Ring Ka King: The Indian Wrestlers

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

It's apparent that while WTF moments like Scott Steiner attacking the fans will get the fans to tune in for a week or two, the success of Ring Ka King will depend on whether they can unearth good Indian wrestlers. Ring Ka King is now three weeks old and we have gotten to see the majority of the indigenous talent in action. This thread is to tell us about your first impressions of them. I've personally not seen all of them but this is what I think of the few that I have seen.

Hits

The Bollywood Boys- It's pretty obvious that they are copying The Rockers...but they are doing it well. The long haired kid especially seems to be replicating HBK in everything he does right from his mannerisms in the promos and even some of the dance moves. They do not seem to have lived in India judging from the manner in which they speak Hindi, not that it matters too much. They have a good control over both languages and they are funny. They dance pretty well too. In the ring too, they seem to be aping the Rockers' fast paced style with the double Superkick being their finisher. Of the Indian wrestlers on view, I think that it's these guys who have the best chance of making a name for themselves even in the western promotions. They will be a great tag team, especially in TNA. Maybe the similarity with The Rockers will hinder them over there but they will certainly do a great job here.

[YOUTUBE]214aGrxBBR4[/YOUTUBE]

Mahabali Veera- Unlike the Bollywood Boys, I do not think Veera with his tenuous grasp of the english language will make it big in the west. But he could very well be the Indian Hulk Hogan. This former Mr India has a great look and could very well be the Indian counterpart of the All American hero. He has showed glimpses of athleticism and storytelling in the ring but is obviously still very green. The crowd does seem to like him a lot. I am also liking the way in which TNA are pushing him. With him being from India and having a great body, TNA would have really been tempted to put the belt on him straight away but they went with buiding him up slowly at the main event level. His eventual title victory will be highly awaited.

[YOUTUBE]_aCR2EieEww[/YOUTUBE]

In The Middle

Jwala- Jwala is the guy who seems to be a convict who has escaped from a coal mine. He seems to be a tweener who is obsessed with winning the RKK championship. He certainly looks scary and tough and the vignettes hyping him have been good. We got to see him in a match this week against a very old Savio Vega and it was a slow, plodding match. Maybe he will improve with time. I thought it was a mistake introducing a tweenerish character so early to an audience so unfamiliar with wrestling but due to the lack of Indians on the roster, it seems he will be cheered anyhow. Promos are good too though he seems to be stuck with the expressions.

Flops

Patthani Patthes- First things first, patthes actually means goats in Hindi which is awful to begin with. Secondly, they have a god awful catchphrase which goes by "Hum hai Patthani Patthe aur hum marenge ikkhatte". Now this does translate to "we will strike together" but marenge here is also a commom euphemism for *********ion. So it also translates to "we will *********e together...." So far in their interviews they have relied heavily on this catchphrase which probably suggests that they have little else to talk about.

Anyhow, I think these guys are the Indian equivalent of the hillbillies although they do look more polished than hillibilies and I do not expect them to be more than novelty characters. They wrestle in a very basic style and are very green like most of the Indian wrestlers on view. Either way their gimmick does not exactly scream likeability in any way except for the fact that they are of Indian origin.

So what do you think about the Indian wrestlers on view?

 

[Commander Batpope]

I'm really enjoying the talent Ring Ka King has to offer.

 

[gurvinder372]

Haven't noticed Mahabali Veera much, but Bollywood boys and pathani patthe looks very promising. Pathani Patthe have this indigenous feel about them and they come across as Ustads of wrestling. Given the fact they are amateur wrestlers themselves makes them very believable when then outsmart their opponent with their tricks.

 

[Twocenter]

I know it is off topic but I like it how they introduce Chavo Guerrero as Eddie's Nephew. Nice shot at the WWE lol.

I like Bollywood Boys' chances to make it to TNA or any other fed. They can cut an English promo so they can hold their own. Mahabali Veera can really be a good wrestler. He has to perfect his moves though. He botches a lot.

 

[Reflection]

I saw this thread in the morning, but decided to wait till the end of tonight's show before commenting. My name is Arindam S. Roy, formerly a wrestling critic and columnist. Well here goes my take on the show:

The Pro's:
1. The scriptwriting and talent. A strong script so far, with quite a few rivalries in the build, and in execution already. What I liked a lot was that instead of crowning the champion right in the first episode, they introduced tournaments to determine the champions. As far as the talent is concerned, they have Chavo Guerrero, Matt Morgan, Brutus Magnus, Luke Gallows, The Masterpiece, Abyss, DH Smith, Trevor Murdoch etc. among others. Need I say more?
2. The double ring announcers. Loved the coordination between Jeremy Borash and the indian announcer, both of whom are doing a damn good job in their respective fields.
3. Titantron and the pyro works. After watching the epic fail show called 100% couple of years ago, I didn't really expect Ring ka King to be able to deliver much, especially in the stated fields. However, much to my pleasant surprise, they were about as good as their american counterpart (apart from maybe A.J. Styles' entrance pyro)
4. Bollywood Boyz. These guys impressed me so much, I had to write a full point on them alone. They have fantastic charisma for two people we have never heard about before; their confidence is as if they have done this 100 times before, which is fantastic. I don't need to be a psychic to be able to predict that these two guys have a bright future ahead of them.

The Con's
1. Unprofessional Commentary with lots of casual remarks. There is an important reason behind me putting this in number 1. One of the commentators, Siddharth, has NO knowledge of wrestling whatsoever! The other, Joe Baath, despite doing commentary for TNA India previously, doesn't have much to offer apart from a few "I love it baby!"s and arguments with his clueless partner. A couple examples of his commentary at its best would be referring the Frog splash as Crossbody splash, and the Carbon Footprint as Boot to the Face. The other guy, ah damn....
2. Lack of enthusiasm and passion of the sport among the audience. First of all, the audience is more bothered about whether the camera is focusing towards them, so that they can do Cena's "You can't see me" or DX's "Crotch Chop" towards it, rather than paying attention to what's happening in the squared circle. There are some women in the front row on most episodes, who are more like statues, they neither cheer, nor boo- dead still. Their facial expressions seem to be yelling "I came here expecting Shah Rukh Khan. And who are these disgusting guys?"
3. Amateur participants. Leaving behind the people that we have seen previously elsewhere, most of the talent is still very green. The top indian face, Mahavali Veera has a long way to go before he would be in a deserving position for that stature. Last week he almost lost his balance after being back-slapped by Matt Morgan. Jwala, the apparent mad-man is also quite out-of-place, but he'll improve with time. Tonight they introduced a Ring ka King version of Khali, forming an alliance called Chotu-Lambu, that guy also doesn't look too good.
4. Improper execution of moves and script by some of the participants like Mahavali Veera (again), Pathani Patthe and the occasional guest Harbhajan Singh. I understand that they are inexperienced and judging them as incapable would be an incorect thing to do, but there is no denying the fact that RkK needs to make sure they continue to attract the people so that the TRP doesn't drop. I checked out Colors' facebook page the other day, and reception of the show is vastly negative. They will have to ensure that only the best of the best get air-time. Any mistake at this level would cost them dearly.

I've been told that the scriptwriting section of the programme is in safe hands, so I'm not all drained of hope. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that this show brings forward the best of entertainment. Overall, i give Ring ka King a 7 out of 10 stars.

 

[Reflection]

Yeah and feel free to rep me if you liked my review. Don't want to be "looking to come up from OCW..." forever lol