Saurav Gurjar (born 26 September 1985) is an Indian professional wrestler and actor. As a wrestler, he is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Sanga. As an actor, he is best known for his role as Bhima in the TV show Mahabharat.[2] He is a former National Kickboxing Gold Medalist.[3]
| Saurav Gurjar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 26 September 1985 Dabra, Madhya Pradesh, India |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Deadly Danda Sanga Saurav Saurav Gurjar |
| Billed height | 203 cm (6 ft 8 in)[1] |
| Billed weight | 136 kg (300 lb)[1] |
| Billed from | Madhya Pradesh, India[1] |
| Debut | 2011 |
Early life
Gurjar was born on 26 September 1985 and hails from Dabra in Madhya Pradesh.[3][4] He is a former National Kickboxing Gold medalist.[3]
Professional wrestling career
Ring Ka King (2011–2012)
In December 2011, he took part in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's India project, Ring Ka King, where he performed under the ring name Deadly Danda. He was a member of Jeff Jarrett's heel stable RDX alongside Abyss, Scott Steiner, Nick Aldis and Sonjay Dutt.[5]
WWE (2018–2024)
On 14 January 2018, Gurjar signed a contract with WWE. Gurjar made his first televised appearance as a participant in the Worlds Collide men's battle. On 25 March 2020 episode of NXT, Gurjar and Rinku Singh attacked Matt Riddle, with Malcolm Bivens seemingly acting as their manager.[6][7] The following week, Bivens would introduce them as Rinku and Saurav and revealed their team name to be Indus Sher.[8] Indus Sher stopped appearing on television in June after Gurjar posted a photo on Instagram of Keith Lee holding both the NXT Championship and the NXT North American Championship which he won and retained respectively, at NXT's The Great American Bash (2020) which had yet to air at the time the photo was uploaded.[9]
On 18 January 2022 episode of NXT, Saurav, under the new ring name Sanga, was repackaged as a bodyguard of Grayson Waller.[10] However, on 12 April edition of NXT, Waller fired Sanga and the following week, Sanga would lose to Waller in a singles match.[11][12] In October, Sanga reformed Indus Sher with Veer Mahaan, the former Rinku, who had recently returned to NXT.[13]
Sanga got promoted to the main roster as he and Indus Sher were drafted to the Raw brand in the 2023 WWE Draft. Sanga made his Raw debut on 15 May in a tag team match with Veer defeating local talents Drake Thompson and Lavar Barbie.[14] On 18 March 2024, episode of Raw, he and Veer were defeated by the Awesome Truth in a qualifer for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship ladder match at WrestleMania XL. On the 05 April 2024 episode of Smackdown, he appeared in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, where he was eliminated by the Creed Brothers, this would be his final match. In April 2024, Sanga was released from WWE.[15]
Championships and accomplishments
- Ring Ka King
- World Cup of Ring Ka King (2012) – with Scott Steiner, Sir Brutus Magnus, Abyss, and Sonjay Dutt[16]
Acting career
In 2013, Gurjar who started his acting venture and appeared on television.[3] He made his television debut with a serial Mahabharat in which he portrayed the role of Bhim.[17] The show was aired on Star Plus and had run from 2013 to 2014. He then appeared in Sankatmochan Mahabali Hanuman as Ravan and Bali from 2016 to 2017.[18]
He made his debut in films with Brahmastra released on 2022.[18]
Filmography
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Brahmāstra Part One: Shiva | Zor | Debut[19] |
Television
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–2014 | Mahabharat | Bhim | |
| 2014–2016 | The New Eat Bulaga! Indonesia | Host | |
| 2016–2017 | Sankatmochan Mahabali Hanuman | Ravan and Bali | |
| 2018 | Prithvi Vallabh | Gohil Raj | |
| 2020 | Myopia | Gustad | |
| 2022 | Yeh Jhuki Jhuki Si Nazar | Vivek |
References
External links
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- Saurav Gurjar on WWE.com
- Saurav Gurjar at IMDb