Powell's 1/28 Ring Ka King review: TNA's offshoot promotion debuts in India with Matt Morgan, Chavo Guerrero, Chris Masters, Nick "Eugene" Dinsmore, Scott Steiner, Sonjay Dutt, new Indian talent

TNA's Ring Ka King TV
Aired January 28 on Colors Network

The Ring Ka King graphic was shown... A high energy opening video showed several women dancing on the stage and then a singer named Mika came out and sang between the dancers. Mika and the dancers made their way to ringside while the crowd danced and cheered...

Powell's POV: The crowd was really into the singing and dancing and the set looks very impressive.

A female ring announcer named Kubraa Sait walked to the ring and thanked Mika. They spoke to one another in their native tongue. She introduced the broadcast team of Siddharth Kanan and Joe Bath, whom received a favorable reaction from the live crowd. She then introduced Harbhajan Singh as "Ring Ka King Goodwill Ambassador."

Powell's POV: I made out something about "tag team titles" and "TNA wrestlers" during the ring announcer's spiel.

Mika and Singh spoke in the ring. Mika led the crowd in singing a verse. Mika left the ring and slapped hands with the fans at ringside. Singh spoke to the crowd and got a big pop when he said the name of the promotion. Singh eventually introduced Chavo Guerrero Jr.

A video featured Chavo talking about how he's been around the world, but he's never been to India. He said he's there for one reason - to become the Ring Ka King Champion. Chavo made his entrance and then Maxx B was featured in a short video before he entered. Maxx came out shadow boxing and the announcers said something about boxing and mixed martial arts.

Brutus Magnus was introduced. A video played and he refereed to himself as an international athlete. He said the fans will all know his name when he's done. The graphic listed him as Sir Brutus Magnus. We must have all missed the knighting ceremony.

Nick Dinsmore (a/k/a Eugene) was introduced as Dr. Nicholas Dinsmore. He wore a doctor's shirt, mask, and a stethoscope during his entrance. He appears to be playing a mad doctor.

Sonjay Dutt was introduced. He had a shaved head with small sideburns. He called himself the number one Indian wrestler in his video. He headed to the ring and sized up the dancers before entering the ring with the rest of the wrestlers.

The goodwill ambassador introduced Mahabali Veera, who spoke in his native tongue during his video. He did some Goldberg-like poses/moves during the video.

Scott Steiner was introduced. He said in his video that he's been a World Champion before and he will be World Champion again. Steiner entered to his TNA music.

Matt Morgan was introduced. He said in his video that he was there to become the promotion's very first champion. Morgan walked out to his TNA music wearing street clothes and took off his shirt.

With all the wrestlers in the ring, the ring announcer introduced Jazzy Lahoria as the commissioner. He was accompanied by Deadly Danda, who wore a military outfit. Lahoria shook hands with the goodwill ambassador, who then set up the introduction of the promotion's title belt. The championship belt was lowered from the ceiling while pyro flares went off around the ring. The goodwill ambassador wished the wrestlers the best of luck...

Powell's POV: Who in the hell do these guys think they are not speaking English? Don't they know that the United States is the center of the universe? Okay, bad jokes aside, I assume the eight men in the ring are taking part in a tournament to crown the first champion. I liked the introductions despite not understanding a lot of what was said. It was cool to see all of the tournament participants introduced and the viewers got a feel for who they are and what side of the heel/babyface fence they are on. I

Jeremy Borash was introduced. He said the eight men would indeed be competing for the title in a tournament. He introduced Matt Morgan as the odds on favorite and tried to interview him, but Magnus interrupted. He put his arms around Steiner and Sonjay. He said they are going to take over the promotion. There was some pushing and shoving. Military guy stepped between Morgan and Steiner...

The announcers spoke briefly at their perch... Borash and the female ring announcer handled the introductions for the first match...


1. Mahabali Veera defeated Dr. Nicholas Dinsore in a championship tournament match in 2:50. The title belt was placed on a cool blue podium. The referee wore a green shirt. A graphic noted that the "stunts/performances" were being performed by trained professionals and should not be tried at home, particularly by children. The fans were hot for their fellow countryman Veera.

Late in the match, Veera no-sold Eugene's punches. He fired back with some punches of his own, including an awkward discuss punch. He picked up Dinsmore and slammed him to the mat before pinning him...

Powell's POV: Veera appeared to be greener than the grass at Augusta National, but they can get away with that while playing to a wrestling-starved fan base that was especially hot for Indian stars. Dinsmore looked like the old WCW character Norman The Lunatic. He did the best he could to lead the green Veera through the match.

Backstage, Magnus was on the phone talking with someone he called "boss." He said they had three of the eight spots in the tournament and would control the company by winning the tournament. Magnus said he's going to destroy Matt Morgan in their match, and Steiner agreed...

Someone named Shera was introduced to the crowd. He introduced Chris Masters, who was billed as "American Adonis." He brought a briefcase to the ring with him. He said he was there to prove the point that there was no person in the country of India who could break his "Adonis Lock." He spoke about the cash amount that he was putting up for anyone who could break it.

American Adonis (Masters) picked out a fan from the crowd. The fan entered the ring. Adonis had him sit down on a chair and then locked in the Adonis Lock. He locked in the hold and eventually threw the fan down. The fan acted as if he was unconscious. Adonis took the mic and said no one breaks his Adonis lock...

Powell's POV: As badly as I want to see Masters repackaged and move away from the Master Lock stuff, it's perfectly logical to use him in this role in India. It might be tired to longtime wrestling fans, but the Adonis Lock challenge played well to the locals, and I assume they are setting it up for an Indian performer to break it.

Backstage, backstage interviewer Ram interviewed Veera. They spoke in their native tongue. The goodwill ambassador showed up and said something. Matt Morgan showed up and wished Veera luck. He said he hopes to see him in the finals and told him to keep doing his thing...

Powell's POV: I don't speak the language, but I'm fairly certain that Veera endorsed Prowrestling.net for the Indian viewers. Lie to me, Indian readers.

Brutus Magnus was introduced. Highlights aired of the Morgan vs. Magnus match and Veera coming out to help Morgan even the sides against Magnus, Steiner, and Dutt. The announcers also hyped Scott Steiner vs. Maxx B, and Chavo Guerrero vs. Sonjay Dutt...

2. Matt Morgan defeated Sir Brutus Magnus in 5:15 in a championship tournament match. Morgan overpowered Magnus early and posed after doing so. The crowd was hot for even basic moves such as a shoulder block. Magnus left the ring and Morgan chased him. Magnus got back inside the ring and begged off. He clotheslined Morgan and then pointed to his head as if he outsmarted him.

Morgan sold and the crowd was hot whenever he showed any signs of life. Magnus applied an abdominal stretch. Morgan stomped his foot and got the fans going before he broke out of the hold. Morgan came back with a chokeslam and followed up with the Carbon Footprint for the win. After the match, Sonjay Dutt and Scott Steiner entered the ring. Veera came out and stood by Morgan...

Highlights aired of Steiner's match against Maxx B that will air on Sunday's show. Maxx took some suplexes and they showed him tapping out to the Steiner Recliner before being stretchered out. They also showed highlights of the Sonjay Dutt vs. Chavo Guerrero match...

Powell's POV: The main event match was very basic, which is all it needs to be for this audience. The veterans must love working in front of the Indian crowd, as they don't have to perform Triple Lindy moonsaults just to get a reaction out of the fans. Everything that worked back in the Hulkamania era of the old WWF seems to be getting over with these fans, as they are obviously not overexposed to the product.

The venue appears to be about the same size as the Impact Zone. The key difference is the hot live crowd. The show has a TNA feel to it. Even if there was no TNA talent, you'd know it was a TNA product just based on the familiar look and camera shots. It was fun to see the fans react to such basic moves and I could definitely see this catching on in a big way in India if the general public is as hot for pro wrestling as this live crowd was. The product may not appeal to longtime pro wresting fans, but I enjoyed it and consider it to be a good product produced by people who understand their target audience.