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#148 - The Great Khali Nominated by: JONA

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In the annals of history, wrestling is littered with a veritable cornucopia of big men who couldn't go. Whether they were cardio nightmares, incapable of hoofing it to the ring without blowing up, or they were mush-mouthed simpletons lacking the ability to articulate simple words and phrases, most of these men at least provided some form of redeemable value: stature used to really matter. Strike an imposing presence and you rally fans behind a valiant underdog who just won't quit. Or fight for the fans and they will rally behind your indomitable fury.

Of course, what that requires is for there to be a modicum of realism involved in wrestling. Once you've blown kayfabe, you destroy the credibility of size. Size stops mattering. Workrate begins to matter. Brutality begins to matter. The ILLUSION of realism matters. And those categories all demand something Great Khali lacked - skill. In a world that was becoming more and more concerned with show-stealing, Khali gave that show back in spades. Coming into a Smackdown fresh off of its greatest workrate era ever, Khali was incapable of being mobile. Wooden and lacking any moveset, Khali lumbered around like a monster from Shelley, replete with an incomprehensible vocabulary. Painful were the nonsensical promos, although not as painful as the interminable matches. Khali was a relic of the past being pushed as the presence - even his gimmick of being an evil foreign heel was played out by the time he arrived on the scene (so imagine how bad Jinder was in 2018 if Khali was stale in the late 00s).

Khali was, in many ways, what fans hate about Roman Reigns. He was a Vince project and was treated as such. He was given an inordinate amount of TV time and instead of being allowed to succeed or fail on his own merits, he stole time from talent that could have hit it big. Left to their own devices, so many great stars could have used WWE as a platform to propel WWE further, but Vince wants what Vince wants. And Vince thinks it's hilarious to put a mic in front of Khali and laugh at his inability to speak.

Khali brought nothing to the table, and he killed the "big man" concept in WWE for years afterwards (until the arrival of Braun Strowman).
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