Tag: shanky

Shanky addresses his future goals across USA, Japan, UK, and Australia: ‘I’m hungry for wrestling’ | Exclusive

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Out of the WWE ecosystem for nearly three years now, Shanky recently opened up about his future wrestling goals while speaking to F4WON during an exclusive interview.

Having last faced Gunther in WWE, Shanky was soon released by the promotion in 2023. Making a name for himself in the indies since then, Shanky has been wrestling actively for OPW (Oceania Pro Wrestling) in Australia.

When asked about the current pro-wrestling scene in Australia, he shared, “OPW is doing really good work here in Melbourne, and yeah, it’s pretty much the same. Just look at Australia—how many stars have come out of the wrestling scene here. You’ve got Rhea Ripley, you’ve got Grayson Waller—he’s from Melbourne itself.” Asked if he spotted any difference between Australian pro-wrestling and American pro-wrestling, he responded, “No, it’s the same—completely the same. The wrestling is exactly the same.”

Often seen in the wrestling industry, whenever wrestlers are released by the top guns in the industry, namely WWE, AEW, or TNA, they start taking bookings all over the world and wrestle across multiple promotions. While Shanky has predominantly wrestled only across India and the country down under since leaving WWE, he has an interest in exploring a career in the UK and Japan.

“Absolutely Japan. Wherever I get an opportunity, I’ll go. I’ve heard that in Japan they really love tall people; they like them a lot. Ah, so I mean, right now I’m Hungry for wrestling. So if I get an opportunity anywhere, I’ll go there. I’ll definitely go wherever—like the UK, Japan, Australia—wherever. I just want to do wrestling, wrestling, wrestling, and just be a proud Indian, you know,” he shared.

Not ruling out a return to the USA, he further claimed, “Absolutely—definitely, the U.S. is the last stop for me. I do want to go there. I’m just looking for the right opportunities, and wherever I get them, I’ll go—whether it’s the U.S. I’m excited about WWE too; if I go back to WWE again, I’d like to.”

Shanky has a message for AEW and TNA

However, WWE is no longer the only big promotion in the USA. For the past few years, AEW and TNA Wrestling have emerged as the two other big stops for talented and promising wrestlers.

“No, nothing like that has come to me—nothing from AEW or TNA so far. People were telling me when I was coming back from the U.S., “Bro, stay there, something will happen,” but no, nothing like that has come yet from AEW or TNA. If it does, then I’ll definitely do it—definitely,” Shanky answered when asked about his plans on potentially wrestling for AEW or TNA.

While he has not heard anything from AEW or TNA, the 34-year-old wrestler from a small town in India shared a message for Carlos Silva and Tony Khan. Hoping they would hear him, Shanky stated, “Yes, yes—what I’d like to say is, brother… Shanky Singh, you know, I’m hungry right now for wrestling, and I come from my country, India, and I will always keep representing India no matter which company I wrestle for. I just want to wrestle. And I’ll say this: just sign me once and then see how we make our country’s name shine—whether it’s TNA or AEW or WWE.“

From earning just roughly $80 a month to becoming a regular act on weekly WWE television with former World Champion Jinder Mahal, Shanky is now hungry for wrestling across the world while still hoping for pro wrestling in India to develop further.

Shanky shares his thoughts on India’s own pro-wrestling promotion, WXM

Started by former WWE Superstar Jeet Rama and Rishi, WXM has emerged as one of the leading pro-wrestling promotions in India. WXM is frequently visited by several top International wrestlers, including Zack Sabre Jr., Donovan Dijak, Axel Tischer, Raj Dhesi (Jinder Mahal), Emi Sakura, and others.

Sharing his thoughts on the promotion, Shanky claimed, “WXM is doing good work. I’d say, brother, do even better—come on TV—so opportunities open up for our Indian wrestlers. Look, let me tell you: not everyone can go to WWE. Not everyone—no, not everyone can go to WWE. So it’s important that opportunities and platforms open up here in India, and WXM is doing good work. So I’d say yes—if I get the chance, I’ll definitely go. I want to wrestle. And yeah, I mean, if they pay well, I’ll definitely go. Yeah.“

Away from WWE, he recently wrestled a title match against Parker Boudreaux, which he lost. He later recovered and earned his first singles win after WWE against Slade Mercer in PCW.

Shanky recalls working with Gunther in his final WWE match | Exclusive

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Shanky opened up working his last match in WWE against Gunther around three years ago in India.

In an exclusive interview with F4WON, Shanky was asked about wrestling Gunther in his last match before getting released by WWE. While still unaware then about the upcoming roster cuts, the 34-year-old recalled that he expected more cooperation from Gunther and WWE in that match.

“It was a really great experience with him. I did a show with him in Hyderabad. But at that time, I didn’t know—after that, whether they were going to release me or what they were going to do, I had no idea then. But yeah, I did have a match with Gunther. Gunther is kind of like that [hard hitter and stiff chops], you know—like, what can I even say right now, okay? I wanted them to cooperate a bit more, but that didn’t happen. The thing I was asking for at that time didn’t happen. But yeah, it’s good that I had a match with Gunther, because now he made John Cena tap out.”

Back wrestling now, Shanky wrestled his first match after WWE at the OPW Australian Stampede in 2024. He also wrestled his latest match there in a loss against Parker Boudreaux. Although he later recovered and earned his first singles win after WWE against Slade Mercer in PCW.

Speaking on his current mental and physical recovery, he stated, “I’m saying I’ve improved a lot—mentally as well as physically. When I was in the U.S., in WWE, around that time, my weight was about 120, 120 Kgs. Now I’ve gained a bit of muscle too. Back then, I looked kind of skinny; now I’ve put on some muscle. Because for a seven-foot guy, it’s really tough to gain everything, to build up muscles, right? I’ve never taken steroids. I stick to a simple diet, and I’m never going to take steroids. So whatever I’ve got, that’s what I’m working with—I just keep doing my thing.”

“I’ve earned everything through wrestling. I had nothing before. I’ve earned everything through wrestling—through WWE. I built a house for my mom and dad, and I bought a car for myself. Right?
I mean, I gave them a slightly better life. Yeah, that’s there—God’s grace is there too. It’s the same thing: I’ll keep doing wrestling, I’ll keep doing it. I’m definitely looking for opportunities—whichever company hires me, I’ll keep doing it, I’ll keep doing it,” he added.

Shanky answers possible character changes like Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre

Shanky’s character in WWE got over with the crowd very quickly. His high energy, passion, and live dance performances were well-loved by the WWE Universe. However, Shanky feels it was part of the job, and he views himself as a hardcore wrestler.

When asked about his comeback and undergoing a possible character reinvention like Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre, Shanky claimed, “No, no—look, the culture is fine, I’ll carry it on. But yeah, the dance—that’s just a character thing. This time I came out with the dhol, but I didn’t do the dance and all that. I don’t like that stuff that much. Yeah, I mean, it’s a job—if I’m told to do it, I’ll do it, no problem, it’s fine. But I want to see myself as, you know, like a hardcore wrestler—yeah, a 7-foot guy, that kind of thing. I’ll carry my culture, no doubt. But wrestling—wrestling, wrestling—that’s the thing for me.“

“Definitely, definitely [on character change]—I will, I will. I’ll work on that a bit, because you know how it is, right? Like… for example, I’ve always been a huge fan of The Undertaker in wrestling. So I want it the same way he used to play that character earlier [both The Phenom and The American Badass]—like, yeah man, it happens a bit, like, yeah, the wrestler’s walking in from there, but people still love him. Whether he’s a bit of a heel or a babyface. I want to do a mix-up kind of character,” he added.

When asked about his fondness for hardcore matches, Shanky recalled his brutal chair shots segment with Drew McIntyre and how he wants to stay in that lane.

“I like hardcore matches because I’ve taken 34 chair shots—I’ve taken them from Drew McIntyre. And that history is there. Thirty-four chair shots—I took them from Drew McIntyre. That history is there. So now I want to stay in that lane: yeah, if I get chair shots, if I get tables, if I get ladder matches, that’s great for me—because I’m getting opportunities where I can show my aura.”

Hailing from a small town in India, Shanky struggled a lot throughout his career before getting selected by WWE. Reflecting on the creative process there, he said, “If I’m being honest, when I was in WWE, okay, I was still kind of new at that time. So whatever it was, but I was already wrestling—before that. So I didn’t really get that kind of chance in WWE, you know—because there’s this story like, ‘Yeah, people don’t even know, man, that he used to dance, that he used to be a dancer.’ People don’t realize the connection I was building with the audience there. The crowd was really connecting with me. They started chanting, ‘Go Shanky, go Shanky.’ They were bringing banners for me. I saw it myself. When you’d go to the airport or outside the arena, people would ask for autographs—they were connecting with me. So that was their motive, like, ‘First we’ll get him connected with the audience, then we’ll move forward.’ And then, like, they moved me with Jinder Mahal, and my story started. So yeah, that was a good thing for me.”

Released by WWE in 2023, Shanky now finds himself active in OPW (Oceania Pro Wrestling). “Now, sure, I’m not with WWE. But whenever I get an opportunity… like, as soon as I got released from WWE, right after that—four months later, I remember—the biggest opportunity I got was from OPW. Mr. Cam Vale—Australia, in Melbourne.”

Shanky says he experienced ‘no racism’ backstage in WWE | Exclusive

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Former WWE wrestler Shanky has opened up about his time and experience in WWE, revealing that there was no “racism” backstage at the promotion.

In an exclusive interview with F4WON, Shanky opened up about his humble beginnings from a small town in India to reaching WWE. While having never worked officially in NXT, Shanky revealed how he wrestled on the main roster and the collaborative backstage environment there.

“So when I went backstage, Roman [Reigns] was there… Seth Rollins, everyone was there. You know, like, we’re all in the same place, eating together at catering. There was no racism, nothing like, ‘Oh, you’re new, so you can’t sit at that table and eat.’ Nothing like that. Everyone was down-to-earth and humble. So, I mean, I’m telling you—it was beyond that,” he said.

When asked about working with Triple H and Vince McMahon, Shanky said, “To be honest, I didn’t work that much with Triple H, sir. When we first went to NXT, I didn’t really get a chance there. I think I’m the first one who didn’t even do NXT and went straight to Raw and SmackDown. So I went to Raw first, and that’s where I met Vince McMahon. I met the whole team. Jinder [Mahal] paaji was with me, Veer Mahaan was with me too. And Jinder paaji played a really big role for us, because we were new at that time on Raw and SmackDown,” he said.

Reflecting on Mahal’s role in his career and his interaction with McMahon, the 34-year-old recalled, “You can call him [Jinder Mahal] a mentor, an elder brother—he supported us completely. So that was really good for me. And the interaction with Vince, because he was looking at my name. He said, ‘We need to change the name.’ And I know, I’m standing in front of Vince, and he said, ‘I like Shanky, just carry on.’ So that’s when the name Shanky got set. Singh got removed from the back, but he kept Shanky. So yeah, that experience was just something else. Being around such huge Superstars, I was so excited—like, when I go backstage, I want to see what the atmosphere is like, you know.“

However, the journey for Shanky to reach WWE was not always easy.

Shanky opens up in detail about his struggles to reach WWE

While pro-wrestling is very popular and common in India, the industry there still has a lot to develop and offer to its budding pro-wrestlers. Opening up about his struggles and his journey, Shanky shared how he managed money to join former WWE champion The Great Khali’s wrestling school in India.

“Then I remembered Kapil Sharma’s show—you know, it still comes on. Even back then, it was on, and The Great Khali had come on it. He mentioned his wrestling company, which is in Jalandhar and all. My friends said, ‘Why don’t you go meet him once? Just go and see what it’s about.’ So I went to Jalandhar and met him. At that time, he said, ‘Yes, you can do it—you’ve got height, that’s your biggest plus, your advantage.’ And I mean, in wrestling, height doesn’t really matter, but if you have it, it’s a plus. Then he told me the fees—and since I’m from a simple family, it was a lot,” he said.

“Arranging ₹25,000 to ₹30,000 [$262-$315] a month is very difficult for an ordinary family, because at that time I myself was doing an accountant job for only about ₹7,000–₹8,500 [$78-84] a month. So the fees were too high, and I came back home and told my dad. Then, about 20 days later, my dad said, ‘If you want to do it, it’s okay—I’ll arrange two months’ fees from somewhere.’ I know that at that time he borrowed ₹60,000 [$630] from someone, took a bank loan, and he himself took me to Jalandhar, paid the fees there,” Shanky added.

However, the journey had just started there. Shortly after training there with Ricardo Rodriguez, Shanky injured himself and got put on the shelf. Although regretting his decision to wrestle, Shanky fought back. Unfortunately, the underdeveloped pro-wrestling scene in India over a decade ago meant almost no earnings for Shanky.

“I learned wrestling, did shows all over India. Back then, we didn’t get paid; there was no earnings. And when there’s no earning, your head starts going—like, we’re doing this to earn, right, but there’s no earning happening at that time. In 2017, there was a tryout in Dubai, and I didn’t get selected. Then in 2018, I thought, yeah, there’s no point now—there’s no earning, and I didn’t get selected in the tryout—so I quit wrestling and moved to Bombay,” he reflected.

Instead of giving up, he worked hard in the Indian TV industry, did reality shows, and again attempted the next WWE tryout in Mumbai, where he got selected.

After a brief successful run in WWE, Shanky got released in 2023 and is currently an active part of the OPW’s (Oceania Pro Wrestling) cards in Melbourne, Australia, where he recently lost the OPW Global Title Match against Parker Boudreaux.

Two matches, Lashley-Goldberg segment set for WWE Raw

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has made a few announcements for Monday’s SummerSlam go-home edition of Raw.

WWE Champion Bobby Lashley and Goldberg will take part in a face-to-face segment on Monday’s Raw. It will be the final build to their title match at SummerSlam.

Drew McIntyre vs. Veer & Shanky in a handicap match has also been announced for Monday’s Raw. If McIntyre wins, Veer and Shanky will be banned from ringside for McIntyre’s match against Jinder Mahal at SummerSlam. But if Veer & Shanky win, McIntyre’s sword Angela will be banned from the SummerSlam match.

Plus, Randy Orton vs. Omos is set for Monday’s Raw. Orton defeated Omos’ tag team partner AJ Styles in the main event of Raw this past Monday.

Orton returned to WWE television on this week’s Raw, appearing for the first time since June 21. Orton said he didn’t want to team with Riddle anymore and told Riddle not to accompany him to ringside for his match against Styles. But Orton got the win after Riddle tried to neutralize Omos at ringside. Riddle then wanted a hug from Orton after the match. Orton gave in and hugged Riddle, but he then dropped Riddle with an RKO.

Orton smiled and chuckled after hitting the RKO on Riddle, and Byron Saxton said on commentary that he thought Orton and Riddle were now back together. Riddle said in a post-show interview that he was confused by Orton’s actions, but he hopes he and Orton can work things out so that their RK-Bro team can be a thing.

Styles & Omos are the current Raw Tag Team Champions.

Monday’s Raw is taking place at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Jinder Mahal appears on WWE Raw with new group

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Jinder Mahal appeared on Raw tonight with a new group that debuted last week on Main Event.

Mahal defeated Jeff Hardy in his first match on Raw in nearly a year, pinning Jeff Hardy clean with the Khallas. Mahal introduced two new associates, Veer (Rinku Singh, formerly one half of Indus Sher) and Shanky (Dilsher Shanky) prior to the match. The group previously made their debut as an act last week on Main Event, where Mahal also defeated Hardy.

Jinder Mahal’s career has been wrought with knee injuries since 2019. After returning from knee surgery in 2020, he underwent a second knee surgery almost immediately after, keeping him out of action for the rest of the year. He made his return at Superstar Spectacle in January, teaming with The Bollywood Boyz in a losing effort against Drew McIntyre and Indus Sher.

Veer has been in the WWE since 2018. He appeared on NXT TV with Saurav Gurjar and together they were known as Indus Sher, with Malcolm Bivens as their manager. Shanky has been with WWE since last year, with his most high-profile match being a eight-man tag match at Superstar Spectacle, where he and his team emerged victorious.