Becoming the Karachi Kid: The Pakistani wrestler from Yorkshire who joined the WWE

“I was just a kid from Karachi (in Pakistan), who almost got left on the streets and I got to become a professional wrestler for the biggest wrestling company there is,” he says.

Born in Karachi in 1991, Ansari migrated to the UK with his family at the age of three, after his father died of leukaemia and his mother remarried.

Dewsbury became home for the youngster, who grew up an avid wrestling fan. He identified with his action figures in terms of disposition, but the comparisons ended at complexion.

A visible minority of person, Ansari grew up knowing he stood out for his phenotypical Pakistani traits. In the race of wrestlers, the chance of someone with his background being signed by the WWE he thought, was nothing more than “a pipe dream”.

On the surface the story of Ansari, a St Mary’s University graduate, is a heart-warming tale of one man going off the beaten track to break away from societal norms and boundaries set by cultural upbringing.

It is also a tale of overcoming adversity at every corner and finding camaraderie in a cutthroat industry.

The 30-year-old pro-athlete candidly talks about the racial discrimination he faced growing up, as well as the challenges, and sociocultural barriers he overcame to enter the world of wrestling.

He originally kept the profession a secret from his family. Only once he had completed his year-long training and landed his first paid gig in a wrestling show, a publicised event, did he decide to share the news.

Ansari’s stepfather, a retired medical doctor, from India, was initially not supportive of his son’s transition from investment banking to the showbiz industry.

“All he knew was medicine and working in one line of work until you’re retired, so he found it difficult trying to understand how I could jump from one banking job to another, let alone one industry to another.”

Dealing with criticism from the older generation within the Asian community, he used the popularised competitive sport of Kabaddi, which is considered a cross between wrestling, rugby and tag, to elucidate the elders.

Internally, the stunt performer has dealt with far more than the snide comments from his local community members, navigating through the post-9/11 world with an undercurrent of racial tension that prevailed throughout parts of Yorkshire in the mid 90s.

On dealing with bullying and racial abuse, he says: “Growing up in my teen years, it felt like I had to choose between being British and being Pakistani and having moved here as an immigrant, I wasn’t always made to feel British.

"But now I can proudly say that part of me is British and part of me is Pakistani and I’m completely okay with that.”

Ansari’s in-ring career began in 2015, and he joined the WWE as a Development Wrestler in 2018.

His signature moves of Samosa Swanton and Bang-Ra, as well as his intro song ‘Mundian To Bach Ke’ by Punjabi MC are odes to his Pakistani culture, which are served on stage, as proud affirmations of where his origins lie.

“I used the positive stereotype of my culture, so the way we like to entertain at weddings with the dancing and singing as part of my intro.

"My entrance and my theme music are a big part of my act and a big part of that is because throughout England and Europe, the Punjabi MC song that I come out to has been popularised in clubs, so everyone knows that song.

"With my presentation, it shows I can be a good guy, whilst being a Muslim, Pakistani and all the other labels attached to me and change a few people’s preconceptions about us.”

When asked about how he felt having become one of the first prominent Pakistan-born wrestlers to be signed by the WWE, Ansari says: “It became the place where I have felt the most British in my whole life and a risk that paid off.

"The title of being one of the top Pakistani wrestlers to have joined the WWE does come with a lot of responsibility, which is why my origins story is an integral part of my character.”

The trajectory of Ansari’s career within the WWE changed in 2021, after he lost his position on the NXT UK roster in a no disqualification match, against his former tag team partner Kenny Williams.

“I was at the height of my career and all it took was one slide through someone’s legs and my shoulder hyperextended.

"I was injured badly enough to go under the knife and had to have extensive surgery to repair it, but ultimately, I was released by the brand.”

Ansari did not let it stop him from his pursuit of remaining the kid from Karachi, in a cutthroat industry in which to succeed one must perform superfluously.

His succession in the WWE and now promotions within independent wrestling remain a huge feat.

He reflects: “I’ve got the passion of a Pakistani and the work ethic of a Yorkshireman...

“Whether I’m wrestling in a working man’s club in Burnley or on the big screens for the biggest federations, I’m living out my dream.”