5 notable WWE Superstars of Indian origin in 2019
There was a time when The Great Khali was the only Superstar of Indian descent associated with the World Wrestling Entertainment. But now, the number of Superstars in the WWE roster who are of Indian origin has increased rapidly over the past few years.
There are talented male and female Superstars who compete in WWE's main roster as well as the NXT and NXT UK brands in 2019.
There has also been an increase of viewership of WWE in India and WWE has noticed it. This is the reason why WWE has been producing live shows in India annually for the past few years. They also held a talent tryout in the country for the first time in March 2019.
Here we take a look at 5 notable WWE Superstars of Indian origin who are a part of the active roster in 2019.
#1 Jinder Mahal
Jinder Mahal's rise to main-event stardom came suddenly after he returned to WWE with an improved physique and persona and aligned himself with Sunil and Samir Singh (The Singh Brothers). After winning a #1 contender's match for the WWE Championship, Jinder went on to face then-champion Randy Orton for the coveted title at WWE Backlash 2017.
In his first opportunity to win the WWE Championship, Jinder defeated Orton at the aforementioned event with the help of outside interference from The Singh Brothers and was thereby recognized by WWE as their 50th WWE Champion and the first of Indian origin.
He would go on to defend the title against Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Tye Dillinger before ultimately dropping it to AJ Styles on the November 7 episode of SmackDown Live which took place in Manchester, England. This made Styles the first World Champion to be crowned outside of North America.
During Mahal's reign as a WWE Champion, he was a credible heel character who drew a lot of heat from the fans, a sight which is not seen in WWE nowadays.
After losing the WWE Championship, The Modern Day Maharaja got involved in a segment for the United States Championship after then-champion Dolph Ziggler vacated the title. After various attempts, Mahal finally won the title at WrestleMania 34 in a Fatal 4-Way match by defeating former champion Bobby Roode, Randy Orton, and Rusev.
After he was drafted to RAW in the 2018 WWE Superstar Shake-up, Mahal took the US title with him and lost the title to Jeff Hardy on that night.
After going through various unsuccessful attempts to win the Unites States title, he was inserted into the 24/7 Championship picture after getting drafted back to SmackDown Live. He would then go on to become a two-time 24/7 Champion.
As of now, The Modern Day Maharaja is sidelined with a knee injury.