‘I am a very different person’- Mahabali Shera on returning to IMPACT Wrestling, AEW alliance, & more (Exclusive)

Last week on IMPACT Wrestling, Mahabali Shera returned to the company after a year-long hiatus, emerging from underneath the ring, like ‘Yama from the Underworld’, as Matt Striker would dub it.

.@MahabaliShera returned as @HakimZane's secret weapon against @MegaTJP. #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/f2z0GlvQT8

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) February 8, 2021

SK Wrestling had a chance to connect with the affable IMPACT Wrestling powerhouse, talking about his return, the change in his character from his earliest days, and a wide variety of subjects. Mahabali Shera, whom we’ve interviewed in the past, is soft-spoken as always. This time, however, there’s a degree of confidence radiating about him that we’ve never sensed before.

As grand as his comeback to IMPACT Wrestling was, the circumstances surrounding his absence weren’t nearly as pleasant. Unfortunately, the year he spent in India was to say farewell to his father.

"I had to take a break and go to India as my father was battling cancer. Sadly, he was terminally ill. I knew that he didn’t have much time left. And then, COVID-19 happened. I didn’t know that I’d be stuck there for a year. I didn’t have access to a ring in my home city of Chandigarh. But I was excited to return to IMPACT Wrestling and mix it up with all of the new faces in the company."

Mahabali Shera claims that he uses the energy of the live crowd to spur his performances. That said, the fact that this time his comeback happened in front of no audience did not deter him. He admits jokingly, "Crowd or no crowd, you have to do the same thing - destroy the opposition."

"I always think to myself, that if the wrestling is good, the audience will find a way to watch the action."

IMPACT Wrestling star Mahabali Shera has finally found himself once again

When Mahabali Shera is not in character, he is Amanpreet Randhawa, a man who admits to being shy and reserved. How does he don the character of Shera, the lion, who’s dropped his "Shera Shuffle" persona for a much darker, more ominous character?

"Honestly, I wasn’t too big a fan of the whole Shera Shuffle gimmick. People advised me to do it, but I never wanted to go down that road. I’m glad the move went viral. People got to know about me. When they think of Shera, the Shera Shuffle comes to mind. But that’s not who I am. If I had a chance to do it again, I wouldn’t want to go down that route."

Had an amazing interview with the always amazing @MahabaliShera for @SKWrestling_, with Dr. @RossForman1 listening to 20 minutes of Hindi in the background. Can't wait to share it with you guys.

— Riju Dasgupta (@rdore2000) February 5, 2021

‘The Lion’ of India, Mahabali Shera is very excited about the alliance between IMPACT Wrestling and AEW because he believes that it opens many opportunities. Not only from a business perspective, but it also gives the talent of one company an opportunity to mix it up with the talent from another. Whether it’s from the AEW roster or at IMPACT Wrestling's next big pay-per-view, No Surrender, Mahabali Shera is ready to take the whole world on. He claims that he’s a very different man from the guy we saw in Ring Ka King.

"I’m a very different person now. A different guy from the guy you saw in Ring Ka King. Ever since I started wrestling, everyone was in my ear, telling me what is best for me. However, those who experience the grind, who feel all the bumps and bruises along the way, are the guys who shine. There’s a time for everyone and everything. Maybe I could have done everything that I’m doing now, four years ago, but I didn’t have the physique that I have now, back then."

Spending his time shuffling between OVW and IMPACT Wrestling, Mahabali Shera has honed his craft and perfected his newer, more aggressive persona. Sher in Hindi translates to lion, and Mahabali Shera reveals why he’s chosen such a moniker for himself…

"I call myself a lion for good reason. I do not just say it for no reason. I work incredibly hard on the way I look. I work on my aggression. I work on my character. I am representing India every time I am out there. I have to make it count."

Mahabali Shera will accompany Rohit Raju to the ring for the X-Division match at IMPACT Wrestling’s No Surrender pay-per-view.

Catch him every week on IMPACT Wrestling, on AXS TV in the United States, YouTube, and Facebook in the United Kingdom, and SONY LIV in India.