5 wrestlers of Indian descent who 'made it' in WWE

WWE is truly the land of opportunities. Superstars from various countries, cultures and ethnicities have found a home for their talents here. In fact, foreign-born wrestlers have played a huge role in the success of the company.

Whether they acted as hated, foreign heels like Rusev and Lana or just added a touch of their cultural influence to their gimmick like The Kabuki Warriors, foreigners have always been an integral part of the WWE's product.

It is only natural that over time, a number of wrestlers from Indian descent have also found their way to WWE. Here are five of them who have 'made it' in the company.

#5 Jinny (WWE NXT UK)

WWE NXT UK is home to resident fashionista, Jinny. The snobbish, posh diva is of Indian descent. She has impressed NXT UK fans with her impeccable sense of style out of the ring, as well as her impressive forearm smashes inside it.

Jinny was born as Jinny Sandhu in London, England. She grew up watching wrestling greats like Jushin Liger, Lita and Trish Stratus from the early age of nine. This is where her passion for wrestling found its roots.

Jinny competed in various independent promotions all over Europe before making it to WWE. She took part in WrestleMania 33 Axxess in April 2017, in a losing effort against Toni Storm.

The fashion icon signed a contract with WWE in 2018. She was slated to compete in a Fatal 4-Way match to determine the #1 Contender for the NXT Women's Championship on day one of the United Kingdom Championship Tournament. However, she was injured midway into the match and got pulled out of it.

Further, she took part in the second Mae Young Classic tournament in 2018 but was defetated by Toni Storm in the first round. She then made her televised debut against Storm on November 7th and went on to be engaged in a feud with Piper Niven and Xia Brookside.

#4 Kavita Devi (WWE NXT)

Kavita Devi is the first Indian woman wrestler signed with WWE

Kavita Dalal, popularly known as Kavita Devi in WWE, was born in a Jat family of Malvi village in Haryana, India. She was one of five siblings hailing from Julana tehsil of Jind district.

Kavita tied the knot with basketball player Gaurav Tomar in 2009. They had a son named Abhijeet in 2010. While she wanted to quit sports after the birth of their son, her husband inspired her to continue playing.

The Haryana girl began her training as a professional wrestler when she entered Continental Wrestling Entertainment (CWE) on 24 February 2016. She made her debut in the promotion in June, 2016. Wrestling under the ring name Kavita, she accepted an open challenge laid out by B.B. Bull Bull.

On 25 June, Kavita switched things up when she wrestled under a new nickname, Hard KD, for the promotion's first mixed tag team match. She teamed up with Sahil Sangwan in a losing effort against B.B. Chul Bull and Super Khalsa.

Her trainer The Great Khali is also her main inspiration to become a professional wrestler. Khali was also a part of the WWE roster from 2006 to 2014. Meanwhile, Kavita is the first Indian woman wrestler currently signed with WWE.

In addition, she is also an Indian International powerlifting athlete who bagged a Gold medal in the South Asian Games. She signed a contract with WWE in 2017 and began her training in January 2018. Since then, she has appeared in many WWE special events including the women’s royal rumble.

#3 Akam (WWE RAW)

Akam was released from his WWE contract in September.

Sunny Dhinsa made a name for himself in WWE as one-half of the Authors of Pain alongside Rezar. The powerhouse wrestler is of Indian descent and was first discovered by WWE in 2014.

AOP had an impressive run in NXT when they first teamed up in 2016 with manager Paul Ellering. They won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in 2016, leading to them winning the NXT Tag Team Championships.

AOP moved onto the Monday Night RAW roster in April 2018 with Drake Maverick taking over as their manager. For a while, WWE booked the tag team as an indestructible one on the main roster. In fact, with the S.H.I.E.L.D. splitting up, AOP looked set to be involved in the RAW Tag Team Championship picture.

While things did seem to be heading that way when Akam and Rezar defeated Seth Rollins in a handicap match to win the RAW Tag Team Championships, things soon went downhill for the tag team.

They suffered their first loss on the main roster against the team of Bobby Roode and Chad Gable. On the December 10th episode of Raw, they lost their tag titles to Roode and Gable in a three-on-two handicap match, ending their reign at 35 days.

Unfortunately, the Authors of Pain had to go on hiatus in 2019 due to Akam having knee surgery. They would return later in the year to participate in the 51-Man Battle Royal at Super ShowDown, but neither could not rack up the win. This led to them being shuffled around as Seth Rollins' enforcers.

However, their streak of bad luck continued when it was reported that Rezar suffered a biceps injury in March this year. Akam and Rezar were released from their WWE contracts in September.

#2 The Great Khali (WWE RAW & SmackDown)

The Great Khali was the first Indian to win the World Heavyweight Championship

Dalip Singh Rana was born in Dhiraina, India on 27 August 1972. The larger-than-life Indian athelete garnered fame as The Great Khali in WWE. In fact, his was one of the most intimidating physiques to arrive in WWE.

He was noted as the eighth tallest professional wrestler history in 2014. In addition, he was also the fourth tallest wrestler in WWE history in 2017.

The Great Khali made his WWE debut alongside Daivari. He had an alliance with fellow Indian descent wrestler Jinder Mahal and Ranjin Singh. However, he spent a majority of his WWE career as a singles wrestler.

He managed to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in 2007. This also made him the first Indian to win the World Heavyweight Championship in WWE history. During his time in WWE, Khali has faced some formidable opponents like John Cena, The Undertaker and Randy Orton.

It wasn't always the plan for the wrestler though. Before he started his professional wrestling career, Dalip was an officer for the Punjab state police. He was released by WWE in 2014 due to consistent botches and poor mic skills.

Moreover, WWE's attempt to turn Khali into an comedic act by introducing the Punjabi Playboy gimmick also failed miserably. His reputation as a monster heel was destroyed and he failed to win crowd support.

The Great Khali briefly returned to the WWE in 2017. During WWE Battleground, he assisted then-champion Jinder Mahal in a Punjabi Prison match for the WWE Championship by preventing Randy Orton from escaping the structure.

Khali was also a part of The Greatest Royal Rumble match in April 2018 where he entered at number 45. It was an unimpressive outing though, as he lasted for less than a minute after being eliminated by Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley.

Since his WWE days, Dalip Singh has formed the Continental Wrestling Entertainment (CWE) in India. It has sprouted many talented athletes including Kavita Devi, who is currently signed with WWE NXT.

#1 Jinder Mahal (WWE RAW & SmackDown)

Jinder Mahal

Jinder Mahal has had a roller-coaster career in WWE. Making his way into the main roster as The Great Khali's kayfabe brother-in-law, Mahal had a luke warm entry within the company.

Things only got worse for The Modern Day Maharaja when he was saddled with 3MB alongside Drew McIntyre and Heath Slater. The group had some success in their early days, but were soon spiraling down in a losing streak that reduced them to mere comedic relief.

Mahal was released from his WWE contract in June 2014.

However, he made a return to WWE in 2016 with an improved physique and better wrestling abilities. It wasn't until May 2017 that all of Jinder's hardwork paid off though, as he became the first wrestler of Indian descent to win the WWE Championship.

His WWE Championship victory was one of the most shocking moments in the history of the company. He lost the title to AJ Styles at a UK Special episode of SmackDown after holding it for nearly six months.

He was even successful in capturing the WWE United States Championship at WrestleMania 34, after pinning Rusev in a Fatal 4-Way match also involving Randy Orton and Bobby Roode.

The Modern Day Maharaja defeated the likes of Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tye Dillinger and other top SmackDown Live Superstars during his reign as world champion.

While the Canadian professional wrestler is still signed with the WWE, he is currently inactive due to a knee injury.