WWE in India

[John McCass]

Well,this may sound a bit off topic but, I want to discuss the WWE history in India. WWE debuted in India in around 2002 on Ten Sports. There are very less fans since that time. Even, I am not a fan since that time. It became much popular in India. In my locality,many youngsters even think that the action in real. They get behind the top babyfaces. WWE has too much fans in India but very less of them are smarks. Even I became aware that pro wrestling is scripted about 6 or 7 years ago. In India,pro wrestling (or either wrestling) means WWE. We have no other choice than WWE or TNA on TV. Btw, if there are more then, make me aware of it. Ok,come to the topic. At that time,the top guy was Batista and John Cena was under process. There are many people (kids and youngsters both) behind John Cena. I loved wrestling when I didn't knew it was scripted. Though, it still entertains me but that was another way of fun. At that time, we watched the shows two weeks later than US television. Then,it put a step forward and now we are watching it live. But, PPVs still air 11 hours later than the original time. Sound off Indians about what you love and hate about WWE. No offense please.

 

[Reflection]

Right now, there is nothing to complain about. RAW in the same time as USA, Smackdown in 10 hours (before USA until it went to Thursday nights), Pay-Per-Views (FOR FREE) in 11 hours, Main Event, NXT, Superstars, 2-hour and 1-hour filtered versions of RAW and Smackdown (where most of the bullshit is left out), as well as shows like After Burn, Bottom Line, Experience and (the gorgeous Renee Young on) Vintage Collections. It's way more than I could ask for, and I don't think any other country gets such benefits. I am a more-than-happy customer, even though I don't watch every episode.

Looking back, I remember the days when I was such a massive fan of the WWE (between 2002-06) but we didn't get Ten Sports where we lived, so I had to wait for my vacations so that I could watch WWE to my heart's fill. Later on in 2006, we went to a better place where we had Ten Sports, but then WWE aired 2 weeks late and TNA Impact aired over a month late, but something was better than nothing. By 2009-10, the WWE product had deteriorated big time, and I knew I could get the results on the internet, so I rarely bothered to watch until about late 2013.
There isn't nearly as many marks as before; most people I know don't watch WWE because it's "fake", yet I cannot describe in words the look of intrigue on their faces when they watch the typical Indian soaps where in-laws plot against each other 24x7.

 

[CyberPunk]

WWE was in India way before 2002. It was earlier aired on Star Sports (with WCW on TCM) when I started watching back in 97 (still remember the first sight of Kane at Badd Blood). It disappeared for almost 2-3 years and then came back on Ten Sports.

Around that time, most of my classmates and schoolmates had already told me that it's fake. We had a smark in our class who showed me Internet and how to find stuff on that related to WWE and its booking decisions. I hardly ever watched TNA and wrestling has been mostly WWE for me. Around 2009, I found more about the promotions like ROH and NJPW etc and even watched few vidoes on Youtube, but it always remained WWE for me.

At this time, WWE in India is in a good place. We have live Raws, deferred SmackDown etc. I have the Network so I watch PPVs live though I can watch them almost 11 hours later for free on TV. I am irregular when it comes to TV shows because of my work schedule. Still I enjoy whatever I see and there are enough replays. Now only if WWE can give me slightly (or hugely) improved product.

I wonder who the next Indian would be on WWE roster. I haven't heard or read about any Indian pro-wrestler coming up ever since Jinder Mahal left.

 

[The Yes Guy]

Dude.. Seriously.?? WWE's been in India since WAAAYYY before 2002.. I remember watching the whole attitude era post the screwjob.

And WCW was on TNT. Used to air at 22:00 hrs right after Cartoon Network closed off.

It went off during the invasion and reappeared during about 2002ish just before the brand extension.

Most of em here don't follow it now and know nothing beyond stars of the RA era.
No Bray Wyatt or Reigns or Rollins.

U'll find ppl confused if u said "And that's the bottom line..." but most of em would still jump out on a "If u smelllll..."

It used to be a sensation around here and ppl like Jericho, Benoit, Angle, used to be our heroes. Every kid knew what a Crossface or an Ankle lock was.

No one watches TNA around here and most of em don't know what NJPW, ROH, or even WCW is..
So we are what they call "the Casual Viewers".
So do us a favour and get some house-shows here.

 

[BuriedByCena]

No offence or anything, but I am shocked and wondering why there is so many people from India on this website?

Like 4 guys in a row so far are from India apparently. Like wow.

How many people does wrestlezone get per day? I just assumed like 50-100 at most. I thought this was some kind of hardcore wrestling website. But if 4+ people are posting from India...it makes me wonder now.

 

[John McCass]

No offence or anything, but I am shocked and wondering why there is so many people from India on this website?

Like 4 guys in a row so far are from India apparently. Like wow.

How many people does wrestlezone get per day? I just assumed like 50-100 at most. I thought this was some kind of hardcore wrestling website. But if 4 people are posting from India...it makes me wonder now.

Buddy, WWE has a big fanbase in India.

WWE was in India way before 2002. It was earlier aired on Star Sports (with WCW on TCM) when I started watching back in 97 (still remember the first sight of Kane at Badd Blood). It disappeared for almost 2-3 years and then came back on Ten Sports.

I am so disappointed that I missed the glorious days of WWF and WCW

 

[Ric 'The Nature Boy' Flair]

Just wondering? Are you guys all John Cena addicts like on youtube. Seriously,I was watching the Cena HBK match earlier on youtube today and there was a comment saying "Hi John Cena! Im harjot and I live in India, Please reply! Oh my god John Cena reading this"

 

[John McCass]

Just wondering? Are you guys all John Cena addicts like on youtube. Seriously,I was watching the Cena HBK match earlier on youtube today and there was a comment saying "Hi John Cena! Im harjot and I live in India, Please reply! Oh my god John Cena reading this"

I already said there are fans more than smarks in India. They think its real. Some treat John Cena as a role model. They know tha Cena will never ever read it but they post like this just for fun.

 

[Soulblazed]

Interesting thread..I live in San Francisco, but I have a question for ya'll who live in India..If WWE came to India to do a show or 2(NOT a house-show, I'm talking about Raw/Smackdown/PPV) what city would be best and in what venue/s?

 

[John McCass]

Interesting thread..I live in San Francisco, but I have a question for ya'll who live in India..If WWE came to India to do a show or 2(NOT a house-show, I'm talking about Raw/Smackdown/PPV) what city would be best and in what venue/s?

WWE has one of its HQ in Mumbai. So,the best venue will be Mumbai or Bangalore (Honourable mention - Kolkata). Arena will be sold out in these two cities.

 

[Hem]

I have been a fan since I was a kid. I turned into a "smark" when I moved to America and learned that all this stuff was on the Internet around 2008ish.

Since then I've moved back to India and its amazing to compare a average american to a average Indian. Americans generally dont talk about to WWE at places like school but at school here people are all on the Roman Reigns and John Cena train...and its honestly fun to watch with them!

My dad started me up in wrestling in the early 2000s and I would just watch it with him. He's another genuine fan who watches WWE.

Something that shocked me was that very few people here watch TNA. Like if a friend comes over to my house while I'm watching it, they will think I'm watching the WWE and the competitors are some new kids.

On a side note I hate Raw Sunday Dhamaal, a new show that puts a twist on Raw, it is so overly cheesy I wonder if any kids actually enjoy it.

 

[Soulblazed]

WWE has one of its HQ in Mumbai. So,the best venue will be Mumbai or Bangalore (Honourable mention - Kolkata). Arena will be sold out in these two cities.

Damn, I didn't know that WWE had 1 of its HQ in Mumbai! I'm really surprised that WWE's never had any televised shows in India yet(yea, they could always bring up the "timezone" issue, but nonetheless).

So out of Mumbai, Bangalore or Kolkata, which venue in which city could hold the most people?

 

[John McCass]

Damn, I didn't know that WWE had 1 of its HQ in Mumbai! I'm really surprised that WWE's never had any televised shows in India yet(yea, they could always bring up the "timezone" issue, but nonetheless).

So out of Mumbai, Bangalore or Kolkata, which venue in which city could hold the most people?

I can't mention the venue but Bangalore will see the biggest crowd (slightly more than Mumbai). And yes, timezone is the issue why they don't bring events in India. Raw starts there in USA at 7/8c which is 6:30o'clock here in morning.

 

[Navi]

I've never understood why they don't do shows in India, considering the fanbase there. A friend of my son's moved from India to Canada about 9 years ago and he's right into the WWE and so were all of his friends and classmates back home.

If the WWE can do shows in Dubai then there is no reason they can't make the trip to India as well.

 

[Soulblazed]

I can't mention the venue but Bangalore will see the biggest crowd (slightly more than Mumbai). And yes, timezone is the issue why they don't bring events in India. Raw starts there in USA at 7/8c which is 6:30o'clock here in morning.

Damn WWE and their "timezone" excuses! Honestly, ya'll in India are obviously long overdue for WWE holding at LEAST a PPV or 2 over there...If WWE actually wanted to build Khali instead of job him out when they had him, they could've went to Bangalore, at the very least..That could've gotten Khali over huge..

 

[kumarjtk]

i even watched wwf in star sports and wcw in tnt in my school age. They air two weeks gap. After 2002 ten sports got wwe. At start they also air two weeks delay and then one week delay and then same week airing and now live raw. But after they change smackdown to thursday so We get few hours delay previously we get smackdown first before us airing.
After tensports got wwe. Start sports brought tna for ten years.and then sony six got tna and ufc in india.

 

[Reflection]

How many people does wrestlezone get per day? I just assumed like 50-100 at most. I thought this was some kind of hardcore wrestling website. But if 4+ people are posting from India...it makes me wonder now.

According to siteworthtraffic.com, Wrestlezone gets 28,400 unique visitors each day, and according to Alexa.com, 13.5% of them are Indians (second highest after USA). If anything, I'm surprised WZ Forums doesn't have more Indian fans

Spoiler

Just wondering? Are you guys all John Cena addicts like on youtube. Seriously,I was watching the Cena HBK match earlier on youtube today and there was a comment saying "Hi John Cena! Im harjot and I live in India, Please reply! Oh my god John Cena reading this"

Only as long as you don't find yourself in the dirt sheets. After that, hating Cena becomes the cool thing to do... although things have probably changed for the last year or so, since Cena has taken a back-seat. But yeah, the "Hello Cena from <country name>" and "Sorry for my bad english" guys are everywhere, not just from India

I've never understood why they don't do shows in India, considering the fanbase there.

The live airing of shows was a start, and I feel they will surely do a few shows here within the next couple of years. Surely, a company lives by the motto of "what's best for business" cannot ignore a rapidly-growing market as India.

 

[yourdamnluck]

I'm 24 now and i've been watching wwe i think soon after shawn left it's a little blurry. I remember thinking why on earth the chairman of this company wil get his ass kicked or why would they allow a freakin crossbow in the middle of a ring.
A lot of grown ups used to debate the authenticity of the fights. But some of us including me knew those moves won't work outside of wwe. I still enjoyed the stories and the theatrics.I became a bit irregular since summer of punk. The 3 hour long shows and my studies were main reasons.

 

[sanefan_har]

I've never understood why they don't do shows in India, considering the fanbase there. A friend of my son's moved from India to Canada about 9 years ago and he's right into the WWE and so were all of his friends and classmates back home.

If the WWE can do shows in Dubai then there is no reason they can't make the trip to India as well.

A few months ago, there was a report about how Superstars were fine with going to India for a break and/or Promotional purposes (like Barrett and Ryback), but not keen on doing a full wrestling show. The last time they went, many of the talents apparently couldn't keep up on their fitness checks when in India. Some of them fell ill too.

Also, there are close to zero direct flights from the U.S to India. Hell, people most Indians living in the the U.K would have to go to India via Dubai or some other GCC airport.

On the flip side, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the 2 richest emirates out of the 7 in the U.A.E. While the U.A.E is an Arab nation, a huge majority of the residents are not Arabs. There is a large Indian population over there (if that helps). I was at the Mall of the Emirates Meet and Greet with Sheamus, nearly 700 people queued up by the time I reached there, and there were a lot more behind me. And the Arabs are a hardcore set of fans, the VIP tickets sell out really fast.

But I do agree that it's high time India got a WWE live event. Hell, I'm all for a Raw in India episode, if the time differences weren't an issue. One of my acquaintances went for the WWE shows back in 1994 or 1996, and he got to meet Undertaker in person. He's killing for a live show to go for, and I don't blame him one bit.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

They need to stay away from the local food. Behenchod, every time they tour I hear reports of a stomach virus or shit. Punk was right about the docs.

Anyway man, it's been in India for a long fucking time. I remember watching Vader Vs Bret Hart in 94; shows like Action Zone with Handsome Doc Hendrix ( P.S Hayes). Also, ye tons of old school good guy cheering fans in India. Cena would prolly have the most pro-crowd reaction if they did a show here.

 

[Reflection]

Well guys, it seems like the WWE is coming to India sooner than we expected. Here's Cesaro telling us to buy our tickets and get ready:

[YOUTUBE]UGp7ehapw5o[/YOUTUBE]

This is gonna be f'n huge! But I, of course, won't be able to see it for one reason or the other. Hope some of you manage to catch it.
Btw, Cesaro's mic skills seem to have improved too

 

[sanefan_har]

Well guys, it seems like the WWE is coming to India sooner than we expected. Here's Cesaro telling us to buy our tickets and get ready:

[YOUTUBE]UGp7ehapw5o[/YOUTUBE]

This is gonna be f'n huge! But I, of course, won't be able to see it for one reason or the other. Hope some of you manage to catch it.
Btw, Cesaro's mic skills seem to have improved too

That looks more like Cesaro visiting India on a promotional tour rather than a wholesale WWE live event. It happened last year, with Ryback and Wade Barrett.

 

[WarroBODFan]

That looks more like Cesaro visiting India on a promotional tour rather than a wholesale WWE live event. It happened last year, with Ryback and Wade Barrett.

He said live event, and the title says it too. "Cesaro is coming as well". Sounds to me like an actual live event. It's about time anyway, I hope you Indian fans enjoy the experience!

 

[CyberPunk]

It should be great. However, a lot of things will have to be considered. Which city would the live event take place? My guess is Mumbai.

India still has lot of marks, so expect Reigns and Cena to be super over here. I hope top superstars would be here.

 

[Reflection]

It should be great. However, a lot of things will have to be considered. Which city would the live event take place? My guess is Mumbai.

And should be Mumbai too. Mumbai will easily bring the highest attendance thanks to its huge population, and also people in attendance that actually care about the show or know what is happening. If they are planning to tour more than one city, next options should be Delhi and Bangalore, because of their touch with western culture and stuff. Everything else would be mediocre.

India still has lot of marks, so expect Reigns and Cena to be super over here. I hope top superstars would be here.

Vince is gonna be like "hear that crowd reaction? We should give Cena a long run with the WWE title!"