You know Jinder Mahal–it’s time to meet Raj Dhesi
The former WWE Champion is still living out his wrestling dreams
The Week in Wrestling is published every week and provides beneath the surface coverage of the business of pro wrestling.
Contents for The Week in Wrestling:
You know Jinder Mahal. It’s time to meet Raj Dhesi.
An inside look at the past week in wrestling
Cena-Orton, part IX
Tweet of the Week
You know Jinder Mahal. It’s time to meet Raj Dhesi.
The Modern Day Maharaja goes by a different name these days.
For years, Raj Dhesi starred as Jinder Mahal. Though he is no longer plying his craft for WWE, he is still living out his wildest dreams in the cartoon-yet-cutthroat world of professional wrestling.
“I get to wrestle at the historic Maple Leaf Gardens this weekend,” said Dhesi, who is part of the 20-man gauntlet match at this Saturday’s “Northern Rising” show for Maple Leaf Pro in Toronto. “That’s one of the two Meccas of Canadian wrestling.”
Perhaps you didn’t know, but Dhesi is a proud native of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He became the second-ever WWE Champion from Calgary, following in the footsteps of the legendary Bret Hart. So it should come as no surprise that Dhesi believes the other Mecca of Canadian wrestling is the Victoria Pavilion in Calgary–which was where Stu Hart ran shows for decades.
A shade over a year ago, Dhesi was released by WWE. That ended an eight-year run with the company, which was preceded by another four years earlier in his career.
Wrestling is full of beginnings and ends. Every match has one, as does every career. Dhesi sees a whole lot of parallels between the two. Even if they look like opposites, he sees starts and finishes as an inevitable constant–especially in pro wrestling.
Take, for instance, his run in 2017 as WWE Champion that began by dethroning Randy Orton. Or the day he dropped the title to AJ Styles. The two instances were more alike than people ever could have imagined.
“There’s something very similar about both of those days,” said Dhesi. “I found out I was winning it a couple hours before the show. I found out I was losing it a couple hours before the show. Didn’t hear of any plan ahead of time. Didn’t hear any idea.
“Originally, I was told I was just going to have a match with Randy. I didn’t think I was going to win the belt. Rusev was injured, but he was the one who was supposed to wrestle Randy. Randy told me that Rusev would be back and that he was supposed to work a program with Rusev for the championship. Something changed–and I won the belt. When I lost the belt to AJ, it was the same–I found out a couple hours beforehand.”
Yet those were not the only similarities between winning the world title and dropping it 170 days later.
“I was thankful when I won it, and I was thankful when I lost it, too–grateful for all those opportunities,” said Dhesi. “It was a huge honor to carry the championship. I’m still motivated to be the face of a company. I expect big things and I’m excited for the future.”
Dhesi’s immediate future includes a spot in the 20-man gauntlet match at Saturday’s Maple Leaf Pro event. That match features a star-studded field, including Matt Cardona, Billy Gunn, PCO, and Josh Alexander, and the winner will be crowned the new MLP Canadian Champion.
For Dhesi, it is a chance to revisit his roots. Having just wrapped a tour with stops in Mumbai, Dublin, and Berlin, he now returns to the True North strong and free.
“There is a real grittiness to wrestling in Canada,” said Dhesi, who is the nephew of Gama Singh, a heralded villain during the Calgary Stampede heyday. “The cities are so far apart and the highways are covered in snow and ice for half the year.
“I used to hear about the long road trips from the veterans from the territory days. Then I was able to experience it. That grittiness, with the weather and the travel and the style–which is a mix from Germany, the UK, Japan, and Puerto Rico–defines wrestlers from Canada.”
If the style seems wide-ranging, that’s because it is. The Northern Rising card will showcase talent from New Japan Pro-Wrestling (Zack Sabre Jr. and Gabe Kidd, both of whom wrestle the vaunted Japanese strong style, as well as Miyu Yamashita), the United Kingdom (“Speedball” Mike Bailey and Michael Oku), and Germany (David Finlay). The show airs live on Triller TV, offering wrestling fans a chance to see the action from Mattamy Athletic Centre–which was formerly known as the famed Maple Leaf Gardens.
Creative mastermind Scott D’Amore oversees MLP, and Dhesi is eager to expand their working relationship.
“Scott does an amazing job of handpicking talent, creating the matches, and booking the matches,” said Dhesi. “These are wrestlers from all over the world–it’s an amazing roster. We’re also seeing the next generation of Canadian wrestlers.
“I can’t wait to grow with Maple Leaf Pro. My goal is to see it tour all across Canada and get a Canadian distribution deal. We’ve got a lot of work in front of us, but we have a really strong roster, we have a great leader in Scott, and the future is very bright.”
Dhesi’s long and winding road in pro wrestling started as a 10-year-old waving to Bret Hart at a promotional event in Calgary before the WWF’s Canadian Stampede pay-per-view in 1997. Nearly a football field away from “The Hitman”, Hart didn’t see Dhesi waving or hear him cheering. Yet despite the distance and years between them, they shared a spiritual connection–the kind that only those with a deep passion for pro wrestling understand.
“I just love wrestling so much,” said Dhesi. “I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. To me, it’s always worth it. Part of me really enjoys the suffering. It keeps me motivated to find new ways to reinvent myself, come back from injuries, and overcome the mental obstacles. I really love all the parts of professional wrestling.
“Sometimes I still wonder how I pulled it off. It wasn’t just me–it was a lot of support from family, friends, and the big man upstairs had a lot to do with it, too. I started wrestling in front of crowds of 10 to 20 people, and I went all the way to winning the WWE Championship. There have been a lot of great moments. Winning the United States championship at WrestleMania 34, too. It’s all part of my journey, one that I’m still on.”
As Jinder Mahal, he experienced the highest of highs. Now, as people get to know Dhesi, he can share new parts of his soul. And he can make sure the industry he loves remains in solid standing.
“Wrestling has given me everything,” said Dhesi. “It’s my duty to give back, whether that’s backstage watching matches or in the ring. All of that is really important to me.
“I love what I’m doing. You put in the work and go chase your passion.”
This past week…
CM Punk returned on Raw, costing Seth Rollins the World Heavyweight Championship. It’s also important to note that Punk, Sami Zayn, and Jey Uso outnumber Rollins and Bron Breakker, which gives reason to believe that Paul Heyman will soon unveil his group’s newest member.
On the subject of Heyman, his promo with Uso was phenomenal. Yes, the man has range.
WWE released a number of wrestlers over the past week, most notably Braun Strowman, Shayna Baszler, and Dakota Kai. It is always difficult when the market is flooded with new free agents, but it will be fascinating to see who makes the most of this new opportunity.
After an entertaining eight-man last week, The Young Bucks and Ricochet take on “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Swerve Strickland, and Mark Briscoe in trios action tonight on Dynamite.
Somewhat quietly, Hirooki Goto’s inspirational run as IWGP World Heavyweight Champion continues. He defeated Callum Newman in an outstanding match this past weekend at Wrestling Dontaku.
Cena-Orton, part IX
Randy Orton challenges John Cena for the WWE Championship this Saturday at Backlash. Incredibly, this marks the ninth time these two have wrestled a singles match on pay-per-view for the world title.
And likely the last.
That number doesn’t account for multi-man world title matches, either. They’ve certainly exceeded the number of times two wrestlers should ever wrestle for the title, though there is nostalgia involved here considering this is their final dance.
Their last title match took place at the infamous Royal Rumble pay-per-view in 2014. That was the night CM Punk walked out, as well as a night where Vince McMahon’s stubbornness was on full display when Batista won the Rumble–and the wildly popular Daniel Bryan did not even enter the 30-man match.
We shouldn’t expect to see an instant classic at Backlash. Cena and Orton should keep it short, play the hits, and do whatever is necessary for the crowd to buy in to the finish. The odds are high that Cena will need to use an underhanded tactic to win, but maybe Orton can hit some sort of outrageous RKO… possibly even on Travis Scott.
The outcome seems like a certainty–Cena is going to walk in and walk out with the world title. But could this feud be extended after this match? Will we be treated to yet another Cena-Orton title match?
Even if it is a match we have watched too many times before, it will be fascinating to see how this one unfolds.
Tweet of the Week
Kevin Owens always has a knack for making pro wrestling better–and asking the questions worth asking.