Wrestle-Square promoter Vinayak Sodhi talks about Jack Swagger almost joining, issues with Alberto Del Rio and response for Dangal ke Soorma season 1 (Exclusive)

Dangal ke Soorma on Dsports has recently concluded its first season with much fanfare. The show featuring top talent not only from India but all parts of the world has become a fan-favourite program for all wrestling fans in India.

I had the opportunity to speak with the owner and promoter of Wrestle-Square and the man behind Dangal Ke Soorma - Vinayak Sodhi.

In this first part of our conversation, Vinayak Sodhi talks about the response for season one, who we can expect in the next season and how he got into the world of sports entertainment.

Vinayak Sodhi with a wrestler

Shiven: How was the response for Dangal Ke Soorma season 1?

Vinayak: The response was a bit unexpected as when we had thought about making the show we thought people may criticize as the common perception is that Indian wrestling shows do not have production quality; there have been other Indian wrestling shows like Ring ka King, but they were not exactly Indian as all the equipment had come from outside India. So this was the first home-grown show with local wrestlers. The CEO of Discovery Channel, Mr Venkatesh was very impressed as we had put in a lot of effort over the years. I had even told him that we would bring in better numbers than other wrestling shows on the channel and we have managed to come in the top 3 shows on Dsports.

Shiven: Which big names can we expect for Season 2?

Vinayak: This time we had Chris Masters, who was a popular WWE Superstar. We will book Superstars based on their popularity in India. Even Jack Swagger (Jack Hager in AEW) was interested in joining the cast. We had also tried to book former WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio but the deal couldn't go through because of monetary issues. Next season we will try to bring Superstars like Scott Steiner or Brian Cage.

Chris Masters in DKS

Shiven: Who are the biggest stand-out talents from DKS in your opinion?

Vinayak: If I talk about our top 6 wrestlers, they would be Baliyan Akki, Dr Smash, Zorro, Rakka, Toofan and Striker.

Baliyan Akki performing high-risk move

Shiven: Tell us more about the giant of your promotion - Angaar

Vinayak: Angaar is an exceptional case. He is destined to become a big Superstar and join WWE.

Shiven: How long have you been involved in the pro-wrestling business? How did you start?

Vinayak: It has been 5 years since promoting WrestleSquare. I am a lifelong wrestling fan just like Vince McMahon. I was in another Industry earlier but I quit that to join this world. I have been watching wrestling since 2-3; I used to watch it with my grandparents, so it is natural to be influenced by what you watch.