- Below is an extended preview for tonight’s Impact Wrestling episode, featuring the fallout from last week’s Genesis episode. As noted, tonight’s show will feature KM vs. Bobby Lashley, Kiera Hogan vs. Knockouts Champion Laurel Van Ness, Ethan Carter III & Alberto El Patron vs. Moose & Johnny Impact, Chris Adonis hosting “Faces of Eli Drake’s Life” with the Global Champion and more.
- Rockstar Pro Wrestling has announced that Eddie Edwards will be bringing Impact cameras to their big iPPV event in Dayton, Ohio this Friday night. Edwards indicated on Twitter that he’s coming to get revenge on Sami Callihan and OVE. Tommy Dreamer and 2 Cold Scorpio are among the other talents scheduled for the show.
- Impact announced a new stable this week - The Desi Hit Squad. The stable will feature Hakim Zane, now using the name Rohit Raju, and Tony Cage, now using the name Gursinder Singh, as the main two stars. The group will also feature two wrestlers from India - Vikas Kumar and Bhupinder Singh. International wrestling veteran Gama Singh will be their manager. Impact announced the following on the new stable:
Last year IMPACT Wrestling made history, taping our flagship IMPACT program in India for broadcast all over the world – becoming the first ever North American wrestling company to do so. Fresh off that huge success in Mumbai, we are excited to affirm our commitment to showcasing the most promising Indian performers. In the coming months a number of impressive new wrestlers will be featured on IMPACT in a group called Desi Hit Squad.
This group will be led by internationally renowned superstar Gama Singh and will also feature gifted athletes who are honored to represent India on a global stage. Today we’re proud to introduce you to each member of this group.
Gama Singh
Few in the history of pro wrestling have had more experience and success in international wrestling than Gama Singh. Born in India, Singh and his family moved to Canada where Singh trained to wrestle in Calgary. Perhaps best known for his time in the famous home of the Hart family Stampede Wrestling, Singh travelled the world finding great success in countries such as Puerto Rico, South Africa and Japan. He now brings all that knowledge to help guide the next generation of Indian talent to success in front on an international audience.
Rohit Raju
Formerly known as Hakim Zane, the winner of the 2017 Global Forged competition – Rohit Raju has already made quite the impression on the IMPACT audience. Raju cut his teeth for years on the independent scene in the US and Canada before finally getting his shot on the big stage with IMPACT Wrestling. Raju’s grandfather was from India and Raju, hailing from the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, is looking to represent his heritage in front of the world. “I am proud to represent my Indian heritage,” Raju said, “and to carry the Raju name further as I enter the next stage of my career.”
Vikas Kumar
Vikas Kumar is perhaps best known for his time as Pagal Parinda on the Ring Ka King program that was seen by millions on the Colors network in India in 2012. Born in the Indian state of Haryana in 1991, wrestling has always been a passion for Kumar. He is now moving to North America to further his craft with IMPACT Wrestling. Kumar, who also appeared on the IMPACT shows in Mumbai last May competing against Davey Richards, has seen great success in the grappling focused kushti form of wrestling – winning national medals at the Junior and Senior level, becoming a 4 time Bharat Kumar title holder and a 5 time Punjab Kumar champion. He looks to transfer that experience into success against some of the very best competition in the world in IMPACT Wrestling.
“I am anxious to leave my homeland to pursue this wonderful opportunity in North America and to make an impact on the pro wrestling industry.” Kumar said about leaving India to further his career with IMPACT. “To leave India is a huge step but wrestling has been in my blood since childhood and I’m beyond thrilled to be alongside a legend in Gama Singh.”
Gursinder Singh
Born in Crawley in West Sussex, England and raised in Australia – both Gursinder’s parents are from Punjab, India (his father is from Gurdaspur and his mother from Hoshiarpur). Gursinder moved to Canada to train under Lance Storm at the Storm Wrestling Academy and pursue a career in professional wrestling. Having participated in the 2017 Global Forged competition, Gursinder opened the eyes of officials here in IMPACT and will now represent India to the world. A punjabi speaker, Gursinder’s road to IMPACT Wrestling has passed through many countries as he seeks to make his mark in the world of professional wrestling.
Bhupinder Singh
Born in Chandigarh, India competitive combat sports has always come naturally to Bhupinder. From the age of 18 he participated in a number of bodybuilding competitions – winning many gold and silver medals in state championships going on to represent his city at national and North India bodybuilding competitions. Bhupinder went on to compete in kickboxing and wushu, winning double gold as he represented Chandigarh in nationals. Bhupinder, now 23 years old, then made the natural transition to professional wrestling – training under Indian legend The Great Khali at his Continental Wrestling Entertainment promotion and training academy. Singh will bring all that combat experience to IMPACT Wrestling and should prove a dangerous threat in the ring.
Under the tutelage of Gama Singh, this new generation of Indian wrestlers are sure to take the world by storm when they arrive on IMPACT in the coming months. There is no limit to the potential of the Desi Hit Squad.
We are proud to announce a number of new Indian talent acquisitions. They will debut as a group known as Desi Hit Squad led by @GR8GamaSingh in the coming months.
MORE HERE: https://t.co/1ih90ppmO4 pic.twitter.com/AOh7fmxzqk
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) January 31, 2018
One of the most successful Indian born wrestlers of all time, one of the most successful international wrestlers ever - the legendary Gama Singh (@GR8GamaSingh) has officially signed with IMPACT. pic.twitter.com/qmYMjsxVeI
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) January 15, 2018