WWE recently announced they will have two shows in December at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, India
Earlier this year, rumors about the WWE returning to India began to circulate around the internet. This tour was all but confirmed when Jinder Mahal became WWE champion in May after defeating Randy Orton at Backlash. Since then Mahal has successfully defended his title several times, even in the face of overwhelming criticism surrounding not just his lackluster reign as champ but the not-so-veiled racism his character has exhibited in recent weeks.
Despite these missteps, WWE will hold two Raw-brand house shows on December 8th and 9th of this year. Although he is a member of the blue brand, Jinder Mahal is scheduled to be in attendance because it would be unfathomable to tour India without the biggest Indian star in the company.
While Mahal was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he is of Indian Punjabi Sikh descent and fluently speaks Punjabi (as evidenced on SmackDown each week), Hindi, and English. The WWE last toured India in January 2016, long before Mahal’s title reign was considered a remote possibility.
Prior to the December shows, Mahal and the Singh brothers will travel to India from October 13th-15th. This trip may be similar to the one New Day recently took to the country, but the timing may also provide an insight into the fate of the WWE championship. Mahal is scheduled to take on Shinsuke Nakamura during this weekend’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.
Earlier this summer, WWE announced a new weekly wrestling show in India called WWE Sunday Dhamaal. The word “dhamaal” has several meanings in Hindi, and in this context means, “frolic” or “enjoyment”. According to the press release, it is essentially a clip show which will feature “the best action and family-friendly entertainment from WWE’s flagship programs, Raw and SmackDown.”
Mahal’s title run, the announcement of Sunday Dhamaal, and Kavita Devi’s appearance during September’s Mae Young Classic has brought a renewed interest in the WWE to the country of India and the company is hoping to capitalize in a big way. In June, Mahal spoke to the Times of India and expressed his thankfulness for being able to represent his culture:
"“I am very proud to be representing India. India fans are very passionate and are very special part of the WWE universe. I want to represent India in a good way; I want the whole country to be proud of me; I want the whole country to be proud of the fact that an Indian is the WWE champion. It is not something that I take lightly. Every day I give my 100 percent to make my people proud, my family proud and India proud and hopefully, I am doing a good job. The response has been great. Social media, media everybody has been awesome and I am thankful for the support and I hope it continues because the more support my people give me, the harder I work.”"
The WWE last toured India in January 2016, long before Mahal’s title reign was considered a remote possibility. While Mahal (real name Yuvraj Singh Dhesi) was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he is of Indian Punjabi Sikh descent and fluently speaks Punjabi (as evidenced on SmackDown each week), Hindi, and English.
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From a business perspective, creating a loyal fan base in India is a smart move. As of 2016, the population hovers just over 1.32 billion people, making it the second-largest nation in the world. The United Nations has predicted India will overtake China as the most populous country by 2030. The population density and projected growth represents millions of dollars in potential revenue with the possibility of creating a legion of die-hard fans that will also give WWE the ability to continue its expansion around the globe.