The scene looks scary. Men over six feet tall, with sprawling chests and beefy biceps, snarl at each other. One with long hair and a ferocious look, runs towards his foe with a cry of rage, lifts him over his head and drops him on the ground. The bald wrestler, Dan Matha, and Punjabi Kishan Raftar are battling it out. The audience boos Matha and claps for Raftar. “Don’t cheer for him!” Matha growls at the children in front, who break into giggles. However, once the mock fight is over, the wrestlers hug one another at the Dubai Opera building, where the final exhibition match for this year’s WWE Tryouts is being held. The 34 participants (27 men and seven women) from 18 countries impress the audience with their athletic and endurance skills. The opulent Dubai Opera, a performing arts centre that hosts drama shows and musicals, has transformed into a highly charged wrestling arena. It is located in one of the most glamorous parts of Dubai, where the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Mall stand.
The Indian story
We meet the Indian contestants after their show. They look pleased with the compliments showered on them for their tactics on stage. The Indian contestants come from different streams; some are from the television industry, while others play kabaddi and kusthi . However, they all share an unwavering passion for WWE. Nasik-based Rahul Bodke, the son of a taxi driver, says this is his ultimate dream. “I have trained myself watching YouTube. For my height and weight, I always knew that I was destined to be in WWE.” His background in kusthi and the holistic Indian workout he learnt helped impress the scouting guides at WWE.
workout
Saurav Gurjar, who has won hearts before with his portrayal of epic characters like Ravan and Bheem, is shorn of his crown and armoury here. Instead, the actor is dripping sweat from the squats and lunges he’s been doing. The six-feet-and-eight-inches-tall wrestler stands out from the rest with his wavy hair and charming smile. He hails from the rural Chambal region, where the world of WWE is unfamiliar. “In India, every child wants to be either a cricketer or an actor. But, I wanted to be a WWE champ. After I earned money and fame through television, I came back to India. Once I heard about these tryouts, I dropped the idea of taking up television offers. I decided to pursue my dream.”
workout
The contestants were put through a gruelling training schedule by WWE Performance Center Head Coach Matt Bloom. They were surveyed by a team of scouting guides, including Canyon Ceman, WWE’s Vice President of Talent Development, and William Regal, the legendary English wrestler, who is the Head Scout and General Manager of NXT. “The athletes are doing incredible work and their varied backgrounds have a part to play in this,” says Regal, when we meet him outside the ring, after the finale. “If they can bring the same discipline in their respective fields to wrestling and translate it to what we teach them, then it is good enough.” As the evening grows and more spirits flow, excitement builds up as the anchor for the show announces the name of Stephanie McMahon, one of the principal owners of WWE and the company’s Chief Brand Officer. My colleague from New Delhi is too excited to talk. “She is a legend,” he whispers to me, and briefs me about how she has played the most ferocious female villain in WWE shows.
workout
McMahon, dressed in an elegant white dress, greets us from the ring with a radiant smile. The core of WWE has always been about story telling, she tells the audience. “It has always been about the good versus the evil. Even if the way you tell the stories has changed, the plot line remains the same.” She also talked about how social media has changed the way they interact with their fans. “The fans are part of our show. Imagine if there is nobody in the arena to cheer or boo you. The show would be so boring.”
At the Dubai Opera, a group of 10-year-olds huddles around Sami Zayn, the Canadian professional wrestler, who surprised everyone with an appearance. It is the second time Ryan Ghorayeb is watching the WWE tryouts, “For me, the ring is addictive. My idol is Roman Raynes. I want to be strong like him one day.”
dubai workout
However, a few women spectators back off in horror. Tala Alat, a music teacher and wife of one of the participants, says WWE is too much for her nerves. “The tryouts were too much for me. I will faint if I see the real one.” I agree with her too. It is my first time at a WWE event and I am already frightened out of my wits. But, something about the passion in the eyes of the contestants draws me to it. While many of them look like rogues inside the ring, they are the sweetest outside, as they share the evening in Dubai, the city of dreams.
The Great Khali was a 7-foot-1, 347 pound skyscraper of a WWE superstar, who stood out from every crowd not only for his overwhelming size, but also for being the first to blaze a trail to WWE from India.
The writer was in Dubai on the invitation of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) .
