Satnam Singh Debut Reportedly Designed To Build AEW Brand In India
As noted earlier, former basketball player Satnam Singh made his AEW debut on last night's Dynamite. Singh arrived in the aftermath of the main event bout between Samoa Joe and Minoru Suzuki. After Joe defeated Suzuki for the ROH World Television Title, the trio of Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal, and Singh attacked Joe to end the show.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, Singh's debut was "designed to build the AEW brand in India, and has a lot to do with the WarnerMedia/Discovery merger."
AEW programming airs on the Discovery-owned channel Eurosport India, a deal AEW President Tony Khan reportedly made based on the impending WarnerMedia/Discovery merger.
The report added that as part of the first week after the Discovery merger, Khan wanted to shoot an angle that would resonate with the Indian market. In 2015, Singh became the first India-born player to be drafted into the NBA. Singh was a second-round draft choice of the Dallas Mavericks, even though he never played for the Mark Cuban-owned franchise.
Furthermore, Santam Singh will be managed by Sonjay Dutt, who gained notoriety in India years back when he wrestled for TNA. The report noted that both Singh and Dutt "will be used to promote AEW on Eurosport India" and pushed as a lead act in the promotion of the AEW brand in India.
Singh signed with AEW in September 2021 and trained at the Atlanta-based Nightmare Factory, which is run by Cody Rhodes and QT Marshall.
.@SamoaJoe's victory celebration is cut short by the TV debut of Satnam Singh @hellosatnam here at #AEWDynamite LIVE on TBS! pic.twitter.com/dlXYNyRKv0
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) April 14, 2022