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WWE
Former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal, who goes by the ring name Raj Dhesi, has hit out at WWE for not having any South Asian stars on their roster.
Dhesi, who has been one of the most successful Indian-origin stars in WWE history, recently spoke at the For the Love of Wrestling convention, where he spoke about the importance of representation. He bemoaned the fact that there are no South Asian wrestlers on WWE's roster.
"Growing up, there were no South Asians on TV. All we had was Apu [from the 'Simpsons'] for representation [laughs]. Unfortunately ... it's the truth. We didn't have anybody, we had typical stereotype characters, [like] a gas station worker or a tech nerd. So, growing up, I didn't have anybody I could relate to so it's very important for my generation of wrestlers — and not just myself, but all of us — we talk about this, how important it is to inspire the next generation. We've already accomplished so many great things, but we need to accomplish more. And the fact that there is zero — not a single South Asian in WWE right now, 'Raw,' 'NXT,' or ”SmackDown,' there's something seriously wrong with that," said the former WWE star. "But we can't blame the system. We ourselves have to rise up. We have to get ourselves to that level, and we will."
Dhesi spoke proudly about the contributions of other South Asian wrestlers, including The Great Khali, Dara Singh, and Tiger Jeet Singh, to pro wrestling. He said the late Dara Singh, who was inducted into the Legacy wing of the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018, inspired him and his peers like The Singh Brothers, Shanky, and Veer.
There are just a handful of Indian heritage wrestlers in pro wrestling currently, with AEW having the likes of Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh, while Shera wrestled a few times on TNA Wrestling last year. WWE released Dhesi, along with Veer and Sanga last year, while Shanky was let go in 2023.

