Rohan Raja Set for AEW National Title Showdown with Andrade at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens

Pro wrestler Rohan Raja will challenge AEW’s Andrade for the AEW National Championship on Oct. 3 at Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling’s Northern Rising pay-per-view, held at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens.

Raja, who goes by the ring name “Ravenous,” said the match carries extra weight because he was left off the main card the last time Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling ran a show at the historic venue.

“I’m super excited for this. This is our second show in Maple Leaf Gardens and the first one I was left off the main card, so I had this like real chip on my shoulder since that day and then now coming back again and I’m one of the marquee matches on it, just goes to show all the hard work I’ve been putting in,” Raja said in an interview with OutKick Dropkick.

Raja lost the PWA Champions Grail earlier this year but has built momentum since June. He said he sees the Andrade match as a chance to deliver the best performance of his career against one of the sport’s top competitors.

“To go against someone like an Andrade who is like pound-for-pound one of the best wrestlers in the world right now and he’s AEW national champion and I believe, wholeheartedly believe, that me and him are going to have the best match and we’re going to steal the show,” he said. “I’m training really, really hard for this. I’m trying to up my game even more. I’m looking at this match and I want to have the best match of my career at this point.”

Raja added that fans should expect more build toward the match in the weeks before the pay-per-view.

“So, taking that into account, I’m super confident that I’m going to walk away with it with the win. Everything I’ve been putting in, everything that everyone’s been watching on MLP ‘Mayhem’ week to week to week and still to come because we still got a couple more weeks before the pay-per-view. … There’s still going to be a couple things before the pay-per-view that’s going to get people really, really hyped for this match and I’m super excited, man, and I couldn’t be more thrilled about it.”

Praise from behind the scenes

Raja has drawn attention for his development in the ring, including from Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling owner Scott D’Amore, who has said Raja has reached main-event caliber.

“It’s like when I come to the back after all of my segments, matches, promos and everything like that, hearing feedback like that, whether it’s directly to me or I’ve heard it somewhere else, is just very humbling and it reassures everything that I’m doing,” Raja said.

Raja said the recognition from peers has confirmed the effort he’s put in away from the cameras.

“And then hearing everyone backstage say all these nice things about me and putting me over and I think everyone has seen … I hold myself as like a top talent, but I think everyone, especially since we’ve been doing Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling, but especially since we’ve been doing MLP ‘Mayhem,’ is like they’ve seen this next level I’ve added to like a main event status where I can hold main event ground and all my peers telling me that and all the respected people in this business, all the people backstage telling me that it is just a really nice thing because I am really working really hard and a lot of people don’t see what I put in behind the scenes, everything like that. So, it’s just a very nice thing just to be reassured that I’m doing the right thing. But everything I’ve known to this point now, the world and everyone else is seeing it now.”