The WWE is currently holding talent tryouts in Dubai this week.
A total of 34 wrestlers from 18 countries will work out at the Dubai Opera House during the four-day recruitment period, according to a statement from WWE. Prospects’ backgrounds range from martial arts, collegiate wrestling and boxing, to strong man competitions, bodybuilding and CrossFit. The United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Brazil, Ukraine, Greece, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Palestine, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom all have candidates at the tryout.
WWE said they chose a work out in Dubai because of the popularity the promotion enjoys in the Middle East.
Notable recruits include:
* Rinku Singh, of New Delhi, India, a baseball pitcher who won India’s 2008 reality TV show, “The Million Dollar Arm.” Currently a free agent, Singh was previously signed to the Pittsburgh Pirates, and he is the subject of the Disney movie “Million Dollar Arm.”
* Six-foot-11 Gurvinder Singh, 7-foot Sukwinder Grewal and women’s wrestler Kavita Devi, trainees of The Great Khali’s Punjab-based wrestling school who also compete in the Continental Wrestling Entertainment organization.
* Saurav Gurjar, a 6-foot-8, 298-pound wrestler and actor from Mumbai, India, who played the role of “Bheem” in the Hindi-language mythological TV drama “Mahabharat.”
* Bashir Malla, a 245-pound MMA fighter from Dubai who has also competed in American football and amateur bodybuilding.
* Kateryna Kashtanova, an Ukranian black belt in judo who currently resides in Dubai.