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Raj Dhesi Leaves WWE And Jinder Mahal Behind On New Independent Run ... Sort Of [Exclusive]

Zack Heydorn

WWE.com

Raj Dhesi, formerly Jinder Mahal in WWE, has entered a new chapter of his career on the independent pro wrestling circuit and will headline a major show this weekend for the newly reborn Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling promotion on October 19 and October 20 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It's a new challenge for him, but he's ready for it.

"Yeah, this is huge opportunity for wrestling, and especially Canadian wrestling," Dhesi said in an exclusive interview with The Takedown on Wednesday. "This would be incredible, if somehow we can maybe make this a monthly, weekly, semi-monthly type of event. And, you know, all across Canada? I think that's the goal. That would be an amazing that would be an amazing thing for the wrestling business, especially in Canada."

The "Scott" Dhesi references is former TNA President, Scott D'Amore. D'Amore took on the project of relaunching MLP after getting released from TNA earlier this year. D'Amore was the architect of TNA for many years and the driving force of bringing back the name after it had been lost to Impact Wrestling.

"I've always wanted to work with Scott," Dhesi said. "I've never got a chance to work with him ever in the in the past, but I'm very familiar with everything that he's done in the business, the wrestlers that he's trained, and Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling, kind of resurrecting it, is a huge achievement."

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Dhesi began his career as a pro wrestler on the independents in the early 2000's. In 2010, he signed with WWE and had a long up-and-down career with the company. Back on the independents is familiar, freeing, and an opportunity to bring something different to the scene.

"Being an independent wrestler definitely has it's pluses and minuses," Dhesi said. "Pluses, being you can pick your own schedule. You get to wrestle new, upcoming talent, and just the crowd interaction is different on independent shows. It's a much more intimate setting. Lot of times the crowds are smaller and the style is different. But, I started on the independents and I really enjoy independent wrestling because sometimes in WWE, especially then, things have changed now, but during my time there, it was, you know, a lot of it is story based, storyline based, character based stuff, whereas independent wrestling, a lot of it is just the focus is wrestling.

"So, definitely it's something different, but it's exciting. I love being on the independents and it kind of invigorates me seeing all these young talents. Being in the locker room with younger guys, and with my experience that I have with many years in WWE I can offer advice or anything that they need. A lot of them have questions or just want to know things in general. Everything from wrestling related or the business side of things. How travel works? How do you stay fit on the road? How do you diet on the road? How do you work out on the road? I get a lot of questions and I enjoy helping out the younger talent."

Dhesi is a wealth of knowledge for young wrestlers and the independent circuit because of his long run in WWE that peaked when he became WWE champion in 2017. Dhesi defeated Randy Orton at the Backlash PPV to win the title and it completely changed his life.

"10 months prior to becoming WWE Champion, I wasn't in WWE," Dhesi said. "I had been released two years prior and I was again on independents trying to grind and make my way back. I got the opportunity to come back, but not only just the opportunity to come back, but a chance to become WWE Champion and that really changed the trajectory of my life. In so many ways changed my life. Financially, yes. Recognition wise. Like, even now on the independents, I have much more value because I was WWE Champion.

"And not only that, just on a personal level. Just growing up. You know, Bret Hart was my guy. Bret Hart was my favorite wrestler growing up and he was WWE Champion. I had seen Bret Hart at the Calgary Stampede with the WWE Championship. I believe it was 1997 and I saw him from like 200 yards away, but I saw that championship and 20 years later, 2017, I had that exact same championship. It really showed me that anything is possible, as long as you're willing to work for it."

Dhesi isn't WWE Champion any longer, but he believes he does have something to bring to the independent wrestling scene on shows like MLP's Forged in Excellence this weekend.

"I can apply the storytelling to my matches, especially with the younger generation," Dhesi said. "A lot of their matches are very move based and they're exciting. And I'm just not that good of an athlete. I like to kind of do a little bit of storytelling -- more like traditional wrestling base where there's a heel and there's a babyface, clear-cut. There's cheating going on behind the ref's back.

"That's kind of what I bring through my experience and just like adjusting to the crowd. Because when you're inexperienced, you go in with a plan, A, B, C, D, and if B doesn't happen, sometimes things go off the rails. Whereas I kind of plan a little bit less and improv more based on what the crowd is reacting to. Every crowd is different."

At MLP Forged in Excellence, Dhesi will face Bully Ray in a Tables Match. Forged in Excellence will air live on Triller and Fite TV on October 19 and October 20.

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Zack Heydorn
ZACK HEYDORN

Zack Heydorn has been covering the pro wrestling industry for nine years. He's a former Assistant Editor of PWTorch and Managing Editor of SEScoops. Zack is the author of the Hybrid Shoot book Stunning: The Wrestling Artistry of Steve Austin, which is available on Amazon. You can follow Zack on

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