The Great Khali
| The Great Khali | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Dalip Singh Rana[1][2] |
| Born | 27 August 1972[1] Dhiraina, Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh, India[3] |
| Spouse(s) |
Harminder Kaur (m. 2002) |
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | |
| Billed height | 2.15 m (7 ft 1 in)[5] |
| Billed weight | 157.5 kg (347 lb)[5] |
| Billed from | Punjab, India[5] |
| Trained by | All Pro Wrestling[1] |
| Debut | 7 October 2000[1][6] |
| Retired | April 27, 2018 |
Dalip Singh Rana[7] (born August 27 1972) is an Indian professional wrestler, actor and powerlifter. He is better known by his ring name The Great Khali. He worked for the WWE from 2006 to 2014 and was the first Indian World Heavyweight Champion. Before he started his professional sports career, he was an officer in the Punjab state police.
Professional wrestling career
[change | change source]Early career
[change | change source]Under the ring name "Giant Singh", Dalip Singh became a pro wrestler for All Pro Wrestling in the United States. He made his first appearance in October 2000.
On May 28, 2001, Brian Ong died while training with Singh. Ong had already suffered one concussion but was told to continue training. A second concussion was deadly for him. Because Singh caused his death, Ong's family brought a lawsuit against All Pro Wrestling. APW was made to pay the Ong family over $1.3 million.[8]
WWE (2006–2014)
[change | change source]On January 2, 2006, Singh started working for WWE. He was assigned to Deep South Wrestling for training. Singh first appeared on WWE television on the April 7, 2006 epsiode of SmackDown!. He attacked The Undertaker during his match with Mark Henry. Khali had his first WWE match on April 21, 2006 against Funaki.
In July of 2006, Khali was removed from the first ever Punjabi Prison match at The Great American Bash against the Undertaker because of elevated liver enzymes. On August 4, he returned to SmackDown!. On August 29, it was reported that Khali would be out of action for several months due to surgery on both knees.
In 2007, Khali was feuding with Kane, leading to a match at WrestleMania 23 which Khali lost. In July he feuded with Batista before The Great American Bash. The two were scheduled for a match on PPV on Sunday, July 22, 2007. However, World Heavyweight Champion Edge had to give up the title because of a pectoral injury. Khali won the championship in a 20-man battle royal at the July 17 taping of SmackDown!, becoming the first Indian World Champion in WWE. He then went on to defend his title successfully against Kane and Batista at the Great American Bash.
By late 2007 and 2008, Khali had a manager/translator accompany him to the ring by the name of Ranjin Singh.
On April 1, 2021, Khali was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.[9]
Championships and accomplishments
[change | change source]
- Continental Wrestling Entertainment
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling
- Teisen Hall Six-Man Tournament (2002) – with Masahiro Chono and Giant Silva[12]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
- World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[15]
- WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2021)[16]
- 7-man Royal Rumble (2007)[a]
- Slammy Award (1 time)
- "Damn!" Moment of the Year (2008) Khali hosts the Kiss Cam on SmackDown!, 7 November[17]
- ↑ A seven-man Royal Rumble match took place on the January 22, 2007 episode of Raw. However instead of entrants coming out every 90 seconds, Raw's Executive Assistant Jonathan Coachman called each entrant out when he wanted to. Khali won by last eliminating John Cena.
Filmography
[change | change source]In 2005, Singh starred in the movie The Longest Yard as Turley, one of the prison's inmates. On March 16 2007, Singh starred in the 2007 remake of Get Smart, a movie based on the 1960s classic TV show, alongside The Rock.[18]
Personal information
[change | change source]He married Harminder Kaur on February 27, 2002.[7]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "The Great Khali". CANOE. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
- ↑ "Khali still employed with Punjab police". The Indian Express. 25 December 2010. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ↑ "Punjab Assembly Elections 2022: Ex-WWE wrestler 'The Great Khali' joins BJP in political debut". Firstpost. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ↑ "Khali at OWOW". Online World of Wrestling.com. Retrieved 23 September 2007.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "The Great Khali". WWE. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
- ↑ "Breaking New Ground". WWE.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Great Khali on IMDb
- ↑ Hershlaw.com (second article on page)
- ↑ "The Great Khali to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2021". WWE. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
- ↑ "Great Khali, foreign wrestlers entertain audience in Ludhiana". Hindustan Times. Dehradun. 7 March 2016.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (24 February 2018). "CWE Encounter '18". Cagematch.net. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ↑ "New Japan Pro Wrestling tournaments". Archived from the original on 3 August 2009.
- ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2008". Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Meltzer, Dave (26 January 2011). "Biggest issue of the year: The 2011 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, CA: 1–40. ISSN 1083-9593.
- ↑ "The Great Khali's first World Heavyweight Championship reign". WWE. Archived from the original on 4 October 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
- ↑ "Great Khali will be Inducted into Hall of Fame: #WWENowIndia Exclusive". Instagram. WWE. Retrieved 24 March 2021.[non-primary source needed]
- ↑ "Slammy Award Winners". World Wrestling Entertainment. 8 December 2008. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
- ↑ "Khali ready to make giant mark on Hollywood". Archived from the original on 2007-07-04. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
Other websites
[change | change source]- The Great Khali on WWE.com
- Dalip Singh on IMDb
- Extended information about The Great Khali Archived 2007-10-26 at the Wayback Machine