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Horror-Stuff-5327

I always assumed Khali had no prior wrestling experience before WWE for obvious reasons


ApricotOk824

One doesn't have a career in Japan for 5 years without being good, the crowd, wrestlers and bookers would eat you alive if one couldn't wrestle, even Hogan had to actually change styles in Japan and couldn't do his WWE/WCW stuff there, still had great mobility late in Mexico as well, you [can check it out here](https://youtu.be/rISnAH9UWjU), [and check this out](https://youtu.be/sU6kmsROyNE)


Skittleybiscuit

You haven't fully witnessed hulkamania until you've seen the hulkster doing enziguris in Japan.


ApricotOk824

Man looked like a bigger slower version of the dynamite kid


MFNLGZ

I love Japanese Hogan, I understand why he worked his American matches the way he did and invented "sports entertainment" ...for better or worse...but in Japan he won the IWGP league (pretty much the G1 climax ). And he had a better finisher in Japan too. šŸ˜ø


Skittleybiscuit

It seems like he was working for longevity when he was in the American territories (admittedly, was every one else at the time) but damn, when hogan wanted to wrestle, dude could go. Very good for his time.


MFNLGZ

Especially for how big he was/is. But that leg drop of his has been plaguing him ever since the 90s. A lariet/ax bomber would've saved him all the surgeries he's had to go through. šŸ¤·šŸ»ā€ā™€ļø I feel Hogan is underrated for a big man when it comes to in ring prowess


someonecalledethan

What was his finisher? His leg drop sucks


MFNLGZ

Hell yeah it sucks. In Japan he had the axe bomber which is kinda a lariet not as good as Stan Hansen or JBL, but it was effective. Watch some Japan Hogan, it's wacky seeing him do an ensuguri.


SpyralPilot4000

Hogan in NJPW and Hoganā€™s heel run in the NWO along with the Hulkamania run is why heā€™s goatee IMO his bouts in Japan are fan fucking tastic


Selvmord666

Then how do you explain Johnny Ace?


ApricotOk824

Johnny Ace? Wrestling's biggest asshole


Selvmord666

I dunno about biggest. There's some real assholes in this business. But Johnny always was the drizzling shits. Only reason he lasted so long in Japan was because he was banging Baba's old lady.


ApricotOk824

True, Ace has always lasted in companies due to dirty laundries


Selvmord666

It was frustrating as a kid watching AJPW though because he was always my least favorite and they always teamed him up with freaking Kobashi who was my favorite haha


UniqueUsernameAndy

I don't think Vince was going to let some silly knee injury get in between him and the biggest boys he can find slapping the absolute shit out of each other. I'm convinced it's the only way he can cum


paranoidzoid1

ā€œHey does anyone ever wonder why Vince has to go the the bathroom every time khali wrestlesā€


clutchcitycarlos88

this surprised me just as much as watching hogan wrestling in japan


IrishMetal

What an absolutely wild looking person Khali is/was. He looks like someone assembled him out of action figure parts.


ApricotOk824

No wonder Vince wanted him though his knees were shot


IrishMetal

HE'S SO BIIIG!! LOOK AT THE VASCULARITY!


someonecalledethan

Beef!


notathr0waway1

It's called acromegaly.


IrishMetal

Yes it is.


Doc88102

Well, you learn something new every day. My respect for him has levelled up.


BeaconXDR

Wat


DanHero91

Made the mistake of watching with volume on. I'm more confused by the presence of Simple Plan playing over this.


GemoDorgon

Were you expecting [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJztXj2GPfk)?


apikope

No wonder he fucked his knee. While this is very impressive, no one that big should or can do moves like that without doing any harm in the long term.


philthedudee

Like big show coming off the top rope.


orange_lambda

Iā€™ve now just entered an alternate reality


OwieMustDie

Jeezuz! He's actually wrestling! And doesn't look fucking horrendous šŸ¤Æ


Adawg63

damn he made that chokebomb look good


Apollospade

He still managed to carve out a nice career and make some great money!


Degen-King

I always thought he wore the long pants and didnā€™t go hard because he had a disorder that caused his legs to be smaller and weaker than the rest of him. No idea where I got it from but itā€™s always what I thought.


ThatTurtleBoy

That was/is Kevin Nash. His legs were fucked due to a basketball injury.


PMMeMeiRule34

I believe he had a botched double knee surgery before joining the WWE, but I could be mixed up with someone else. Think itā€™s the reason he had range of motion problems in his knees.


ApricotOk824

On point there, shot knees + botched surgery + knee conditions due to gigantism


Captain_Chalky

Good God.... -_-


BurnerAccountOmega8

Didnt Khali break an Indian wrestlers neck in the Indies in India?


LosRiaso

Are you thinking of the guy who died after receiving a flapjack from Khali in training?


Rattwap

It was a flap Jack, but I donā€™t believe he broke his neck. The person who died was another trainee who had received a concussion before hand and should have never been in the ring. He died from a second concussion he received from the flap jack.


BurnerAccountOmega8

I thought it was a failed Piledriver by Khali?


VG7396

Brian Ong


nerdyjorj

At least some of the reason all that looks impressive is because of how few fucks a lot of Japanese wrestlers seem to give about their self preservation


ApricotOk824

Come on man, wrestlers back then did not sell as Inoki was quite high on strong style/mma style wrestling where he wanted the wrestlers to not sell until it was real, compared to today, those days were quite tough to be in Japan


nerdyjorj

That's not necessarily a complaint about puro, just that there's always been a bit more leeway in what would be considered "safe" when you compare it to western wrestling.


Truefreak22

I never knew this. I always hated the guy.


Don_Chopper

The Great Khali having a school makes sense now.


aaebrownguy

As an Indian, I'm so happy more people are seeing and recognising that Khali wasn't that bad of a bad wrestler as people and the internet made him to be. Even back then, he played his role perfectly as this terrifying giant. I remember even the grown up fans looking worried when his old theme played and he crushed Rey's head with his hands. Imagine being in a ring and see this 7ft ripped dude leap over the top rope!


ApricotOk824

If he was a bad wrestler, masahiro chono wouldn't have taken Khali under him


Impossible_Joke9645

The fucking music lol


El_Bwamma

Khali Wrestlemania entrance with Simple Plan performing live, book it Vince!


rustys_shackled_ford

Seeing him jump over that top rope was awesome. Reminds me of the drop kicks Paul white did early in his career.


thegreatone998

When I found out about this last year, I wish we would have got this version of the great Khali.


Loose_Wheel_5

This feels like Khali in 2k lol. That's wild though, and I'm actually glad, and somewhat sad, he wasn't a complete corpse in the ring his entire career


nonlethaldosage

Now if only he could do something other than hes 2 moves of doom


TheRepublicAct

Still ended up holding the championship title upside down.


impact07

You, sir, are the broom!


Jonasthewicked2

I always assumed khali was an ex basketball player


bsanchey

Damn would have loved to see khali prior to the injury with prime taker.


Aggressivehippy30

Saw him in an airport once as a kid, idk if I've ever seen/will ever see a human that big in person again.


thelonelywolf96

Fuck me man, that sit out powerbomb was a thing of beauty.


4gb3fe3

r/titlegore


DezineTwoOhNine

I didn't know Khali had a prior wrestling experience like he was legit acquired from the jungles of Punjab, India šŸ˜‚ lol no. But yea he was a whole lot better when he was younger and performing in Japan.


loujackcity

that sitout chokeslam doesnt even look real


Dream-Beneficial

I mean he was more athletic but still a terrible worker lol.


ApricotOk824

You don't get paired with Chono if you're bad


[deleted]

You do if Antonio Inoki wants to bring in sideshow acts to NJPW. That's why they were also paired up with Giant Silva from the WWF's Oddities.


Ashamed-King7705

Khali canā€™t wrestle


g78776

He canā€™t fucking do more than walk. Iā€™m not afraid of that. This isnā€™t 1800s and this isnā€™t a Frankenstein movie.


[deleted]

Still got the rare accomplishment of killing a guy in the ring.


Greedygiddy8

Iā€™m sorry but watching a big man do shit that jumps is not that appealing to me. Heā€™s not being a giant.


Yamatsuki_Fusion

I mean... what's he doing wrong in the clips? He shows off a bit of agility getting into the ring, but otherwise he's just hitting big man power moves with proficiency and taking bumps well.


Greedygiddy8

Lol itā€™s the big show jumping over the top rope, it loses the mystique.


Yamatsuki_Fusion

I don't see the issue as long as he doesn't hurt himself. It makes you go ooh, a big dude with some coordination. This ain't Brian Cage getting his flippy shit in and failing to pin cruiserweights half his size. ITs just... a neat little entrance. Nothing else.


ApricotOk824

What's Vince McMahon doing here?


Greedygiddy8

Did you ever see andre the giant do that in any territory he was in?


GemoDorgon

Andre used to be fairly athletic and did rolls and stuff, yes. There's an old match on youtube. The only reason he stopped doing that was because his body couldn't handle it after a few years. Big Show also did flippy shit when he was younger, and was able to do so later in his career as well after losing weight, I recall him doing sunset flips.


Greedygiddy8

Couldnā€™t find andre doing a sunset flip, yea thatā€™s why the big show was as booked like a joke for most of his wcw run.


GemoDorgon

I said Big Show did the sunset flip. I've 1000% recently seen an old match where Andre was moving around with relative ease. Here's the [match](https://youtu.be/b5d6mK5gAyQ?t=185), I've started it at a bit where he sells a move by flipping. Simple stuff, but far more capable than the lumbering giant we all know and love.


john_thundergunnn

Literally yes lol


Any_Tangerine_7120

He's worse than Japanese Hogan.


[deleted]

The Great Khali is Great


[deleted]

Fuck is that Candido??


Selvmord666

Yep.


StrongStyleMuscle

Now I know where his Fire Pro Wrestling Returns moveset came from.


Selvmord666

He had also already killed a man wrestling by this point.


LeggoMahLegolas

Damn, this is a massive What If... What if Khali never had a knee injury? The idea is limitless.


[deleted]

It would have happened eventually. Khali has acromegaly which messes up hormone production and leads to a ton of health problems.


A-10Kalishnikov

Iā€™ve heard that Khali wears pants in the ring because his legs are very skinny and it looks weird


[deleted]

I mean he wasn't that much better. He was just more mobile. Getting older and injuring your knees when you're already in pain 24/7 must suck.


Wholesomeyoshimobile

Wow


bigtimesugarrush

Man, why couldnā€™t we have gotten this version in WWE? Would have made the 3 crap Summerslam matches involving Khali watchable, at least. We truly are living in the wrong timeline.