WWE has been under scrutiny recently due to a lack of representation for African American wrestlers in the company’s PLEs, and now Jinder Mahal has spoken up about similar treatment for South Asian talent.
The former WWE Champion who now goes by the name Raj Dhesi recently responded to the reports about representation on Twitter.
Mahal noted that despite the huge population of the region, there is currently only one South Asian talent signed to the promotion. He explained that talents from other sports can become stars if given the opportunity to be themselves:
The former champion is not the only one who has spoken up about this issue recently. Former WWE star Sanga had previously criticized the company for wanting the viewership from India but not giving any representation to talents from the country.
Indian Talents On International Stage
The debate about lack of people to sign doesn’t work when Indian talents have shown their abilities on the international stage many times. Indian wrestlers have won at least one medal in the last 5 summer Olympics.
Names such as Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia, and Aman Sehrawat are proving every day that talents from the region can make it big when given an opportunity.
This is not even counting someone like Vinesh Phogat who unfortunately missed her chance at a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics after being disqualified due to being above the stipulated weight on the day of the finals.
The unforeseen events led to many veteran wrestlers speaking up in support of Phogat. Prior to that, she had ended the incredible 82-0 international winning streak of Japan’s Yui Susaki in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Editor’s Note
Forced inclusivity at the top at the cost of someone more deserving is never the goal of these talks. Mahal is not saying that people should be forced into the position because of their background. The question that we ask is how are talents supposed to reach that level without a fair opportunity to showcase their potential.
With the general lack of resources for people in these parts of the world, its industry leaders like WWE who have to step up to provide a chance to talents from all backgrounds to truly become global in every sense of the word.
