The Great Khali
The Great Khali is a 350 pound, over seven-foot monster, who tore an unparalleled path of destruction in his debut year with World Wrestling Entertainment. Khali was relatively untrained, compared to many of his peers upon entering the business, but his size game him one distinct advantage: he didn’t have to DO anything to look a dominant competitor.
When he made his Smackdown! debut on April 7, 2006 Khali went straight to the top; he walked to the ring, and devastated The Undertaker! Weeks later he would “squash” then-World Champion Rey Mysterio in a matter of minutes, with very little effort on his part. With a victory over the champ under his massive belt, Khali then went on to defeat Undertaker on pay-per-view; and while the Deadman bounced back with a Last Man Standing victory over the giant on Smackdown weeks later, it was the original win that put Khali on the map in WWE. That win eventually led Khali to the Raw brand, where he faced WWE Champion John Cena on two separate pay-per-view occasions (Cena would give Khali his first loses by pin and submission). He would also defeated Hall of Famers Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels, as well as legends Batista and Kane to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
Khali would eventually drop the belt to Batista, and he never quite gained back that main event momentum. Although these days Khali gets quite a lot of “heat” from wrestling fans for his childish gimmicks and limited mobility, he continues to be a huge star internationally. He was, in fact, the very first Indian pro wrestler signed by WWE, and his home country gives the Punjabi Playboy royal treatment whenever he returns. Khali’s time in the spotlight may have been brief, but very few people people win World titles, and can brag about a victory over the Undertaker – not to mention a win at WrestleMania – in their debut year with the WWE.
