Does anyone actually like the Great Khali?

[MartialHorror]

So apparently the Great Khali is about to be released from the WWE, which probably pleases more people than saddens them. I'm sure he's a really nice guy and he might be legitimately tough as allegedly he won a real fight with the Big Show, but does anyone like him as a performer?

I'm not really familiar with his early heel work, but I have seen bits and pieces and at least back then, he had a more impressive physique. I could see someone with that look getting some sort of a push, although I've heard mixed things as to whether he's gotten better or worse in the ring since then. He does little-to-no talking and doesn't appear to have any real charisma.

Personally I think he would've fit in more during the 80's, maybe even through mid 90's when the WWF was more about cartoonish gimmicks. I don't think his career would've been a lot different, but I don't think people would've minded him as much during that time.

I really didn't mind the Great Khali, but I wouldn't want him anywhere near the main event scene. But he doesn't really fit with the modern WWE, which puts a lot more emphasis on match quality than it did before. Plus, he looks so out of shape. I usually don't mind, but it's more noticeable with his size. The Big Show might often put on a lot of weight, but even when he does, he still looks threatening. The Great Khali just doesn't have a wide enough frame, so it all settles towards the stomach. Plus, just walking looks painful for him.

Nevertheless, I have to give the guy credit for being willing to take bumps and his jobbing status doesn't stand out as badly as Kane's does. I also think the Great Khali is a pretty cool sounding name. Yet it seems like late last year, the fans still cheered for him. These days, the crowd is virtually silent. It's pretty awkward. But I wonder what he'll do next. TNA? Retire?

 

[Zycho32]

I'll admit wholeheartedly to the fact that I simply do not know Khali all that well, even from the perspective of a casual observer. As a performer, even before his physical ability was sapped, he was what he was; a basic monster. Someone for the heroes to vanquish. Done right, his ringwork could be serviceable.

I can believe injuries and surgeries turned him into a joke; actually seeing him jump the ring ropes in a Youtube clip(Top 50 Moves of Khali, if you're curious) and performing a few very surprising moves before he wound up in WWE says it all.

As to his future plans, I have to imagine he's not wrestling anywhere but in his native country, if not retired outright.

 

[Scrotie McBoogerballs]

He looks menacing and really strong, but he is so slow he makes Andre the Giant look like El Torito. He has had a good career, but I think movies should be his thing now, he could carve out a good career just like Kurrgan did. I certainly wouldn't want to be the guy that sacked him. He killed someone for real in the ring, the guy is super strong, but just so slow for entertainment purposes. Personally I hold nothing against him, not like he is pushed in our faces like Kane of Big Show, his appearances are more of a light hearted novelty. Hope he gets plenty of guest spots at Rumbles and nostalgia events.

 

[Creepy Old Man]

It's unbelievable to think that Khali held the World Heavyweight Championship (back in mid 2007 when its prestige was still comparable to that of the WWE Championship), went over The Undertaker clean on pay-per-view, and actually main-evented multiple PPVs in world title matches. Per kayfabe accomplishments, this guy is a vastly superior sports entertainer to the likes of Curt Hennig, Davey Boy Smith and Owen Hart.

I found him slightly amusing at times in his comedy role, but nine times out of ten I'd groan when he appeared on TV. I can see why kids liked him, though, and probably would have enjoyed his "work" if I were of single-figure age during his run.

 

[Mustang Sally]

It seems Khali was hired in the same manner as Giant Gonzalez....one of those "hope & a prayer" type deals in which they throw the poor guy in there and hope his size alone will make him a believable attraction.

The Gonzalez experiment was ridiculous; there was no way anyone could make a wrestler out of him.....not even the Undertaker, who could usually coax a decent match out of anyone.

Khali's problem is more his knees than his ability to perform in the ring. I cringe every time he's forced to bend them, which is something that's hard to avoid when wrestling, no? The poor guy must live on cortisone shots just to enable him to walk down the ramp to the ring....and even that looks painful when he does it.....and the cumulative effect of the shots has probably dissolved his joints to the point he has to retire now.

Through it all, I kind of liked him....and wished his legs were in better shape so he could do what WWE intended him to do.

 

[Kamala316]

Khali pretty much got his job because he was huge in stature (something Vince has always drooled over), and he was huge in India (so Vince saw $$$), which is why he stayed employed for so long. Between his physique, and his knees, he was a shell of his former self at the end of his WWE run. As a heel, he was believable. As a face, he was a joke. My favorite Khali moment will always be when he was in a battle royal (not sure if it was a RR or not), and after he entered and cleaned house, HBK (who was laying on the mat looking at him), had to "whisper" to him which side the camera was on so he could do his arm raise/"Ahhhh!" scream thing he always did. He would fit in perfect with the gimmicks of the 80's/90's, but in today's WWE, he was nothing short of a side show, in my opinion. I'm just glad he can give his knees a rest now...it was painful to watch him try to move.

 

[bioshock]

He was never, and I mean ever good in the ring. Talent wise he is the worst to ever hold a world championship in WWE history. Big chop, a boot, and thats about it. He never did improve, nor did he ever really take any bumps like Big Show has done. I mean Andre the Giant in 1989 had more offensive moves then Khali.

 

[Radical]

WWE, whether you like it or not is popular because of pure awe and amazing spectacles, not just because of quality wrestling.

Great Khali was the "awe and amazing spectacle" part. For that, he did well.

Problem is, he stuck around too long.

I, personally, have zero problem with him coming into WWE years back when he did (was it 2007 or something?) and coming in as a big monster heel, crushing some other top monster Superstars and working his was to a World Heavyweight Championship. I have ZERO problem with that because when he first came into the WWE he was obviously younger and could work a LONGER match than he can now and he was new and wasn't spoiled like he is today with many super-short matches and losses.

Who cares if he can't wrestle like Bret Hart, he wasn't there for that. What I am shocked about is that he stayed around longer than 3 years (a typical first contract length). I think 3 years was all they needed out of him. They did it right at first, he came in, dominated big guys (and little guys), won the World Title, lost it to Batista (believable), went on to have Giant vs Giant matches or the famous "David vs Goliath" matches to put over young, up and coming Superstars. He did that but then he STUCK AROUND. That was the problem. He got older and no longer could even pretend to be dominant again and became a joke. That was the problem.

So I liked him when he came into WWE. Say what you want by the Punjabi Prison match he was in was also a spectacle that has millions of views YouTube so WWE wins at creating another memorable spectacle.

But it is more than time for him to retire and I'm sure another giant will come around, this time, hopefully one that can move a little more, or if not, only have a short career.

 

[a member of wwe universe]

Who doesnt like the Punjabi playboy? Former heavyweight champion. The only Indian world champion in wwe. He had great feuds with future hall of famers of batista and John cena in the main event. He reinvented the concept of hell in a cell by introducing yhe punjabi bamboo match. Khali is definitely bound for future hall of fame, maybe not as headliner but still.

 

[BuriedByCena]

I am so happy he is finally gone. He is the worst wrestler of all time. David Arquette was a better world champion. I was sooooo bored to tears whenever Khali came to the ring. His chop finisher was a huge joke. It looked so weak. I can't believe Taker put him over. I feel bad for any fan that paid money to see Khali.

Now we just need Kane, Big Slow and Mark Henry to retire. These guys just bring the product down. I can't stand watching them on TV. It just feels like the product comes to a halt and I have to wait 10 minutes for them to do 1 move.

 

[KangFu]

I'm going to miss his Bhangra theme song the most.

 

[HeroForHire]

The heel run was great. A guy who just comes to the ring, screams, and then bust you upside your head was good. They could have used him to help a younger guy go over. I know Batista beat him, and looking back they probably would have someone else finally take them down if they known he would leave. He was good at being a monster heel and it worked. Once he took the comedy role there was no going back. He can barely move in the ring, and I wouldn't take him serious as a heel. So it is good to see him go.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I don't know Khali as a person. The fact that I've rarely heard anything negative reported about him seems to suggest that he's a pretty nice guy. I dunno whether he is or not, probably never will know.

As a pro wrestler, I thought the guy was absolutely terrible. There's just nothing particularly redeemable about the guy. Yes, he's big but...well, so what? Am I supposed to be so awed by the fact that he's this 7'2" 375 pound mountain of muscle that I'm just supposed to forget or not care that he can't wrestle? Sure he's big, but he's also extremely slow and extremely, extremely limited in what he's able to do. In most case, the only times Khali put on entertaining matches is when he was in there with someone so good that they could carry him and make up, to some degree, for his shortcomings.

He hasn't been relevant in WWE for a long time, when he was relevant he simply wasn't worth watching in my opinion. Like most people, I saw the guy as a lot of dead weight that WWE was carrying for really no benefit.

 

[Navi]

According to everything I've read, he's one of the nicest people around, as well as Luke Harper.

Khali was more of a freak of nature than a wrestler, and when you look at him, especially up close and in person, the guy is friggin huge, and I mean huge. He towers over everyone and everything. It is unbelievable just how big he actually is, I was stunned.

As a wrestler, yea he was pretty bad, and I wouldn't even call him one. I understand that wrestling is huge in India, and he was hired to please that crowd. That's why he's been on the roster for so long. He really show have retired a long time ago, the poor guy can barely walk.

 

[OldSchoolWrestlingFan]

Khali was an amazing performer before he got to WWE - I saw him at several Indy events and he could do moves that would blow your mind for his size. He was also much more trim & ripped & could move around the ring with amazing ease - so I said all of that so say this, WWE was his downfall as a pro!! You cannot have a man of that size be allowed to carry that much extra weight and then perform moves like leg drops, etc and then expect him to be some quick moving big man. He is another example of how WWE hires a man for his uniqueness and his amazing talent in the Indy scene and then destroys their career. He could have been this generations Andre but instead they killed his body and career!

 

[Dave]

No. No one does.

Don't get me wrong, I liked him in his early days. I believe he first had his push when Triple H was Heavyweight Champion and The Great Khali was his main aggressor. He actually had the feel of an absolute monster heel within the company; and he had the attributes to back it up, too. The guy is an absolute beast of a man and if he had continued to be utilized well, then he could have been way more than he ended up being. In fact, he could have been at the very top of the business for a while.

But the major stumbling point was his language. I couldn't understand a word that the guy was saying half the time. When you couple that with the fact that he was so big that, when he fell over, it was like he was selling in stages. His selling was piss poor and he seemed clunky when he wrestled.

Still, there was once hope for Khali and the WWE took a big steamy dump on it and reduced the man to nothing more than a carnival attraction. Much the same way they have done for the Big Show actually. But what they have done to Khali is scandalous.

So no, I don't care. But the WWE are to blame for that entirely.

 

[MCMG]

"Like" is a bit strong. He had a role in the WWE and I understand why they used him. His impact in India would have been huge and that makes sense from a business point of view. From the wrestling side, he offered very little. He struggled to have many good matches. I remember Cena being an exception and perhaps his stuff with Triple H and Ziggler.

He did some entertaining stuff. He made me laugh. He was a decent enough heel. The positives are there but his stuff in the ring just didn't entertain me nor did I think it was particularly good. Overall, I'd say I'm a bit meh towards Khali and I'm not upset to see the back of him.

 

[CyberPunk]

Khali did make some impact here in India. However, WWE has been popular here long before he debuted and his presence didn't matter much in terms of drawing people in.

As a performer, Khali in WWE was piss poor. But that was never really his fault. He was signed when he was already past his prime. After watching his work in APW, I can comfortably say that Khali could've been much bigger deal if he had come earlier. He moved better, was in a better shape and as we know, a freak of nature. By the time he came to WWE, his knees were already shot and the knee and brain surgery later, he didn't have much left.

For us, he'll always be remembered as the first World Heavyweight Champion from India who had good enough start in WWE. Post 2010, I don't even remember any meaningful thing he did.

He's real nice person in real life though, and helped his village out. So yes I like him as a person.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I wasn't that big of a Khali fan. His monster heel run had its moments. I didn't mind the feuds with John Cena, Undertaker, or Batista. Heck, I was even fine with the Punjabi Prison match. What I really had a problem with was when they made him face. The Khali Kiss Cam and having him be The Punjabi Playboy were stupid. I also hated the entrance theme he used for the last few years in WWE. His theme from 2006 to 2008 was pretty cool, that's what I'll end up missing more than anything else about him.

 

[FreezeIzGAWD]

I swear that's why Nash makes statements that new generation fans just like Vanilla Midgets. Khali, Mark Henry, The Big Show all the guys You people insult for being slow with limited mobility.....

LOL.....

They are ALL MONSTERS!

Do You realize what that means? I loved Khali at first. I did hate when they turned him into a jobbing joke but as a MONSTER HEEL.....

Are you Serious?

Look at him....

There will NEVER be a guy like Khali again....

I think he was AWESOME!!!!

 

[Revenant87]

Obviously hes absolutely horrible in ring/mic work wise and his comedy face stuff is cringeworthy....but he is okay as a heel because he is undoubtedly a very freakish and physically imposing looking fella.

 

[Bernkastel]

I really enjoyed Khali during his championship run. I was initially disappointed when he won the belt because I didn't care for his lack of mobility at the time. But I warmed up to him once I realized how much stronger he made his competitors look when they were able to damage him in the slightest. He was able to have good matches with Undertaker, Kane, Batista, Big Show, Cena, and HHH. For me, that was all I could ask for.

I was digging his face run at first until it began to get stale and overused as time passed. I always thought the man would be best used as a monster heel, and I was hoping he get another chance to shine but his health just continued to plummet and he ended up in jobber status.

As a long time defender of the man I understood his value as a wrestler, and I really don't think he was as bad as many claim he was, despite his health problems.

 

[HunterMan]

I never really liked Khali. He was better as a heel in the ruthless aggression era but when pg came and he turned face, he was never the same. His attempts at comedy left me looking at him with a straight face.

 

[Its Clobberin' Time]

I for one am glad he's gone! The bloke could hardly walk, let alone wrestle! Hasnt been relevant since his World Title run and even that was laughable.

 

[kadroan]

I like him. He wasn't the greatest wrestler but he was entertaining. I was surprised WWE let him go since I thought he help sell tickets when they tour India.