Former WWE Champion Makes Shocking GCW Debut

A former WWE Champion just made their shocking debut in Game Changer Wrestling. At tonight's GCW High event, The Rad Dads were facing The Rejects, and things were going well for the Rad Dads as they took down their opponents. Unfortunately, two masked men would jump into the match to attack them, but even after they were dealt with, the team faced another unexpected threat , as a masked man jumped in the ring and hit Effy with a choke slam. The man pulled off the mask to reveal he was none other than Raj Dhesi, also known as former WWE Superstar Jinder Mahal . He seems to be making a statement in GCW and is likely going to be sticking around for a while.

GCW Debut

After The Rad Dads were attacked by the two masked men, Manders would run in and make the save, helping to clear them from the ring and take them out the front door. The issue seemed to be taken care of, but then another person walked out from the back and headed into the ring. That was of course Dhesi, who revealed his identity to big chants from the shocked crowd as he stood over his knocked-out opponent.

Dhesi was one of three unexpected WWE releases earlier this year and the news of all three releases hit during the April 19th episode of SmackDown. Dhesi, Xia-Li, and Xyon Quinn were released from the company, and Dhesi would tweet ahead of the news, writing, "I Quit. Maharaja Out ?." He would change his Twitter bio to read "Free Agent - 90 Days," and now that 90 days is officially up, leading to his big debut in Game Changer Wrestling. We'll have to wait and see what the future holds, but hopefully, we'll get more clarity soon.

A New Era

Dhesi was actually released by WWE back in 2014, but he would return to the company in 2016 and go on to experience a massive run, becoming WWE Champion and experiencing a lengthy Title run after his return. In an interview with Chris Van Vliet , Dhesi spoke of being okay with the WWE chapter of his careering being closed, though there is some frustration there as well. He also doesn't close the door on being back there at some point down the line (via Wrestling Inc .)

"It was frustrating, but that's okay because that's what WWE is, it's time for the next generation. It's time for the Bron Breakkers and the Carmelos, it's their time. I had my time and maybe my time will come back. But it's time right now to step away and do other things, and if it works out in the future we come back, if not, it's all good," Dhesi said. "There's plenty of other things to do. Starting off the year strong with The Rock, then the title match, thank you Tony [Khan]. Then WrestleMania week, I'm in a two-segment match with Tozawa on Main Event. So obviously, there's frustrations but it's all good. I had many years there. I've done everything that I wanted to do. And yeah, it's a young man's game."

What did you think of Dhesi's GCW debut? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!