Rinku Singh (baseball)

For the cricketer, see Rinku Singh (cricketer).

Rinku Singh
Birth nameRinku Singh Rajput
Born (1988-08-08) 8 August 1988 (age 36)
Gopiganj, Uttar Pradesh, India
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Rinku
Rinku Singh
Veer[1]
Veer Mahaan
Billed height6 ft 4 in (193 cm)[2]
Billed weight275 lb (125 kg)[2]
Billed fromUttar Pradesh, India[2]
Trained byWWE Performance Center
Debut2018

Rinku Singh Rajput[3] (born 8 August 1988) is an Indian professional wrestler and former professional baseball player. He is also known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Veer Mahaan, or simply Veer.

Singh was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates organisation after he won a pitching contest on a 2008 reality television show The Million Dollar Arm. He was the first Indian to play professional baseball and spent several seasons in the minor leagues, reaching the Single-A level.[4] He is the subject of the movie Million Dollar Arm.

Early life

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Singh grew up in poverty, the son of a truck driver, in a rural village called Gopiganj, Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh.[5] Singh was one of nine siblings who all lived in the family's one-room house. The home had electricity but relied on well water. Singh threw the javelin and played cricket as a little boy.[6] He was a junior national javelin medalist.[7] Singh is an alumnus of the Guru Gobind Singh Sports College, Lucknow.

In early 2008, Singh entered an Indian reality television show The Million Dollar Arm. The contest was created by an American sports agent J. B. Bernstein and his partners Ash Vasudevan and Will Chang to find the individual in the country who could throw the fastest and most accurate baseball. Having never heard of baseball before, Singh won the contest out of over 37,000 participants after throwing 87 miles per hour. The grand prize for the contest was $100,000.[8][9]

After winning the contest, Singh and runner-up Dinesh Patel travelled to Los Angeles where they trained with University of Southern California pitching coach Tom House, who trained pitchers such as Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson.[10][11] Singh said that most of his family did not agree with his decision to go to the United States.[7] On their first day in the United States the two attended their first baseball game at USC. They continued to learn the game from House and Bernstein, as well as learning English.[12]

Professional baseball career

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Rinku Singh
Pitcher
Bats: Left
Throws: Left

Singh, along with Patel, tried out in front of scouts from 20 Major League Baseball teams in November 2008, and Singh's pitches reached 92 miles per hour (148 km/h).[12] Reports from Pittsburgh Pirates scouts Joe Ferrone and Sean Campbell led to general manager Neal Huntington signing both to contracts with the organisation. With the deal, the pair became the first Indians to sign American major league baseball contracts.[10][11] The total signing bonus for the two was $8,000.[13] After training, the two returned to visit their families in India before entering Pirates training camp in Bradenton, Florida.[12] Singh and Patel began the 2009 baseball season with the Pirates' Gulf Coast League affiliate.[14]

On 4 July 2009, Singh became the first Indian citizen to appear in a professional baseball game in the US. He pitched the seventh inning, while Dinesh Patel pitched the eighth inning.[15] On 13 July 2009, Singh won his first professional baseball game in America, striking out the only batter he faced.[16] He finished the season with a 1–2 record and a 5.84 ERA in 11 games, allowing just one run on three hits in his final six appearances.

Singh went 2–0 with a 2.61 ERA over 13 games with the Pirates GCL affiliate in 2010.[17] At the end of August, Singh was promoted to the Pirates Class A Short-Season affiliate, the State College Spikes.[18] He met with US President Barack Obama at a White House Heritage Month event on 24 May 2010.[19] Singh played for the Canberra Cavalry of the Australian Baseball League for the competition's inaugural 2010–11 season, going 1–0 with a 3.94 ERA in 16 innings pitched.[20]

Singh opened the 2011 season in the Dominican Summer League. Singh pitched well in eight games spread over the DSL, Gulf Coast League, and New York–Penn League, then joined the West Virginia Power of the South Atlantic League in July 2011. Singh returned to the Australian Baseball League for the 2011–12 season with the Adelaide Bite. He made the World All-Star team for the 2011 Australian Baseball League All-Star Game. In 2012, he pitched in a career-high 39 games for the Power, throwing 72 innings, earning a 3–1 win–loss record and striking out 65 batters.[21] Singh struggled with injuries and missed the entire 2013 season, but he was invited to 2014 spring training by the Pirates.[22] Singh also missed the entire 2014 season due to Tommy John surgery.[23] Singh also missed all of the 2015 season due to a broken elbow.[24][25]

The Pirates re-signed Singh on 9 November 2015.[26] He made one appearance for the rookie–level Gulf Coast League Pirates in 2016, pitching one scoreless inning.[citation needed] He elected free agency following the season on 7 November 2016.[27]

Professional wrestling career

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WWE (2018−2024)

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On 14 January 2018, Singh signed a contract with WWE.[28] On 25 March 2020 episode of NXT, Singh, Saurav Gurjar, and manager Malcolm Bivens made their televised debut, attacking NXT Tag Team Champion Matt Riddle. The following week, Bivens introduced them as Rinku and Saurav, while revealing their team name to be Indus Sher (meaning Indian Tigers). [29] On 8 April episode of NXT, Indus Sher defeated Ever-Rise in their debut match. Indus Sher vanished from television after June. [30] At Superstar Spectacle on 22 January 2021, Rinku and Saurav resurfaced and teamed with Drew McIntyre in a six-man tag-team match to defeat Jinder Mahal and The Bollywood Boyz.

On 10 May episode of Raw, Singh, with the new ring name Veer, along with Shanky, would align themselves with Jinder Mahal.[31] During the 2021 Draft, Mahal and Shanky were drafted to the SmackDown brand while Veer remained on the Raw brand, ending their alliance.[32][33] Now a singles wrestler, Veer's ring name was tweaked to Veer Mahaan.[34] After months of vignettes hyping his debut, Mahaan finally returned to television on 4 April 2022 episode of Raw, attacking Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio.[35][36] Mahaan would go on to defeat the Mysterios in separate matches.[37]

On the 4 October episode of NXT, Mahaan returned to the developmental brand, teasing a reunion with his former tag team partner Saurav, now known as Sanga.[38] Mahaan returned to the main roster as he and Indus Sher were drafted to the Raw brand in the 2023 WWE Draft. On the March 18 2024 episode of Raw, he and Sanga were defeated by Awesome Truth for a spot in the six-pack ladder match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship 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. On 20 April 2024, Mahaan announced that he had been released by WWE, along with the rest of Indus Sher. [39]

Film

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Main article: Million Dollar Arm

Singh and Patel's story is the basis for the Walt Disney Pictures sports film Million Dollar Arm, in which Singh was portrayed by Suraj Sharma.[40][41] In 2009, Columbia Pictures purchased the screen rights to the story of Singh and Patel.[42] The project stalled and eventually producers Joe Roth and Mark Ciardi set the film up at Walt Disney Pictures. Upon acquiring Million Dollar Arm, Disney hired Tom McCarthy to write the film.[43] Jon Hamm played J. B. Bernstein.[44][45]

Personal life

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In 2012, Singh became a vegetarian after he witnessed several men in Bhadohi chasing a chicken in order to kill it.[7] During his baseball career, he said that he recited the Hindu devotional hymn Hanuman Chalisa and listened to the Eminem song "Not Afraid" before pitching.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Veer".
  2. ^ a b c "Veer WWE". www.wwe.com.
  3. ^ "Magh Mela: WWE wrestler Rinku Singh Rajput takes holy dip in Sangam". The Times of India. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  4. ^ "BaseballAmerica.com: Stats: Rinku Singh". baseballamerica.com.
  5. ^ Shah, Wajiha (31 January 2010). "Bhadohi boy Rinku is English-speaking baseball star of American league". The Indian Express. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  6. ^ Rotstein, Gary (8 December 2008). "The Morning File: The American Dream lives on -- Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel are new Pirates". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  7. ^ a b c d Ali, Qaiser M. (5 October 2012). "Baseball player Rinku Singh turns vegetarian ahead of Australian Baseball League". India Today. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  8. ^ Singh, Anuraag (25 March 2008). "Rinku's village doesn't know baseball but they're all pitching for him". The Indian Express. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  9. ^ "A 'Home Run' for Baseball in India". intoday.in.
  10. ^ a b Vercammen, Paul (11 December 2008). "Indian pitchers are first for America's national pastime". CNN. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
  11. ^ a b Fornelli, Tom (5 November 2008). "International Pastime: Pitcher Is Latest American Job to Be Outsourced to India". Fanhouse. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
  12. ^ a b c Langosch, Jenifer (25 November 2008). "Indian hurlers' inking opens new market". MLB.com. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
  13. ^ Kovacevic, Dejan (10 July 2009). "The Bradenton Pirates: They are the world".
  14. ^ White, Paul (4 March 2009). "Pirates pitching imports from India are a work in progress". USA Today. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
  15. ^ Staats, Wayne (6 July 2009). "Patel, Singh make debuts in GCL". Archived from the original on 10 July 2009.
  16. ^ "Rinku Singh makes history". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. 14 July 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  17. ^ "Rinku Singh stats". Minor League Baseball.
  18. ^ Langosh, Jenifer (30 August 2010). "Minor Matters". Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  19. ^ "Uttar Pradesh baseballers Rinku and Dinesh meet Obama, Ronaldinho". The Times of India. 28 May 2010. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012.
  20. ^ "Individual Player Statistics". Canberra Cavalry Official Website. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  21. ^ "Rinku Singh Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  22. ^ Bloom, Barry. "'Million Dollar Arm' Singh aiming for Major Leagues". MLB.com. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  23. ^ Crasnick, Jerry (15 May 2014). "Two in a billion: From India to U.S. to big screen: The journeys of Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel". ESPN.com. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  24. ^ Tim Williams. "Minor League Injury Updates: Holmes, Heredia, Ramirez, Luplow, Eppler, Frazier, Singh". piratesprospects.com.
  25. ^ "Rinku Singh to Miss the 2015 Season". Bucco Nation. April 2015.
  26. ^ "Pirates Re-Sign Rinku Singh". Bucco Nation. 9 November 2015.
  27. ^ "Pirates Minor League Free Agents and Why Brandon Cumpton Isn't Eligible". piratesprospects.com. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  28. ^ "Former MLB pitcher joins WWE Performance Center".
  29. ^ Garettson, Jordan. "Indus Sher def. Ever-Rise". WWE.com. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  30. ^ Gibbons, Aidan (4 June 2020). "WWE NXT Tag Team Were Pulled From TV Because Of Matt Riddle's Main Roster Call-Up". Cultaholic. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  31. ^ "Former WWE Champion Returns During WWE Raw". WWE. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  32. ^ "See all the results from the 2021 Draft".
  33. ^ Powell, Jason (4 October 2021). "10/4 WWE Raw Results: Powell's live review of the WWE Draft night two, Goldberg returns, the build to WWE Crown Jewel continues". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  34. ^ WWE [@WWE] (1 November 2021). "VEER MAHAAN COMING TO #WWERaw" (Tweet). Retrieved 9 November 2021 – via Twitter.
  35. ^ Powell, Jason (4 April 2022). "4/4 WWE Raw results: Powell's live review of the Raw After WrestleMania with Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, the return of Cody Rhodes, new Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair appears, the "debut" of Veer Mahaan". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  36. ^ "WWE Monday Night Raw Results for May 9th, 2022". WrestlingNews.co. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  37. ^ "Veer Mahaan dominates opponents: WWE Playlist". WWE. 23 May 2022.
  38. ^ "Sanga reunites with his old friend Veer: WWE NXT, Oct. 4, 2022". WWE. 4 October 2022.
  39. ^ Tessier, Colin (20 April 2024). "Veer Released By WWE". Wrestlezone. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  40. ^ "Disney's "Million Dollar Arm" begins production". The Walt Disney Studios. 30 May 2013. Archived from the original (Press release) on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  41. ^ Sneider, Jeff (17 April 2013). "'Life of Pi' Star Suraj Sharma Joins Jon Hamm in Disney's 'Million Dollar Arm' (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  42. ^ "Sony Making Movie About Pirates' Rinku Singh And Dinesh Patel". SB Nation. 1 August 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  43. ^ "Tom McCarthy to Write Sports Drama Million Dollar Arm". Collider. 8 February 2011. Archived from the original on 8 January 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  44. ^ "Jon Hamm Sports Million Dollar Arm for Disney". Collider. 9 May 2012. Archived from the original on 5 January 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  45. ^ "'Mad Men's Jon Hamm To Play Sports Deal Maker in Disney's 'Million Dollar Arm'". 9 May 2012.
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