Raj Dhesi (formerly known as Jinder Mahal) recently spoke about his goals following the end of his second WWE campaign.
Since departing the WWE roster in April, Dhesi has gone on a run of the independent circuit. He has appeared all around North America since July, performing in notable promotions like GCW, AAA, and Black Label Pro.
His time on the independent scene has already allowed him to collaborate with fellow South Asian wrestlers, including AEW talent Satnam Singh and Canadian tag duo The Bollywood Boyz.
Dhesi recently told Straight Talk Wrestling that he hopes his current run on the independent scene can allow him to mentor and support South Asian wrestlers, providing them with a platform that he says didn’t exist when he first broke into the scene.
“I want to in a way mentor South Asian wrestlers, the next generation, help them out as much as possible because I didn’t have that before,” he said. “We didn’t have resources where there was veterans that were really willing to help us out or get us booked places or wrestle with us. I think that’s very important, giving back to the next generation of South Asians whether they’re from India, or Canada, or USA, we’re all the same. We’re very underrepresented in wrestling right now and I want to see that change. We face so many hardships, discrimination, everything, and I want to change the perception. That’s what I really want to do. That’s what this run is about, it’s about giving back. Creating camaraderie, creating a brotherhood amongst us. We’re not in competition with each other, there’s enough spaces, enough spots for all of us to have successful careers. Because for a while, we always felt there’s only room for one of us. That’s gotta change, and that’s gonna change.”
Apart from his goal of helping fellow South Asian talent, Dhesi also simply wants to enjoy his time in wrestling at the moment. He explained that having fun is his main goal currently, enjoying the freedom of independent wrestling while trying to pursue a career in acting.
“That’s exactly where I’m at in my career: I only do things that I want to do,” he told Straight Talk Wrestling. “I’m just having fun. When it stops being fun, I’ll pack it in. It’s been so much fun having freedom, I’ve been booked every week. I thought my schedule would be a little bit lighter but (laughs) … I want to try to venture outside of wrestling. I’ve been doing a lot of auditions for acting roles. I haven’t gotten anything yet, but fingers crossed, one of these days. I’ve been working on my acting, getting classes, getting lessons, I want to venture out and do different things now.”
