Shanky addresses his future goals across USA, Japan, UK, and Australia: ‘I’m hungry for wrestling’ | Exclusive
Out of the WWE ecosystem for nearly three years now, Shanky recently opened up about his future wrestling goals while speaking to F4WON during an exclusive interview.
Having last faced Gunther in WWE, Shanky was soon released by the promotion in 2023. Making a name for himself in the indies since then, Shanky has been wrestling actively for OPW (Oceania Pro Wrestling) in Australia.
When asked about the current pro-wrestling scene in Australia, he shared, “OPW is doing really good work here in Melbourne, and yeah, it’s pretty much the same. Just look at Australia—how many stars have come out of the wrestling scene here. You’ve got Rhea Ripley, you’ve got Grayson Waller—he’s from Melbourne itself.” Asked if he spotted any difference between Australian pro-wrestling and American pro-wrestling, he responded, “No, it’s the same—completely the same. The wrestling is exactly the same.”
Often seen in the wrestling industry, whenever wrestlers are released by the top guns in the industry, namely WWE, AEW, or TNA, they start taking bookings all over the world and wrestle across multiple promotions. While Shanky has predominantly wrestled only across India and the country down under since leaving WWE, he has an interest in exploring a career in the UK and Japan.
“Absolutely Japan. Wherever I get an opportunity, I’ll go. I’ve heard that in Japan they really love tall people; they like them a lot. Ah, so I mean, right now I’m Hungry for wrestling. So if I get an opportunity anywhere, I’ll go there. I’ll definitely go wherever—like the UK, Japan, Australia—wherever. I just want to do wrestling, wrestling, wrestling, and just be a proud Indian, you know,” he shared.
Not ruling out a return to the USA, he further claimed, “Absolutely—definitely, the U.S. is the last stop for me. I do want to go there. I’m just looking for the right opportunities, and wherever I get them, I’ll go—whether it’s the U.S. I’m excited about WWE too; if I go back to WWE again, I’d like to.”
Shanky has a message for AEW and TNA
However, WWE is no longer the only big promotion in the USA. For the past few years, AEW and TNA Wrestling have emerged as the two other big stops for talented and promising wrestlers.
“No, nothing like that has come to me—nothing from AEW or TNA so far. People were telling me when I was coming back from the U.S., “Bro, stay there, something will happen,” but no, nothing like that has come yet from AEW or TNA. If it does, then I’ll definitely do it—definitely,” Shanky answered when asked about his plans on potentially wrestling for AEW or TNA.
While he has not heard anything from AEW or TNA, the 34-year-old wrestler from a small town in India shared a message for Carlos Silva and Tony Khan. Hoping they would hear him, Shanky stated, “Yes, yes—what I’d like to say is, brother… Shanky Singh, you know, I’m hungry right now for wrestling, and I come from my country, India, and I will always keep representing India no matter which company I wrestle for. I just want to wrestle. And I’ll say this: just sign me once and then see how we make our country’s name shine—whether it’s TNA or AEW or WWE.“
From earning just roughly $80 a month to becoming a regular act on weekly WWE television with former World Champion Jinder Mahal, Shanky is now hungry for wrestling across the world while still hoping for pro wrestling in India to develop further.
Shanky shares his thoughts on India’s own pro-wrestling promotion, WXM
Started by former WWE Superstar Jeet Rama and Rishi, WXM has emerged as one of the leading pro-wrestling promotions in India. WXM is frequently visited by several top International wrestlers, including Zack Sabre Jr., Donovan Dijak, Axel Tischer, Raj Dhesi (Jinder Mahal), Emi Sakura, and others.
Sharing his thoughts on the promotion, Shanky claimed, “WXM is doing good work. I’d say, brother, do even better—come on TV—so opportunities open up for our Indian wrestlers. Look, let me tell you: not everyone can go to WWE. Not everyone—no, not everyone can go to WWE. So it’s important that opportunities and platforms open up here in India, and WXM is doing good work. So I’d say yes—if I get the chance, I’ll definitely go. I want to wrestle. And yeah, I mean, if they pay well, I’ll definitely go. Yeah.“
Away from WWE, he recently wrestled a title match against Parker Boudreaux, which he lost. He later recovered and earned his first singles win after WWE against Slade Mercer in PCW.
Shounak Chakrabarti is an experienced sports journalist with a lifelong passion for athletics and storytelling. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Journalism from the University of Leeds and joined F4WOnline in 2025.
Shounak takes particular interest in soccer, closely following top clubs like Real Madrid and Arsenal. Beyond sports, he enjoys fiction writing, photography, gaming, and cinema.