To quote Dickey Roberts, this is nucking futs.

Apparently the Great Khali’s promotion in India is chasing some really interesting headlines.  Indian actress and reality TV star Rakhi Sawant appeared on screen with former IMPACT Wrestling star Rebel to push and promote an incredibly messed up angle; that Rebel was paid off to attack Sawant by fellow Bollywood actress, Tanushree Dutta.

Why is this so outlandish?  Sawant claims that Dutta raped her twelve years ago.  Yup, Sawant is using her real life alleged rape as an angle in pro wrestling.

India is fucking weird.

Sawant went to Instagram of all places to play up the angle, claiming that Dutta had sent Rebel after Sawant for her accusations.  Can’t make this up.  Wish I could.  Would be easier to deal with.  On Instgram Sawant said;

She is Rebel who has intentionally harmed me.  She took money from [Tanushree Dutta] and tried to injured my back so that I can never dance again or entertain my fans.. My dear lovely fans from India, America and pura world I request you to stand with me and lets fight back with those British people.. I am sharing her account pls help me.

Rebel is playing up the angle online.

To further compound the story, numerous outlets out of India are reporting on the story like it’s legit.

BUT IT GETS WORSE (‘cus of course it does).  It is long believed by many that Sawant is alleging these claims against Dutta out of spite.  Dutta accused Nana Patekar, a notable Bollywood actor and several producers of assault, and apparently Patekar and Sawant are very close.

It should be noted, a very respected journalist witnessed the alleged Patekar assault on Dutta, bringing some weight to some of these allegations.   This is believed by some to be the reason that Sawant is accusing Dutta.  A sort of revenge or payback, if you will.

For more minor details involving the two women, this has summed some of it up.

To further compound the issue beyond the alleged rape, Sawant has also accused Dutta of drugging her, and  being a “man”, i.e. transgendered.  All of this is unfolding in the shadows of Khali’s CWE promotion.  A promotion that has sold over 20,000 tickets (allegedly) on several major shows since its inception only a few years ago.

So why is this a story, you may ask?  Why are the Bollywood exploits between spurned actresses, alleged false allegations and transphobia important in the wrestling world?  Because the wrestling world is exploding in India and more and more visits to the sub-continent will be happening.  The interactions will be more. The relevancy of the region will be more.  We’ll one day cover Indian wrestling as often as we cover Japanese or European wrestling.

Jinder Mahal won the WWE Championship and IMPACT has brought Gama Singh into the wrestling zeitgeist as a legitimate legend.  IMPACT and the WWE both have (or had) big Indian based wrestling groups in the last year.  With more inroads being made into India, one has to keep in mind what the social impact of these visits will bring.   We’re already seeing how moving into the middle east is affecting the WWE.  What if ROH or IMPACT or NJPW does business with Khali’s CWE?  Will we be as outraged that Khali is exploiting rape claims to sell tickets?

We already saw two major tours from IMPACT and the WWE in the last 18 months.  More Indian wrestlers are being scooped up than ever before.   More are being pushed.  The world of pro wrestling is huge in India.  Ergo big news out of India involving pro wrestling is simply becoming big pro wrestling news.

I still remember Scott Steiner, in 2011, running around an Indian sound stage, chasing after the fans.  This is a country that believes what they see is largely real.  It’s also a country that has no problem putting Sawant in the ring for an angle where she again bad mouthed a woman she (may have) falsely accused of rape.  All while that woman is getting sued by Dutta.

(*For the record, I do believe the allegations against Dutta are false)

The Great Khali is profiting off of rape allegations, promoting them to fans, and selling all of it as a shoot.  Even Vince McMahon hasn’t gone that far, and he once had his son in law fuck a mannequin and pretend it was a dead girl, all while a real funeral was taking place just down the hall.

We have hit new lows.