Rohit Raju reflects on his intergender wrestling rivalry with Jordynne Grace and how that allowed him to generate genuine heat with today's wrestling fans.
Rohit Raju was one of IMPACT Wrestling’s top stars for the time that he was there. Now that he is no longer with the company, he was reflecting on some of the stories he was afforded the opportunity to tell during this time in the X-Division.
Jordynne Grace was one name that he feuded with and speaking to Sean Ross Sapp, He says that at first, he was unsure about the Rivalry but wound up feeling like they could have done so much more with the story.
“At first, I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know.’ Because they wanted it done so quick, but then when I realized what was happening [while he was holding the belt], just the heat it got afterward, was so awesome. It was very old school and that’s my favorite type of stuff. Then of course our little skirmish at Bound for Glory, she was part of that. I thought, actually, we could have ran further with her and I, but it just didn’t end up happening that way. Then yelling, ‘Equality!’ before I double stomped her. It was just stupid stuff I pulled out of my hat sometimes,” he said.
Rohit Raju also commented on using similar tropes in a match with Kylie Rae and says that there are some fans who really bought into the idea of him being a chauvinist and with that level of dedication to storylines sometimes absent in today's wrestling fan, he was happy to see that he was doing his job to such a high degree. Rohit Raju even praised Maxwell Jacob Friedman for being someone who makes the audience invest in his character to such an extent.
“It was funny because I saw comments on the internet, and I had done something prior when I had to work with Kylie Rae at one of the collectives, I think it was before COVID, and I remember this fan was really like that. I’ve seen him wrestle other people and he’s a chauvinist. I was like, ‘Sweet. I’ll take that.’ If I pull the wool over your eyes, I’m doing exactly what I want to do. I think that’s missing in professional wrestling. I think MJF is probably the best guy that does that right now. I’m a fan of that stuff. You don’t like me? Cool.”
"It backfires sometimes. We did a meet and greet—or as I called it, ‘A Rohit & Greet’—at IMPACT one time. I remember talking to these fans, ‘cause I’m trying to sign autographs, they would not talk to me,” he continued. “They look at me and they were not fans at all. I was like, ‘Okay, that’s a double-edged sword.’ Because I’m doing my job real well, but on the other, I’m not putting as much money in my pocket. It’s kind of weird.”
Now, much like MJF, Rohit Raju is hoping to make a name for himself on AEW programming. He has recently been featured on AEW Dark. Learn more about how those appearances came together at this link.
