[Watch] Former WWE World Champion The Great Khali dominate New Japan Pro-Wrestling in throwback video
Former World Heavyweight Champion, The Great Khali was a dominant force in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
Pro wrestling fans hardly remember Khali for his time in Japan as they have only seen him during his WWE run. The 7-foot-tall giant from Punjab created havoc in WWE, and the company introduced a new match stipulation exclusively for Khali called the 'Punjabi Prison Match.'
Apart from wrestling, The Punjabi Playboy has acted in a few movies like The Longest Yard, Kushti, and took part in reality TV shows as well. Khali is the runner-up in the fourth season of Bigg Boss (Hindi).
Twitter user and wrestling YouTuber WrestleLamia tweeted a throwback video of the Great Khali in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
YouTuber 'The Great Khali Fan' created a montage of The Punjabi Playboy's run in the Japanese promotion. WrestleLamia noted that Khali was a bad**s in the promotion.
"We make fun of the Great Khali in WWE but he was actually a f***ing bad**s in NJPW," WrestleLamia tweeted.
You can check out the tweet here.
Fans react to The Great Khali's NJPW run
The majority of the wrestling world was stunned with how explosive the giant was in NJPW, while some people complained about his WWE run.
Also Read: What is the Great Khali's net worth?
Fans found his time in NJPW and WWE to be like night and day.
@wrestlelamia What year is this, and what changed?
This is like night and day
@wrestlelamia @TheChief_V1 why wasn’t my childhood filled with this great khali !!!
Fans also spoke about his early run in WWE and how much they enjoyed watching him in the ring with wrestling icons like The Undertaker, The Big Show, and Batista.
@wrestlelamia His debut and feud with Taker and Show were pretty f cool at the beginning when he wasn't at joke level.
@wrestlelamia I still remember that walk down and chop to Taker. Sure was something. He's also dope in The Longest Yard remake
Some were confused on why they did not see this version of The Punjabi Playboy in WWE.
@wrestlelamia Why was he so bad in wwe then? I mean look at hogan. His shit in NJPW(or was it AJPW) was awesome. He did moves he never did in wwe….why?
@wrestlelamia He was much better by comparison there. I wonder how much of this stuff he could of done earlier in this WWE stint, but Vince decided to go the immovable object route. Like he did also with Andre who could do pretty athletic moves for a time.
@wrestlelamia Man gets to WWE and gets stiff af looking like his legs were going to give out walking down the Ramp
Most people shared the true reasons for Khali's limited move-set in WWE.
@wrestlelamia Its a shame by the time he arrived in the WWE, he basically had no knees, coz he was an absolute beast at this time. Don't know if he would've ever be World champ in New Japan, but he would've been a sensation if he entered WWE like this
@wrestlelamia By the time Khali reached WWE, his feet had really started giving up.
Plus I really think VKM couldn't book Indian/Japanese wrestlers well.
This is the reason why I was so happy on seeing Khali get inducted into the HOF!
@Soup_909 @wrestlelamia Both his knees were blown out by that point, had at least one botched knee surgery by the time he got to the WWE.
A few fans questioned WrestleLamia's claim that the 7-feet-tall giant was a beast in NJPW after watching a montage video.
@wrestlelamia @WrestlingNewsCo Watch his full matches!! not little clips made by a fan. And then tells me he was good in Japan. Marks will push anything 😂
One Twitter user claimed that one video montage proves nothing and he wanted to see full-length matches to believe WrestleLamia's claim that Khali was a bad**s.
Check out the tweet here.
Another fan tagged AEW's MJF's interview with Barstool Rasslin and mentioned that this tweet proved the Devil's point about the wrestling world, claiming that a wrestler is the best after watching a few clips of him or her wrestling.
Check out the tweet here.
The Punjabi Playboy was inducted into the prestigious Hall of Fame Class of 2021.
Are you a fan of the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion? Let us know in the comments section below.