'Wrestling Xtreme Mania' Is Aiming To Create A Homegrown Pro-Wrestling Ecosystem

The article looks at Wrestling Xtreme Mania, a homegrown wrestling league founded by Rishi Singh and Jeet Rama, which builds on the nostalgia of WWE for Indian audiences. It explores how WXM recreates the format of character-driven storylines, weekly episodes, and in-ring theatrics through Indian and international talent, framing it as an attempt to establish a sustainable, narrative-led wrestling ecosystem.

WWE was everything for many Indian kids growing up in the early 2000s. You’d rush back from school, switch on the TV, and step straight into the magical world of funerals and weddings turning into ambushes, or brothers betraying each other mid-ring. It was high theatre with outrageous storylines, but just as enticing as any other soap opera. Rad finishing moves aside, the storytelling with heroes, villains, catchphrases, and cliffhangers became their first brush with spectacle-driven entertainment. The lore went deep, and so did the fandom; I remember entire friendships ending over heated debates about who could beat whom at WrestleMania in 7th grade.

I’m sure it was odd for the parents, especially of people from my generation, to see posters of these big, burly white men in their kids' rooms. It was an All-American show with no real local equivalent, but that changed last year. Launched in 2025, positions itself as an Indian homegrown pro-wrestling promotion, built on the same idea of combining combat performance with ongoing storylines, but rooted in Indian talent and audiences. It debuted with a large-scale event, Powerbomb, at Mumbai’s NSCI Dome, marking one of the first serious attempts to build a sustained, narrative-driven wrestling ecosystem in the country.

WXM mirrors the formula that made WWE so addictive: recurring characters, rivalries that stretch across episodes, and a weekly show — Ground Zero, that drops new chapters every Saturday online. Just like WWE Feuds build over weeks, alliances shift, and championships become the centre of long-running narratives.

On their roster, is Baliyan Akki, an Indian wrestler who has worked across Japanese promotions like Gatoh Move and teams internationally as part of the JAI Connection. In tag matches, his team has won using moves like the ‘Dolphin Press’. Kevin Malik’s matches are built around 'Last Gear,' shown at WXM Powerbomb as a decisive strike-based finisher used to end his opening match. Raj 'The Maharaja' (Jinder Mahal), a former WWE Champion, uses the 'Khallas', a lifting facebuster where the opponent is hoisted and driven face-first into the mat to finish matches. American wrestler Chris Adonis, aka Chris Masters is also part of the league, finishing matches with the Master Lock, a full nelson submission hold applied from behind to force a tap-out. 

But the women are particularly badass. Emi Sakura (Emi Sakura) is a veteran Japanese wrestler and trainer with decades of experience, founder of Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling, and known for coaching multiple wrestlers who have gone on to larger promotions. In the ring, she uses knife-edge chops, abdominal stretches, Romero specials, cross-arm backbreakers, and submission holds, with matches built around repeated chop sequences and technical grappling. Mei Suruga, who trained under Emi Sakura, uses dropkicks, springboard armdrags, bodyscissors, roll-ups, and tight pinning combinations, along with reversals that transition directly into pins. There’s no Indian female wrestler in the League yet, but we hope to see it happen.

Wrestling Xtreme Mania was founded by Rishi Singh and Jeet Rama (Satender Dagar), with Rishi steering the business side of the league aiming to build a viable sports-entertainment ecosystem within India, that doesn’t force wrestlers to move abroad for recognition, and gives them infrastructure, storytelling, and scale at home instead. Rama is behind shaping the talent and in-ring theatrics after his stint in WWE NXT. He brings a performer’s perspective. Trained in both traditional Indian kushti culture and global pro-wrestling systems, he’s been vocal about the lack of a structured domestic platform despite India’s deep wrestling roots. Together, their shared intent with WXM is to create a sustainable, homegrown stage for Indian wrestling and pay tribute to the passion and nostalgia of WWE for a generation that grew up mimicking choke slams in their living rooms.

Follow WXM here.

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