There is absolutely no denying to the fact that India in recent years has emerged as a massive market for professional wrestling companies like WWE and AEW. Whether it is through lucrative television deals, or major social media clout, both the companies view the subcontinent country with more than a billion people as a fan base they simply cannot ignore.
However, there is nothing which attracts the Indian audience more than cricket and Bollywood. Unlike the former, the Bollywood industry has seen cross-overs with the crazy world of professional wrestling on many occasions, with multiple wrestlers making appearances in the Indian-based entertainment projects. Let’s take a look at those individuals who not only showed their skills in the squared circle, but also in the Bollyverse.
8 Harv Shira – Brothers (2015)
Harv Shira, alongside his brother Gurv Shira, wrestles under the tag team name of The Bollywood Boys, with the duo paying homage to the rich cinema history from their native land. The duo first appeared for WWE during the widely acclaimed Cruiserweight Classic tournament. They then had a run on the main roster as the Singh Brothers, where they were paired with the then WWE Champion Jinder Mahal. However, after their release from the company in 2021, the team returned to the independent scene, with them even making an appearance on AEW Dark Elevation.
Harv, who is younger of the two, appeared in multiple extra scenes of the movie “Brothers”, featuring Akshay Kumar and Sidharth Malhotra. The movie was an official Hindi adaptation of the Hollywood film “Warrior”, which starred Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton.
7 Nathan Jones – A Flying Jatt (2016)
Wrestling fans might recognize Nathan Jones as the wrestler who was the Undertaker’s protégé during the phenom’s feud with the Big Show and A-Train leading into WrestleMania 19. In fact, this was Jones’ only notable rivalry as his time in WWE only lasted from 2002 to 2003, and he retired soon after.
The Australian actor made his Bollywood debut in 2016, when he portrayed the villainous character “Raka” in the 2016’s superhero movie “The Flying Jatt”, which saw Tiger Shroff and Jacqueline Fernandez in the leading roles. While this was his only appearance in Hindi cinema, Jones has a great resume in Hollywood, with him starring in successful movies such as Mad Max: Fury Road and Mortal Combat.
6 Brian Adams – Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996)
Brian Adams is a wrestler which many fans would recognize from the peak days of the Monday Night Wars. Adams, throughout the years, had multiple stints with the WWE with him primarily using the ring name of “Crush”. The former one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions also had a tenure with the WCW, with him being a part of the NWO faction.
Adams appeared in the Bollywood movie “Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi”, which once again featured Akshay Kumar. In his scene, the Hawaii-based wrestler was seen wrestling the “Undertaker”, where his character got killed off at the end of the bout.
5 Brian Lee – Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996)
Speaking of the movie “Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi”, the character of the Undertaker was not played by Mark Callaway in the movie, but the part was instead done by former WWE star Brian Lee. Lee’s character, after defeating Brain Adams, went into a fight with the protagonist Akshay Kumar, to whom he lost.
Interestingly, the movie was not the first time Lee portrayed character of the Undertaker, with him also being the one behind the “fake Undertaker” gimmick during the Taker versus Taker storyline leading into SummerSlam 1994.
4 Shanky – Bharat (2019)
Shanky, real name Gurvinder Singh Malhotra, signed with WWE in early 2020 as a part of the company’s tryouts in the Indian region. In May 2021, Shanky was called up to the main roster and paired him Jinder Mahal and Veer. He has been off television since July 2022 as WWE reunited Mahal, Veer, and Sanga, in what was the originally planned version of the group.
Before signing with the company, Shanky starred in the movie “Bharat” starring Bollywood megastar Salman Khan in the lead role. He played the role of “Zalzala Singh”, which was in Khan’s character’s labor team during the 1975 portion of the movie.
3 Sanga – Brahmastra (2022)
Shanky was not the only associate of Jinder Mahal who has appeared in a major Bollywood spectacle in recent years, as Sanga made his Hindi cinema debut in 2022’s “Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva”, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, and Amitabh Bachan in the key roles. The movie is the first installment of the superhero cinematic universe titled Astraverse.
Sanga’s role in the movie saw him portraying as one of the henchmen for the main antagonist, which even saw him in a very popular scene where he squared off against the legendary Shah Rukh Khan, who made a cameo in the film.
2 Kurt Angle – Balveer (2013)
While not exactly a movie, Kurt Angle made his debut in the Indian entertainment industry when he starred in the Bollywood Television Show called “Balveer” in 2013. The season, which aired on the channel Sab TV, revolved around the character of a child who also had a secret identity of a superhero.
Angle’s on-screen appearance saw him being booked in a wrestling match in India, but being lied by the promoter about it being a charity event. Interestingly, the banners used in the arena all had TNA’s logo. After a quick match with the young hero, the Olympic gold medalist realized that he was being scammed by the promoter, and in pure pro wrestling style he teamed up with the superhero to beat up the promoter.
1 The Great Khali – Kushti (2010)
The Great Khali will no doubt go down as the most prominent Indian professional wrestler of all time. The 7 ft tall human giant played a vital role in WWE’s expansion and hence it comes as zero surprise that he became a household name in his home country.
This resulted in Khali starring in the lead role of sports-comedy Bollywood movie called “Khusti”, with the title translating to the word “wrestling”. The film also featured renowned comedian Rajpal Yadav in a leading capacity.
