Why Satnam Singh Turned WWE Down For AEW
AEW's Indian giant, Satnam Singh, on choosing the company over WWE.
Satnam Singh has gone into the reasons behind his decision to sign with AEW over WWE, doing so in conversation with Ruby Arora.
The 7'3" giant, who debuted on last week's episode of Dynamite, stated that while he enjoyed his trials with WWE (the 26-year-old attended a tryout in 2017), he was driven by a desire to become the first Indian wrestler in AEW history (h/t Figure Four Online/The Wrestling Observer):-
"I had given trials for WWE as well and I liked it very much as well. And I liked AEW as well. AEW is, like, brand new. It's only been a couple of years, right? And it's really fire. I thought that if I go to AEW, I would be the first again. First wrestler from India. I will make another history for India in AEW."
Continuing, Singh stated that WWE already had Indian wrestlers on its books, referring to the likes of SmackDown's Jinder Mahal and Shanky and Raw's Veer Mahaan. In AEW, he has an opportunity to make history on his own:-
"If I go into WWE, that would be amazing but amazing, why? Because they already have Indian people over there, they have Indian wrestler. Why don’t I go start there where there are no Indian guys and create history again after reaching there? Not for me, for the Indian wrestlers. For everyone.”
Singh debuted alongside Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt in a poorly-received Dynamite closer last week, attacking Samoa Joe following the ROH veteran's Television Title victory over Minoru Suzuki. This was followed by another angle on Saturday's Battle of the Belts II special.
Reports suggest that Singh's sudden AEW elevation is pro wrestling's latest attempt at monetising the sport's huge, enthusiastic fanbase in India. AEW programming now airs in the company on the Discovery-owned Eurosport network following the recent Discover/WarnerMedia merger.