The curious case of The Great Khali
The rocking debut of the Great Khali at WWE arena eight years back is now an old story. The Khali is no longer among the top contenders for WWE heavyweight championship. He is the longest-serving WWE superstar from India.He will soon complete a decade as a professional wrestler in WWE. But somewhere he has lost the focus to rule the WWE universe.
Khali looked quite simple as an athlete these days. He has lost too many singles fight at WWE Raw and Smack-Down in recent times. Even his junior colleagues like Rusev, Ryback among others have defeated him very easily and without much effort during the past few months.
The Great Khali’s frequent break or in and out from WWE ring could be the main reason behind his continuous lacklustre performance in current days. He doesn’t seem to be the Khali of the past. Although his finishing moves are still very powerful but he fails to use them when needed most. Eventually he gets defeated.
The Glorious Past
When The Great Khali made his debut inside the WWE ring in 2006, it was certain that he will conquer the WWE universe. He has the height (even taller than the legendary Undertaker) that gives him slight edge over other WWE superstars. He has huge weight of around 160 kg too. His massive power and unmatched fighting skills definitely had the potential to make him one of the toughest wrestlers of all time.
Khali kept his focus clear. He came to WWE arena and immediately challenged the Undertaker. Finally he defeated the legendary Undertaker and soon he got the WWE World Heavy-Weight belt also. For the next several weeks Khali went on rampage. He spared none. Top WWE superstars including John Cena, Big Show, Kane, Shawn Michael, Batista and others had surrendered to Khali at that time.
Khali looked completely unstoppable during 2006-2007. Within the next couple of years the WWE went through a drastic change. Now many wrestlers started using tricks to mislead the referee. Soon they started outwitting the Great Khali and won fights too. This has largely affected the Khali’s wrestling ability and confidence. Later on he moved towards silver screen.
Khali’s switch to Television
It was really unnecessary for the Great Khali to move towards silver screen at the top of his career. In 2008, he played the role of Dalip in the Hollywood film Get Smart. Soon he seemed more comfortable inside television. He took a long break from WWE and participated at many TV shows.
He was also the runner-up at India’s most popular show Bigg Boss. During 2010 to 2012 he did lots of television shows in India and abroad. It is also said that during this time he has undergone a brain surgery that delayed his return to WWE.
Repeated defeats of the Great Khali at WWE fights
Great Khali has participated at number of WWE fights in present times. Surprisingly he couldn’t emerge victorious at any one of these matches. In December 2013, he got an opportunity to fight for United States Championship against Antonio Cesaro at the WWE main event. But he was emphatically defeated by the clever Cesaro.
A couple of months back Khali fought at a Royal Rumble match. But the Shield eliminated him at this special WWE event. He again got the opportunity to fight at the Andre the Giant memorial battle royal. Again Khali failed to win the match. In the end, Cesaro was declared winner after he slammed Big Show out of the ring. Khali also failed to win the battle royal at WWE battleground to compete for the WWE intercontinental championship held few weeks back.
Khali is definitely feeling the heat now. The cut-throat race among WWE superstars to reach on top and the authority’s diktat are the harsh realities inside WWE locker room. Fans definitely want to see the old monster inside Khali back but it would be the herculean task for him to even get a fight against a tougher challenger in WWE main event at this point of time. Only, if he starts winning from now onwards then there is a possibility for the Indian fans to rejoice more.