“The Maharaja” Raj Dhesi has turned his latest post-WWE stint into a chance to really see the world, his fiancée along for part of the journey.
Caught about an hour before the start of the afternoon Smash Wrestling show on Saturday, March 1, at the Rec Room across Toronto’s Rogers Centre, home to that evening’s WWE Elimination Chamber, Dhesi explained first off how he’s choosing his bookings these days.
“I just pick whatever interests me, or promotions that I have heard of that have buzz, or someone that I want to work with. I request a match,” he explained.
There are shows in and around Calgary, his home, and he’s in Toronto often enough, including for Smash (where he beat London Lightning) and Scott D’Amore’s revived Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling, which is running the Mattamy Athletic Centre in May, the former Maple Leaf Gardens. Toronto “has always been a hotbed for talent,” said Dhesi. “So many great wrestlers come out of this area. Toronto has always had buzz, whether it’s in WWF or WWE or independent wrestling, like Ring of Honor used to come here all the time.”
Distance is just a mindset.
“I really like the international stuff. I’ve got a busy schedule. Next month. We’ve got Australia and also India coming up. I just got back from England and Qatar. Got Europe coming up. So yeah, it’s exciting. Just having fun,” he raved.
There’s no map of the world in his home with push-pins marking all the nations he has been to.
“I lost track of how many countries I’ve been to many, many years ago,” said the artist formerly known as Jinder Mahal. “I want to go somewhere new or somewhere that I haven’t been. And also this time is different, because when you go with WWE, you’re in such a time crunch, you have so much stress travel, and you have a show every day. You can’t really sightsee or tour. So now, when I go back, I take an extra day. Sometimes my fiancée comes with me, we travel and we tour, and we do all the things that I never got a chance to do when I visited all these cities with WWE.”
With WWE in town on Friday and Saturday, Dhesi got a chance to see a couple of old colleagues.
“I saw Drew McIntyre. He’s one of my best friends. He’s like a brother, alright? And that’s about it,” he said, though former WWE referee Jim Korderas swung by the Smash show after this interview. “My fiancée’s family is actually from here, so I’m seeing her family, but I got to see Drew McIntyre. He’s killing it in WWE. So much fun to watch. Love his promos. He somehow became like the best promo in the whole business, which is incredible, because he was already like a pretty much the best wrestler, but now he’s really coming to his own.”
There is something to be said for seeing buddies on top of the world.
“I love seeing my friends succeed. I have so many friends in the locker room that are still there, that have been there for so many years, and it’s incredible to see just their evolution, and now, on Netflix and SmackDown also on on USA Network, the production changes the way the product is filmed. It’s shot long-term storytelling, emphasis on making sense. Things making sense. It’s incredible. I love where the business is going, and obviously I love cheering my friends on.”
That goes for family too.
There’s a documentary almost finished about his uncle, The Great Gama Singh (Gadowar Singh Sahota), and naturally Dhesi is a part of it.
“I think it’s going to be good. He has an amazing story from where he came in, India, moving to Canada at a young age, dealing with racism, like getting into the wrestling business, traveling all over the world — WWF, early WWF, South Africa,” explained Dhesi. “Back in those days, there wasn’t any social media, no internet really. So a lot of people don’t know these stories are a lot of it wasn’t shared. So I think it’s a great opportunity for the world, and especially Canada, to know who Great Gama is.”
TOP PHOTO: Raj Dhesi and London Lightning after their match at Smash Wrestling on Saturday, March 1, 2025. Courtesy Smash Wrestling
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