Gama Singh
| Gama Singh | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Gadowar Singh Sahota |
| Born |
December 8, 1954 Punjab, Punjab, India |
| Residence | Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Family | Jinder Mahal (nephew) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Gama Singh |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Billed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Trained by |
Bill Persack Stu Hart |
Gadowar Singh Sahota (born December 8, 1954)[1] is an Indian professional wrestler known as Gama Singh. Sahota eventually wound up in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling in Calgary. Sahota worked Kuwait, Dubai, Oman, Australia, and Hawaii for Vince McMahon and the WWF from 1980-86. His nephew is professional wrestler Jinder Mahal.
Early life
His father emigrated to Canada from India and around 1963 his family joined him. Sahota went to school in Merritt, British Columbia and excelled in amateur wrestling.
Career
Training
Singh was working out at a Vancouver YMCA and there he met Bill Persack, an old time wrestler who had seen him wrestle in the amateur ranks. Persack trained Singh for six months and suggested it was time for him to go to Calgary and Stampede Wrestling.
Stampede Wrestling
Singh then went to Calgary and met Stu Hart and started working out with Carlos Belafonte. Gama Singh was and is one of the most hated wrestlers of all time. Gama Singh was so much hated that as soon as he would step outside his house in Calgary, Canada, he start to be called with racial slurs noting the fact that at Gama's time, wrestling was treated like a real life sport. And as he soon as he would walk into the Victoria Pavilion arena, people would start going "nuts" as if all the heel stints he did were "for real"! Calling him with racial catcalls. He was a wrestler who people most loved to hate.
World Wrestling Federation
In the early eighties, Vince McMahon, Jr. was expanding the WWF and was looking for an Indian to take the Middle East. Singh had just started working for Jack Tunney in Toronto and agreed to the tour.
Singh worked Kuwait, Dubai, Oman, Australia and Hawaii for Vince McMahon and the WWF from 1980-86. He would have some great matches against Don Muraco, Rowdy Roddy Piper and "Cowboy" Bob Orton.
Semi retirement
Singh only wrestles on occasion, but mainly overseas. Its estimated that he wrestles three months out of the year, taking two to three trips overseas. While he was wrestling on tours around the world, he started investing money in real estate. After that, he also got involved in video store and gas station businesses. He is currently a renowned real estate developer in Calgary.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
Championships and accomplishments
- Central States Wrestling
- NWA All-Star Wrestling
- Stampede Wrestling
- NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version) (2 times) - with Ed Morrow (1) and Crary Stevenson (1)
- Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship (6 times)
- Stampede World Mid-Heavyweight Championship (3 times) [2]
- World Wrestling Council
- WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- WWC Trinidad and Tobago Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Victor Jovica
References
- ↑ "SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: The Great Gama".
- ↑ "Stampede World Mid-Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.