Kavita Devi becoming the first Indian woman in WWE is phenomenal
It’s a day to celebrate on two accounts. One, there is another Indian face in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Two, the face belongs to a woman.
Former South Asian Games gold medallist and Haryana powerlifter Kavita Devi is the first Indian woman to compete in the WWE. Devi has been selected to compete in the Mae Young Classic, which is the first-ever WWE tournament for women, the WWE announced on June 22. She participated in the WWE Dubai tryout in April 2017, when she was noticed by talent scouts.
According to Canyon Ceman, the vice-president for WWE’s Talent Development: “Kavita Devi gave a strong performance at the WWE’s 2017 Dubai tryout. She is athletic and extremely strong woman who demonstrated a solid grasp of the fundamentals of sports entertainment, and a passion to improve that will serve her well in WWE’s upcoming Mae Young Classic tournament.”
So far, in terms of Indian representation in this internationally famous pro-wrestling entertainment show, we had just the 7-feet-tall (okay that is not “just”) Dalip Singh Rana, famously known as The Great Khali. While there have been other Indian faces on WWE, none of them has made much of a mark.
The Great Khali joined the WWE in 2006 and a decade later, it is his protégé who is out to make a mark. Yes. Devi, who hails from Haryana, trained under The Great Khali at his Punjab-based wrestling promotion and training academy.
“I am honoured to be the first Indian woman to compete in the WWE’s first ever women’s tournament. I hope to use this platform to inspire other Indian women and make India proud,” Devi said.
The first Mae Young Classic will take place on July 13 and July 14 in Orlando, Florida, and features 32 of the top female competitors from around the world. The tournament is incidentally named after WWE hall-of-famer Mae Young.
Why is this important?
We live in the age of identity. Now more than ever, at a time when the world is coming to the consensus that there needs to be more racial diversity in the mix, it is a great thing that Indian faces are representing the country at an international platform.
Recently, Jinder Mahal, another brown face in WWE, claimed he was booed “because of the colour of his skin”. And WWE has had many other racist episodes in the past. Perhaps, with more representation, things will get better.
Additionally, women in WWE have been subjected to endless misogyny. The wrestlers have, for a long time, not been given a status equal to the men in the show. While men were called wrestlers, the women were referred to as WWE divas. While that has changed now, there are still enough examples of blatant sexism in the entire environment there.
There are far fewer women in WWE than there are men. Perhanps, Kavita Devi getting on board will change things. At least it feels like a step in the right direction!