kong Czaya, George Gordienko and more
➘ THE GREAT KHALI: Former bodybuilding ‘Mr India’ winner Dalip Singh Rana performed in various wrestling circuits before becoming a WWE star. He’s the first Indian to win the WWE’s World Heavyweight Championship belt
➘ KAVITA DEVI:
The first-ever Indian woman in the WWE, the former weightlifter and power-lifter from Haryana became a pro-wrestler in 2016
➘ JINDER MAHAL: Entering the ring in a turban and sherwani, the IndoCanadian (nephew of
Gama Singh) leant heavily into his Punjabi heritage. He won the WWE Championship belt in 2017
➘ THE GREAT GAMA:
A.k.a. Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt and Rustam-e-Hind, Gama was one of the first Indians to make it on the international show wrestling circuit (in 1910)
➘ SATNAM SINGH BHAMARA: Bhamara made basketball history in 2015 as the first Indian to be drafted into the NBA. In 2021, he traded slam dunks for body slams when he signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW)
➘ SANGA: Actor Saurav Gurjar—famous for playing Bheem in 2013’s Mahabharat series— made his start at ‘Ring Ka King’ and later joined the WWE