Former WWE star Raj Dhesi (Jinder Mahal) spoke with Monopoly Events at the For the Love of Wrestling convention on a number of topics, including not having any South Asian representation on TV growing up.
Dhesi said, “Growing up, there were no South Asians on TV. All we had was Apu [from The Simpsons] for representation [laughs]. Unfortunately … it’s the truth. We didn’t have anybody, we had typical stereotype characters, [like] a gas station worker or a tech nerd. So, growing up, I didn’t have anybody I could relate to so it’s very important for my generation of wrestlers — and not just myself, but all of us — we talk about this, how important it is to inspire the next generation.”
On WWE not having a South Asian on TV:
We’ve already accomplished so many great things, but we need to accomplish more. And the fact that there is zero — not a single South Asian in WWE right now, Raw, NXT, or SmackDown, there’s something seriously wrong with that. But we can’t blame the system. We ourselves have to rise up. We have to get ourselves to that level, and we will.”
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