Joined
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128 Posts
It is slightly
uncomfortable to
watch The Great Khali
limp out on Raw or
SmackDown these
days.
Things don’t get much
better when he enters
in the ring, either. The
former World
Heavyweight Champion
appears to be
extremely limited in
what he can do (and he
wasn’t exactly Shawn
Michaels to begin with)
and struggles even
doing and taking the
most basic of moves.
By the looks of it, the
lumbering giant’s body
is quickly falling apart.
This isn’t surprising.
Generally, the freakishly
tall behemoths of
wrestling age badly.
You see people like Khali
tend to be plagued by
physical problems
anyway, on account of
their large frames and
weight. Throw in the
wear and tear of pro
wrestling and you have
a recipe for disaster,
with these individuals
often suffering from
severe health issues in
later life.
Legendary WWF star
Andre the Giant and
WCW’s Giant Gonzalez,
both of whom died
young, are the two
most prominent
examples (in fact,
Gonzalez spent the last
few years of his life in a
wheelchair).
Only The Big Show,
whose body does seem
to be holding up well,
looks to be the
exception to the rule.
Interestingly, on recent
episodes of he
(subscribers-only)
Wrestling Observer
Radio host Bryan
Alvarez have even
suggested that Vince
McMahon, aware that
his employee doesn’t
have much longer in
wrestling, is allowing
him to make as much
money as possible
before he leaves, hence
his prominent role on
TV in recent times.
Alvarez may be spot-on
with this theory (hey,
Vince isn’t all bad you
know) and it seems
likely that WWE brass
know the giant is
winding down, and his
time in the business is
coming to an end.
So, as we look at Khali's
time in WWE, what
exactly is his legacy in
WWE?
Well, all things
considered, his run can
be considered a flop. He
didn’t come close to
emulating the success
of Andre the Giant. Or
even The Big Show.
After debuting in 2006
for a program with The
Undertaker, Khali then
had a main event and
World Heavyweight title
run in 2007, notably only
for some awful
matches, including the
unintentionally hilarious
Punjabi Prison bout at
that year’s No Mercy.
While someone at his
size should have been
guaranteed a secure
main event spot in WWE
for however long he
wanted it, Khali was
hindered by a lack of
promo skills or anything
resembling wrestling
ability.
While no one could
realistically expect
anyone at his size to be
the next Kurt Angle,
even when we lower
our standards, Khali is
still an awful, atrocious
wrestler who really
should have never been
allowed anywhere near
a wrestling ring.
We also feel quite bad
for his opponents who
had to carry the
bumbling giant through
his—usually short—
matches.
Dave Batista, who
worked with Khali
frequently in 2007 and
2008, would say in
interviews that Khali
was an extremely nice
person but
acknowledged that
working with him was
“incredibly hard” and he
considered their
matches the worst of
his career.
Let’s face it: For the
sake of his fellow
wrestlers, WWE fans
everywhere—and his
health, of course—Khali
may have been better
staying out of wrestling
and sticking to picking
up various Hollywood
movie roles to make
himself money (with his
height, the star has
been in fairly high
demand in the film
business, picking up
supporting roles in hit
films like The Longest
Yard and The A Team).
Likely aware of his
flaws, WWE steered
clear of pushing Khali as
a main eventer after his
disastrous world title
reign and stuck him in a
mid-card role and using
him as comedy filler at
various points (anyone
remember the dire
“Punjabi Playboy”
gimmick?).
He also had a brief
unmemorable spell on
Raw after he got
drafted in 2010,
returning to the blue
brand soon after (due
to Khali’s terrible in-ring
skills, SD’s taped
format, in which he can
be heavily edited, is
obviously preferable).
There was also an
absolutely awful soap-
opera style storyline
with Khali and then-
manager Jinder Mahal in
which it was revealed
on-screen that Mahal
was actually Khali’s
brother-in-law and if
the giant didn’t do
every single thing the
ruthless manager
ordered, he would
divorce Khali's sister
back in India and bring
shame upon the entire
family—or something
like that.
Who on earth thought
this was a good idea for
a storyline?
You could call all this a
waste of the money
they were paying and
of Khali’s talents—he’s
a spectacle, if nothing
else—but considering
his inherent flaws are a
performer, it remains to
be seen what suitable
role WWE could have
found for him.
Dreadful matches,
stop-and-start pushes,
abysmal storylines…no,
Khali doesn’t have a
great legacy in WWE. He
may even be considered
one of the biggest flops
in WWE history
considering how heavily
he was hyped upon his
debut.
Despite his problems as
a wrestler though, it is
unfair to heap the
blame on all this the
star himself. After all,
the man is just trying
to make a living.
The blame for this
should probably go on
Vince McMahon, WWE
and their ridiculous big-
man mentality, which
sees the company
often overtaken by the
urgent need to sign
anyone of a massive
size, regardless of their
lack of talent, ability or
overall suitability to
wrestling.
uncomfortable to
watch The Great Khali
limp out on Raw or
SmackDown these
days.
Things don’t get much
better when he enters
in the ring, either. The
former World
Heavyweight Champion
appears to be
extremely limited in
what he can do (and he
wasn’t exactly Shawn
Michaels to begin with)
and struggles even
doing and taking the
most basic of moves.
By the looks of it, the
lumbering giant’s body
is quickly falling apart.
This isn’t surprising.
Generally, the freakishly
tall behemoths of
wrestling age badly.
You see people like Khali
tend to be plagued by
physical problems
anyway, on account of
their large frames and
weight. Throw in the
wear and tear of pro
wrestling and you have
a recipe for disaster,
with these individuals
often suffering from
severe health issues in
later life.
Legendary WWF star
Andre the Giant and
WCW’s Giant Gonzalez,
both of whom died
young, are the two
most prominent
examples (in fact,
Gonzalez spent the last
few years of his life in a
wheelchair).
Only The Big Show,
whose body does seem
to be holding up well,
looks to be the
exception to the rule.
Interestingly, on recent
episodes of he
(subscribers-only)
Wrestling Observer
Radio host Bryan
Alvarez have even
suggested that Vince
McMahon, aware that
his employee doesn’t
have much longer in
wrestling, is allowing
him to make as much
money as possible
before he leaves, hence
his prominent role on
TV in recent times.
Alvarez may be spot-on
with this theory (hey,
Vince isn’t all bad you
know) and it seems
likely that WWE brass
know the giant is
winding down, and his
time in the business is
coming to an end.
So, as we look at Khali's
time in WWE, what
exactly is his legacy in
WWE?
Well, all things
considered, his run can
be considered a flop. He
didn’t come close to
emulating the success
of Andre the Giant. Or
even The Big Show.
After debuting in 2006
for a program with The
Undertaker, Khali then
had a main event and
World Heavyweight title
run in 2007, notably only
for some awful
matches, including the
unintentionally hilarious
Punjabi Prison bout at
that year’s No Mercy.
While someone at his
size should have been
guaranteed a secure
main event spot in WWE
for however long he
wanted it, Khali was
hindered by a lack of
promo skills or anything
resembling wrestling
ability.
While no one could
realistically expect
anyone at his size to be
the next Kurt Angle,
even when we lower
our standards, Khali is
still an awful, atrocious
wrestler who really
should have never been
allowed anywhere near
a wrestling ring.
We also feel quite bad
for his opponents who
had to carry the
bumbling giant through
his—usually short—
matches.
Dave Batista, who
worked with Khali
frequently in 2007 and
2008, would say in
interviews that Khali
was an extremely nice
person but
acknowledged that
working with him was
“incredibly hard” and he
considered their
matches the worst of
his career.
Let’s face it: For the
sake of his fellow
wrestlers, WWE fans
everywhere—and his
health, of course—Khali
may have been better
staying out of wrestling
and sticking to picking
up various Hollywood
movie roles to make
himself money (with his
height, the star has
been in fairly high
demand in the film
business, picking up
supporting roles in hit
films like The Longest
Yard and The A Team).
Likely aware of his
flaws, WWE steered
clear of pushing Khali as
a main eventer after his
disastrous world title
reign and stuck him in a
mid-card role and using
him as comedy filler at
various points (anyone
remember the dire
“Punjabi Playboy”
gimmick?).
He also had a brief
unmemorable spell on
Raw after he got
drafted in 2010,
returning to the blue
brand soon after (due
to Khali’s terrible in-ring
skills, SD’s taped
format, in which he can
be heavily edited, is
obviously preferable).
There was also an
absolutely awful soap-
opera style storyline
with Khali and then-
manager Jinder Mahal in
which it was revealed
on-screen that Mahal
was actually Khali’s
brother-in-law and if
the giant didn’t do
every single thing the
ruthless manager
ordered, he would
divorce Khali's sister
back in India and bring
shame upon the entire
family—or something
like that.
Who on earth thought
this was a good idea for
a storyline?
You could call all this a
waste of the money
they were paying and
of Khali’s talents—he’s
a spectacle, if nothing
else—but considering
his inherent flaws are a
performer, it remains to
be seen what suitable
role WWE could have
found for him.
Dreadful matches,
stop-and-start pushes,
abysmal storylines…no,
Khali doesn’t have a
great legacy in WWE. He
may even be considered
one of the biggest flops
in WWE history
considering how heavily
he was hyped upon his
debut.
Despite his problems as
a wrestler though, it is
unfair to heap the
blame on all this the
star himself. After all,
the man is just trying
to make a living.
The blame for this
should probably go on
Vince McMahon, WWE
and their ridiculous big-
man mentality, which
sees the company
often overtaken by the
urgent need to sign
anyone of a massive
size, regardless of their
lack of talent, ability or
overall suitability to
wrestling.
