Angusdacat
Superstar
Joined on: Jun 26, 2014 21:28:21 GMT -5
Posts: 670 
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Post by Angusdacat on Sept 23, 2020 17:08:25 GMT -5
I've been watching a lot of Andre the Giant WWF matches lately which made me want to look back at other famous big men in the industry and how they were booked in comparison, and no other big man gets hate on the internet like the Great Khali. Khali is constantly considered the worst World Heavyweight Champion in WWE, if not one of the worst world champions in general, but was he really that bad? Hear me out for a second... - The Great Khali had immense presence in the ring that is still talked about to this day. He still ranks high on any list of tall WWE Wrestlers and had a believable enough appearance to go over the Undertaker clean in his debut match. The man was built too, with giant arms and sharp facial features. You could tell that the dude actually worked out, unlike some of his competition. The only reason to not book him to win a title would be if he was absolute garbage in the ring.... which brings me to #2
- In-ring ability. Yes, Khali wasn't a five-star wrestler or even a four-star wrestler, but does that always matter? Andre the Giant was far worse in the ring in his last 4 years with the WWF but was still someone you wanted to see and could believe in because of his size and spectacle. Khali got more people talking about his size and spectacle than any other wrestler in the past 20 years and that's got to mean something right? Of course, the argument could be made that size doesn't mean anything if you don't have charisma and popularity to back it up... which brings me to #3
- Popularity. The Great Khali WAS popular, like it or not. Kids who like the WWE today still talk about the guy. Youtube videos that feature Khali get huge amounts of views and discussion. For the causal fan, Khali was interesting to see regardless of his in ring ability and was marketable. And that's just in the US. In India? Don't even get me started. The dude is an ICON to India in wrestling at "Bret Hart in Canada" levels. And for those who don't know, India has over 3 TIMES the population of the U.S.A, so this isn't a nonfactor by any means.
In conclusion, I wanted to restate that yes, Khali wasn't a great wrestler, but he wasn't awful and... it didn't matter. Khali defied the rules of workrate much like big men of the 80's and 70's did before him and it made complete sense to have him as champion, which is something I can't believe it's taken me this long to realize.
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Post by Rated [R] NinJa on Sept 23, 2020 17:14:02 GMT -5
Yes.
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Angusdacat
Superstar
Joined on: Jun 26, 2014 21:28:21 GMT -5
Posts: 670
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Post by Angusdacat on Sept 23, 2020 17:15:36 GMT -5
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Post by JC Motors on Sept 23, 2020 17:29:10 GMT -5
He once killed a guy in the ring performing a Flapjack if I am not mistaken
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Angusdacat
Superstar
Joined on: Jun 26, 2014 21:28:21 GMT -5
Posts: 670
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Post by Angusdacat on Sept 23, 2020 17:43:19 GMT -5
He once killed a guy in the ring performing a Flapjack if I am not mistaken Jesus, I never heard that before |
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Post by Mr. Show on Sept 23, 2020 18:09:09 GMT -5
Honestly, I liked him. Not a great wrestler, but a believable unstoppable giant.
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Post by Darkhawk on Sept 23, 2020 18:13:18 GMT -5
He was decent when he first started as a monster but after that was over he didn't really do much besides dance.
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Post by JC Motors on Sept 23, 2020 18:34:15 GMT -5
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Post by Self-Savior on Sept 23, 2020 18:51:19 GMT -5
He was decent when he first started as a monster but after that was over he didn't really do much besides dance. I don't think you could call what he was doing dancing. |
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Post by Evil Abed on Sept 23, 2020 18:52:12 GMT -5
He did what most all monster guys ended up doing. Dominating beyond their worth upon arrival and then a year or two later being thankful for being involved in that nights dance segment with the divas and midgets.
Certainly not World Title level material. Basically got as far as he did because of his size and WWE’s never ending attempt to connect with the ethnic groups of the world no matter how bad the talent is.
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hbkowns
Main Eventer
Joined on: Aug 15, 2011 23:33:52 GMT -5
Posts: 4,246
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Post by hbkowns on Sept 23, 2020 18:57:30 GMT -5
He was Giant Gonzalez level bad. The only reason why he stuck around was his size and he’s an attraction in India.
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Post by k5 on Sept 23, 2020 19:09:12 GMT -5
He was Giant Gonzalez level bad. The only reason why he stuck around was his size and he’s an attraction in India. Gonzalez in wcw was a lot better than wwe. they had him move like a mummy against the undertaker |
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Post by ¡Twist Of Cinnamon! on Sept 23, 2020 19:10:54 GMT -5
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Post by Next Man’s Knowing Rock on Sept 23, 2020 19:19:53 GMT -5
Khali would’ve been an incredible attraction in the 80s or earlier. He was an odd fit in wrestling in 2006, but still a very memorable character, which is a rarity nowadays. He was a throwback to the early nineties Undertaker opponents. Cena and HHH still got one or two decent matches out of him, though, and he was great when he became a comedy character.
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Post by figurecollector on Sept 23, 2020 19:56:18 GMT -5
He could barely walk to the ring toward the ring, let alone perform anything but chops. Horrible.
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Post by bababooey on Sept 23, 2020 21:54:22 GMT -5
He was worse than bad in the ring. It was at a point where he could barely walk.
In fairness though, I liked him being around when he became a comedy character. Couldn’t understand a word he was saying, but he had charisma. He clearly got the joke and leaned into it.
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Post by HHH316 on Sept 23, 2020 22:40:25 GMT -5
I would go as far as saying the worst wrestler/talent in WWF/E history.
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Post by TheSystem 1.5 on Sept 24, 2020 1:00:55 GMT -5
His best moment was Battleground 2016 (2017?) where he helped Jinder and held the title like he won it
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Post by CM Tusk on Sept 24, 2020 1:18:05 GMT -5
He’s on my top ten list of guys I want to wrestle.
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Post by hbkjason on Sept 24, 2020 1:32:46 GMT -5
I thought he was terrible, but I always felt bad for the guy as just walking to the ring looked like it caused him a lot of pain. Still, watching him wrestle was a massive chore. for me the lure and mystique of him being a giant wore off after about the thrid time I saw him.
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