The Great Khali may not have always been the greatest in-ring talent in WWE history, but there is no doubt he made an impact during his time in the wrestling business. Whether he was a monster heel in the main event scene or a comedic talent doing the kiss-cam, Khali was able to entertain audiences.
He enjoyed a Hall Of Fame career with WWE, which is something only a select set of talents can say. But while WWE fans know a lot about his in-ring career with the company, there's plenty about The Great Khali that audiences are still not aware of to this day.
Updated on February 22nd, 2022, by Andrew Kelly: The Great Khali, even if he didn’t set the world alight with his wrestling ability, is undoubtedly a huge and notorious name in wrestling, earning a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame. Due to his sheer unbelievable size, he was a sight to behold any time he stepped foot in an arena. Standing at over seven-feet tall, all eyes turned towards him as an incredible specimen. Although he should never have even come close to winning the World Heavyweight Championship, he remains to this day in the history books alongside the great World Champions of the past. There was a time when he did feel like a great presence, with a great presentation of a monster heel like WWE has often done very well, but due to his poor maneuverability, he became a comedic character in the latter stages of his WWE career. Despite all this, he is a huge name in his home country of India, and he brought a lot of interest in for WWE, acting as a great commodity to the company for several years.
13 * He Was Used As A Punishment
Khali is notorious for his infamously bad in ring work, being known to work far too stiff. Working with Khali was always a struggle but also a risk, which is why he was used as a punishment for superstars who were behaving in what was deemed to be wrong or disrespectful.
For example, Cryme Tyme were rubbing others the wrong way due to having too much arrogance early on into their WWE run, so were made to work with Khali on the house show circuit. This is certainly an outdated way of thinking, but it was something that happened, nonetheless.
12 * He Is A Bollywood Actor
Khali has had several TV and movie exploits, one of those being in Bollywood movies. He made his Bollywood debut in 2010, in the film Kushti. The movie focused on a small town in which wrestling was a major part of their lifestyle.
Khali essentially played himself, even down to the name, acting as an unbeatable force for the main character to overcome. The film itself received many negative reviews, though one of the songs in the movie gained some positive steam, so it wasn’t a complete failure. There have been several movies that have featured wrestling, but this one is little more unknown.
11 * Opened His Own Wrestling School
Although he seemingly stepped away from wrestling in 2014, Khali would open his own wrestling school and company in Punjab, called Continental Wrestling Entertainment (CWE), with them putting on several shows, even bringing in some names from America, such as Chris Masters.
Khali himself would even win the CWE Heavyweight Title by defeating Crimson. This would be Khali’s one and only match within his own company.
10 Working In The Police
Before The Great Khali decided to step inside a wrestling ring, he had a different career. His first major job was working in the police force, as he was inducted into the Punjabi police force in 1993. It wasn't a career he did for a longtime, but it was something that he achieved.
There are quite a few wrestlers that have been police officers throughout their lives, but few fans knew that this was something that The Great Khali was able to achieve, with the giant wrestler not being someone that you would want to mess with.
9 He Worked For WCW
When wrestling fans think about The Great Khali, it is WWE that instantly comes to mind. However, that isn't the only major promotion that he has worked for. That's because one of his first big contracts in the sport was with WCW.
Khali signed with the promotion in 2001, spending eight months with the company. While he didn't make it to television during that time, he was around with WCW until they went out of business and got bought by WWE.
8 Wrestling In Japan
Something else that fans should know about The Great Khali is the fact that he worked in Japan as well. A lot of great wrestlers get the chance to work in the country, which is one of the hottest markets in professional wrestling.
Khali was involved in a huge tag team during this period of his career as well. He worked alongside Giant Silva, with the duo bringing a combined weight of 805 pounds, making them a team to not be messed with.
7 Brain Surgery
Something a lot of fans do not know about The Great Khali is that he had to undergo a serious brain surgery back in 2012. This was a because he had a tumor in his pituitary gland, which he thankfully was able to have removed.
It wasn't something that everybody was aware of, but it showcases the major health scares that professional wrestlers can go through in their lives. Because it wasn't a big in-ring injury, people don't talk about it as much, but he is full healthy now.
6 Straight Edge Lifestyle
A straight edge life in wrestling is no longer a rare thing, as a lot of talents have opted to live this way for a variety of reasons. While some wrestlers such as CM Punk and Darby Allin talk about it frequently and have it featured in storylines, The Great Khali never did that.
Because of that fact, a lot of people might not be aware that he doesn't drink or smoke. However, that is how he chooses to live his life, with health and fitness being at the top of his priority list.
5 Reality Television Star
A lot of wrestlers have been involved in reality television over the years. Whether it is Chris Jericho and The Miz on Dancing With The Stars, or the wide variety of shows purely focused on wrestlers such as Total Divas and Miz & Mrs.
But The Great Khali has also worked in the reality world. He appeared on the show Big Boss, which was a spinoff from Big Brother. He performed brilliantly as well, finishing as the runner-up overall.
4 The Longest Yard
The Great Khali has star power simply due to his presence. That is why he's a natural fit into the world of acting, and over the years he has had several roles in Hollywood. One of his first was part of The Longest Yard, which was a hit upon its release.
However, Khali wasn't the only wrestler to be featured in this one. Steve Austin and Kevin Nash were also involved in the movie, while Bill Goldberg was one of the biggest characters in the project.
3 Natalya's Kiss
One memorable part of The Great Khali's career was the kiss cam that he hosted. This led to members of the audience kissing, and it turned Khali into a playboy-esque gimmick. Natalya was a wrestler he was always around, but they didn't share a moment.
However, Nattie revealed on social media that she actually pitched for them to kiss numerous times. This would have made sense given their on-screen connection, but WWE management felt another way about that.
2 Fighting Big Show
Big Show and The Great Khali are two of the biggest wrestlers of all time, and they ended up having heat backstage. This was likely down to the fact they were fighting for a similar spot, but it ended up taking place because of the chop move.
This was something that Big Show traditionally hit in the corner, but then Khali started doing it as well. Big Show took exception to this and confronted him backstage. This erupted in a legitimate backstage fight, which would no doubt have been a sight to behold.
1 Bullied By Hornswoggle
On-screen, Hornswoggle and The Great Khali were often paired together for segments, likely to do with their sheer contrast in their height. However, while they acted like friends on-screen, behind the curtain Hornswoggle has admitted to bullying him.
The former WWE Superstar revealed he bullied the bigger man, admitting it was something that wouldn't be accepted now. However, he admitted to targeting him every week, as Hornswoggle felt if he should bully the biggest person possible, rather than anyone else.