The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hall of Fame welcomed its first Indian member when well-known wrestler Dara Singh was included in the legacy wing for his contribution to the sport.
The legendary ‘Pehelwan’ was quite popular in the wrestling circuits in the 1940’s through 1983 and in that period, he had great matches against the likes of Japanese pro-wrestling pioneer Rikidōzan and WWE legend Lou Thesz whom he defeated to clinch his first World championship title.
In his career, Dara Singh battled all over the eastern hemisphere, capturing the Commonwealth Championship and titles in India and Singapore.
In 1996, his excellence was recognised by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame where he was inducted by Dave Meltzer.
After his retirement from wrestling, Dara Singh started acting and he soon became a household name for playing Hanuman in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan.
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He starred in a number of Bollywood movies such as Faulad, Mard, Mera Naam Joker, Jab We Met, Sultana Daku, Anand, Daku Mangal Singh and Dharmatma.
{{/usCountry}}He starred in a number of Bollywood movies such as Faulad, Mard, Mera Naam Joker, Jab We Met, Sultana Daku, Anand, Daku Mangal Singh and Dharmatma.
{{/usCountry}}Besides his acting career, he was also quite active in politics and in 2003, he became the first sportsman to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha. He passed away in 2012 due to heart attack.
The other popular wrestlers who were inducted in the Legacy wing of WWE of Hall of Fame were: Boris Malenko, Lord Alfred Hayes, Rufus R. “Freight Train” Jones, “Golden Greek” Jim Londos, Cora Combs, Stan Stasiak, Hiro Matsuda, Sputnik Monroe and lucha libre legend El Santo.
The WWE Hall of Fame class of 2018 also included some popular names of the WWE like Bill Goldberg, Ivory, Jeff Jarrett, The Dudley Boyz, Hillbilly Jim, Mark Henry and Kid Rock in the celebrity wing.