Raj Dhesi, better known to WWE fans as Jinder Mahal, is surprised WWE doesn’t have more Indian talent in the mix right now, especially with India being such a huge market for the company. But Dhesi also made it clear that simply wanting representation isn’t enough — the wrestlers coming out of India have to be good enough to stand across the ring from WWE’s top stars.
During an interview with Denise Salcedo, Dhesi was asked about WWE’s limited Indian representation and didn’t dance around it. He said the lack of talent from India on WWE television is surprising, but also believes Indian wrestlers have to reach the same level as names like Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins if they want those spots.
“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 the bigger problem is that India still doesn’t have the wrestling infrastructure needed to consistently develop talent for a company like WWE. He said the potential is there, and there are already wrestlers worth watching, but the system around them still has a long way to go.
“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.”
One name Dhesi specifically put over was Kevin Malik from WXM Wrestling. He compared Malik to Jeff Hardy, saying he has that same quiet, mysterious charisma while also being jacked and extremely athletic. Dhesi even pointed fans toward Malik’s match with Zack Sabre Jr.
“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 of kind of a Jeff Hardy type, where he’s a little bit of an enigma. Kind of quiet. Has a quiet charisma, but super jacked, super agile. He actually had a match with Zack Sabre Jr. It’s on YouTube. I encourage everybody to check it out.”
For Dhesi, the talent problem isn’t that India has nobody ready to wrestle. It’s that those wrestlers don’t have the kind of platform needed to break through on a global level.
“India has some lit wrestlers. They just don’t have the proper platform yet.”
Dhesi left WWE in 2024 and has stayed active on the independent scene since then. After becoming WWE Champion during his run with the company, he remains one of the most successful wrestlers of Indian heritage in WWE history.
Dhesi’s point is simple: India has the fan base and it has talent, but without a stronger development system and bigger opportunities, WWE isn’t going to suddenly have a flood of Indian stars ready for the main event.
Do you think WWE should invest more heavily in developing wrestlers in India, and could Kevin Malik be one of the names to eventually break through? Let us know what you think and leave your feedback below.
