Jinder Mahal

Jinder Mahal

Dhesi in February 2011 at Florida Championship Wrestling arena.
Birth name Yuvraj Singh Dhesi
Born (1986-07-19) July 19, 1986[1]
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Jinder Mahal[2]
Raj Singh[1]
Tiger Raj Singh[3]
Raj Dhesi
Billed height 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)[2][1]
Billed weight 222 lb (101 kg)[2]
Billed from Punjab, India[2][4]
Trained by Allen Coage[3]
Gama Singh[3]
Gerry Morrow[3]
Rick Bognar[3]
Debut 2003

Yuvraj "Raj" Singh Dhesi (born July 19, 1986) is an Indo-Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring names Tiger Raj Singh and Jinder Mahal. He is perhaps best known for his career in WWE, where he was a member of the 3MB stable with Drew McIntyre and Heath Slater, as well as the manager of The Great Khali.[2]

Professional wrestling career

Early career (2003–2010)

Dhesi began his wrestling career at the Martial Arts Fitness Center in Calgary, Alberta training with former WWE superstar "Razor" Rick Titan and Premier Martial Arts Wrestling (PMW) working as Raj "The Future" Dhesi. He then went on to train with "Champagne" Jerry Morrow and Bad News Allen. In Canada's Stampede Wrestling, After working for a time with Hybrid Wrestling Coalition (HWC) Dhesi teamed with his cousin Gama Singh, Jr., as The Karachi Vice, and Sikh n' Destroy. In March 2005, the team won the Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship, holding it for eight months. They won the title for a second time in December of that year, holding it until November of the following year. He also worked for the Prairie Wrestling Alliance, where he was the PWA Champion from 2008 until January 2010, and also a three time tag team champion. Dhesi also competed for Great North Wrestling (GNW), where he feuded with such wrestlers as Samoa Joe and Hannibal. In December 2009, he traveled to Tampa, Florida, to try out for WWE's developmental promotion Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW).

World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE

Florida Championship Wrestling (2010–2012)

He decided to start training to become a WWE wrestler. He traveled to Tampa, Florida, to try out for WWE's developmental promotion Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW).[3] At the try out Steve Keirn, Pat Patterson and Mike Rotunda saw him wrestle but Dhesi thinks that what sold him to the WWE was his ability to speak Punjabi and his authentic costume like his turban.[3] He remembers that, "I think they needed an Indian guy, they were looking for one."[3] In early 2010, he was signed to a developmental contract with FCW.[3]

Main roster (2011–2012)

Mahal in his pre-match attire

Jinder Mahal made his televised WWE debut on the April 29, 2011 episode of SmackDown, greeting fellow Indian superstar The Great Khali and his brother, Ranjin Singh backstage. During the segment, Mahal spoke in Punjabi that he was really happy and excited that Khali and Ranjin were there. On their part, both of them were happy too. The next week, Mahal, unimpressed by how Khali and Singh have been partaking in childish activities instead of winning matches, confronted Singh about his mismanagement of Khali thus confirmed he was a heel. Mahal interrupted a Khali Kiss Cam segment the following week, slapping Khali twice to no response from the giant. On May 20, Mahal interrupted The Great Khali's match against Jey Uso leading Khali to leave the ring to confront Mahal. On the September 5 episode of Raw, he suffered his first loss, when he and The Great Khali lost to WWE Tag Team Champions Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston in a non-title match. In a rematch on SmackDown, they lost again to Kingston and Bourne, when Khali pushed Mahal, after he was slapped by Mahal. Kofi Kingston hit a Trouble in Paradise on Mahal thus turning Khali into a face once again.[5] On the September 16 episode of SmackDown, Mahal attacked Khali during his match with Heath Slater which Khali won. On the September 23, 2011 episode of SmackDown, Khali defeated Mahal in a singles match, thus suffering his first loss in a singles match, On October 14 episode of SmackDown, Mahal took part in the largest Battle Royal in WWE history a 41-man Battle Royal where Mahal made it to the final three before being eliminated by Randy Orton.

Mahal wrestling Yoshi Tatsu in April 2012.

After the feud with Khali finished, Mahal targeted wrestlers whom he deemed as beneath him or embarrassing. In November, Mahal began a feud with Ted DiBiase.[6] On the December 30 episode of Smackdown, Mahal broke DiBiase's winning streak via submission, ending their feud.[7][8] In December, Mahal, trying to make a name for himself, went after Sheamus and constantly disrespected him. On December 13, Sheamus defeated Mahal and for several months, they were involved in multiple matches, with Sheamus always getting the best of Mahal.[9] At Mahal's first Royal Rumble, he was eliminated by the Great Khali, rekindling their feud. On the next SmackDown, Khali again defeated Mahal.[9] on the February 17 edition of Smackdown, Mahal defeated Ezekiel Jackson later in the night Mahal competed in an Elimination Chamber Wild Card Battle Royal where he was eliminated by Jackson, on the March 12 edition of Raw, Mahal faced Brodus Clay in a losing effort, Mahal then mostly competed on Superstars and house shows for the start of 2012. At Over The Limit, Mahal participated in and lost a battle royal where the winner was to receive a shot at the WWE Intercontinental Championship or the WWE United States Championship.[9]

Mahal began confronting several wrestlers, starting with Randy Orton, interrupting one of his promos. In retaliation, Orton hit the RKO on Mahal.[10] On July 23 at Raw 1000, Mahal confronted Kane, leading a group consisting of Curt Hawkins, Tyler Reks, Hunico, Camacho and Drew McIntyre. Mahal claimed none of them had been given an opportunity within WWE, and would make one by taking down Kane. The Undertaker's sudden appearance halted their advance. The Brothers of Destruction attacked the group and took them out.[11][12] On the July 27 edition of Smackdown, Mahal lost to Ryback by count-out. He then began a feud with him, winning by intentional count-out and disqualification. Mahal, to try and prove himself to Ryback, requested a match against two jobbers, in a match style similar to Ryback's, defeating them quickly by submission. In spite of this, Mahal continued his feud with Ryback, attacking him during their matches and after Ryback's. Mahal was finally pinned by Ryback on the August 24 episode of SmackDown.[13]

When WWE rebranded its developmental territory, FCW, into NXT Wrestling,[14] Mahal began appearing on the rebooted WWE NXT, where he started a winning streak by defeating several wrestlers, including Derrick Bateman and Percy Watson.[15][16] On the August 8 episode of NXT, Mahal was inserted into the Gold Rush Tournament to crown the first NXT Champion, where he defeated Bo Dallas in the first round.[17] On the August 15 episode of NXT, Mahal defeated Richie Steamboat in the semi-finals of the Gold Rush Tournament.[18] On the August 29 episode of NXT, Mahal was defeated by Seth Rollins in the finals of the Gold Rush Tournament, ending his NXT winning streak.[19] On the August 3 edition of Smackdown, Mahal faced Ryback but lost by DQ. On the August 10 edition of Smackdown, Mahal defeated Two local athletes. After the match, Ryback ran towards the ring, but Mahal left the ring. On the August 24 edition of Smackdown, Mahal faced Ryback in a losing effort. On the September 3 edition of Raw, Mahal faced Ryback again in a losing effort. On the Night Of Champions preshow Mahal was in a #1 Contender Battle Royal for a shot at the United States Championship where he was Eliminated by Brodus Clay. On the October 12 edition of Smackdown, Mahal and Heath Slater defeated Santino Marella and Zack Ryder. On the October 15 edition of Raw, Mahal alongside with Drew McIntyre and Heath Slater attacked Santino Marella and Zack Ryder. Slater announces their name as 3MB. On the October 29 edition of Raw, Mahal and Heath Slater of 3MB defeated Zack Ryder and Santino Marella. On the November 7 episode of NXT, Mahal won a number one contender fatal four-way elimination match against Bo Dallas, Drew McIntyre and Justin Gabriel.[20] The next week, Dallas goaded Mahal into facing him in a match with the title shot on the line, but Mahal prevailed once again.[21] Mahal's title shot eventually came to naught when he lost again to NXT Champion Seth Rollins.[22]

3MB (2012–2014)

3MB in 2014.

On the September 21 episode of SmackDown, Mahal and Drew McIntyre interfered in Heath Slater's match against Brodus Clay by attacking Clay.[23] The alliance of Slater, Mahal and McIntyre were later named 3MB.[24] From October 2012, 3MB racked up many wins against Team Co-Bro (Santino Marella and Zack Ryder), and The Usos, mostly due to illegal interference.[25][26][27] On the Survivor Series pre-show, Mahal and Slater defeated Santino Marella and Zack Ryder with Mahal pinning Ryder. At TLC, 3MB were defeated by the team of The Miz, Alberto Del Rio and the Brooklyn Brawler.[28] At WrestleMania XXX, Mahal competed in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal; Mahal & 3MB eliminated The Great Khali, Zack Ryder & Darren Young before being the 8th eliminated by Mark Henry. On the Extreme Rules pre-show 3MB was in the corner of Hornswoggle when he faced El Torito in the "WeeLC" match. During the match El Torito leaped onto Mahal, sending him into a pile of tables and ladders. He was released from his contract on June 12 along with McIntyre and several other talents.[29]

Independent circuit (2014–present)

Dhesi wrestled for Reality of Wrestling at their summer iPPV, ROW Summer of Champions 2014 under the name Raj Singh, defeating Jasper Davis.[30] on October 24, 2014 at All Star Wrestling in Vancouver at the live event Fright Night Live, Raj Singh teamed with his cousin Gama Singh Jr. to defeat Kyle Sebastian and Collin Cutler to win the ASW Tag Team Championship. He also appeared in Puerto Rican promotion the World Wrestling Council against local star Ray Gonzalez. He also participated in Qatar Pro Wrestling Souq Waqif Championship tournament in April 2015 where he ended up as first runner up.

On May 5, 2015, Dhesi, as Raj Singh, made his debut for Japanese promotion Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), losing to Wang Bin.[31]In 2016, he also wrestled for Great Khali's wrestling promotion Continental Wrestling Entertainment in India.[32]

Personal life

Dhesi is of Punjabi Sikh origin. He speaks Punjabi, and English.[3] He is the nephew of wrestler Gama Singh.[3] He holds a business degree in communications and culture from the University of Calgary.

In wrestling

Mahal performing a high knee on Trent Barreta.

Championships and accomplishments

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jinder Mahal.
  1. 1 2 3 4 "ラジャ・シン". Inoki Genome Federation (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Jinder Mahal". WWE. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Oliver, Greg (February 23, 2010). "Tiger Raj Singh ready for WWE experience". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  4. 1 2 "Jinder Mahal". Florida Championship Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  5. ↑ Burdick, Michael. "SmackDown results: From dreamer to something meaner". WWE.
  6. ↑ Tedesco, Mike (November 25, 2011). "Smackdown Results – 11/25/11". WrestleView. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  7. ↑ Caldwell, James (December 30, 2011). "Caldwell's WWE SmackDown Results 12/30: Complete "virtual time" coverage of Smackdown on Syfy – Orton vs. Barrett 2011 finale". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  8. ↑ "12/30 WWE SmackDown Box Score: Snapshot of Friday's show – match times, Win/Loss Records, Streaks (tons of W/L Streaks to close 2011)". Pro Wrestling Torch. December 31, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2012. DiBiase – snapped 8 match winning streak
  9. 1 2 3 http://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=6171&view=&page=4&gimmick=&year=&promotion=&region=&location=&arena=&showtype=TV-Show%7CPay+Per+View&worker=&text=
  10. ↑ http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1285539-wwe-5-suggestions-to-turn-jinder-mahal-into-a-main-event-heel/page/6
  11. ↑ J., Cyril. "Raw 1,000 results". WWE. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
  12. ↑ J., Cyril. "Undertaker and Kane fight off their attackers and stand tall: Raw, July 23, 2012". WWE. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
  13. ↑ "CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 9/3: Ongoing "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - Punk returns home, Anger Management".
  14. ↑ "WWE News: FCW name being phased out". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  15. ↑ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 7/4 - Week 3: Chris Hero (Ohno) debuts, Vader's son, Bateman, six-man main event; Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  16. ↑ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 7/18 - Week 5: Gabriel vs. Slater main event, Steamboat, Vickie's daughter, Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  17. ↑ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT RESULTS 8//8 - Week 8: Gold Rush tournament continues, Hero, Paige, Gabriel vs. McGillicutty, Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  18. ↑ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 8/15 - Week 9: Gold Rush tournament continues, Scotty 2 Hotty cameo, Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  19. ↑ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 8/29 - Week 11: First NXT champion crowned in big-match setting". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  20. ↑ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 11/7 – Week 20: Four-Way #1 contender match, Brodie Lee debuts, Vickie's bounty, Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  21. ↑ James, Justin. "JAMES'S NXT RESULTS 11/14 – Week 21: Rollins's NXT Title feud advances, Reigns featured, Layla vs. Aksana, Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  22. ↑ Bishop, Matt. "WWE NXT: Rollins defends against Mahal". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  23. ↑ Tedesco, Mike. "Smackdown Results - 9/21/12". Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  24. ↑ Stephens, David. "Raw Results - 10/15/12". Wrestleview. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  25. ↑ Caldwell, James. "CALDWELL'S WWE SURVIVOR SERIES PPV REPORT 11/18: Complete "virtual time" coverage of live PPV - Punk-Cena-Ryback". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  26. ↑ Caldwell, James. "CALDWELL'S SATURDAY SLAM RESULTS 11/24: Usos vs. 3MB main event, pie-eating contest, no Cena". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  27. ↑ Parks, Greg. "PARKS' WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 12/7: Complete coverage of the Friday night show, including Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio, Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  28. ↑ Caldwell, James. "CALDWELL'S WWE TLC PPV RESULTS 12/16: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of final 2012 PPV - Cena vs. Ziggler main event, Shield makes a statement". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  29. ↑ http://www.wwe.com/inside/wwe-releases-brodus-clay-evan-bourne-curt-hawkins-other-superstars-june-12-2014
  30. ↑ http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/PPV_Reports_5/article_79853.shtml
  31. ↑ "Genome33". Inoki Genome Federation (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  32. ↑ "It’s time to pay back to Punjab, says Great Khali". Punjab: The Tribune (Chandigarh). 11 February 2016.
  33. 1 2 Caldwell, James. "PARKS' WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 12/30: Complete coverage of the Friday night show, including Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett, Falls Count Anywhere". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  34. ↑ James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE SUPERSTARS REPORT 11/24: Zeke vs. Kidd main event, DiBiase vs. Mac worth watching". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  35. ↑ "PARKS' WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 6/3: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of the show, including Orton vs. Sheamus for the World Championship". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  36. 1 2 "Jinder Mahal". Cagematch. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  37. ↑ "FLORIDA CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING TELEVISION REPORT: ROLLINS AND STEAMBOAT DEFEND THE FCW TAG TITLES; SEE FUTURE (AT THE TIME IT WAS TAPED) SMACKDOWN SUPERSTAR JINDER MAHAL IN ACTION". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  38. 1 2 Trionfo, Richard. "WWE SUPERSTARS REPORT: KOFI; KELLY; AND EZEKIEL JACKSON IN ACTION". PWInsider. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  39. 1 2 Parks, Greg. "PARKS' WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 11/29: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of the live Tuesday night special, including Daniel Bryan vs. Mark Henry for the World Title in a Steel Cage". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  40. ↑ Trionfo, Richard. "WWE NXT REPORT: GOLD RUSH TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS; RAQUEL DIAZ WANTS TO MAKE NXT PRETTIER; HUNICO AND CAMACHO EXPLAIN THEIR LOSS TO JORDAN AND DALTON; FULL SAIL IS NOT 2 COOL FOR SCHOOL". PWInsider. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  41. 1 2 3 Trionfo, Richard. "WWE NXT REPORT: TWO MORE GOLD RUSH MATCHES; KASSIUS OHNO IN ACTION; DIVAS IN ACTION; FUTURE PLANS FOR DALTON AND JORDAN AFTER THEIR UPSET LAST WEEK". PWInsider. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  42. 1 2 Parks, Greg. "PARKS' WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 11/11: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of the show, including Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  43. ↑ "ASW Tag Team Championship history".
  44. ↑ http://allstar-wrestling.com/asw-results-102414-cloverdale-bc-fright-night-2/
  45. ↑ "PWA Heavyweight Championship". Prairie Wrestling Alliance. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  46. ↑ Oliver, Greg (August 26, 2013). "Lots of Canadian content on PWI 500". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved August 31, 2013.

External links

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