Summerslam 2017, or How to get through a 6 hour show with a little help from your friends at PWO

[Mad Dog]

Khali was a one night thing.

[fakeplastictrees]

Its amazing that a wrestler who is pretty much universally panned online has had such a lasting and unsung influence on WWE (and pro wrestling's ) popularity in India. Sounds like, with no understatements or hyperbole, that Great Khali broke down barriers and help expand markets. Sounds like a HOF in my book.

[ZThomas]

 

 

He got some heat for chinlock city. It was funny

 

I wasn't always this way.

 

I was in the crowd at Ring of Honor's Northern Navigation in Toronto in July 2008. I had only seen a couple of Steen & Generico matches prior to that, but after seeing his match with Nigel McGuinness for the ROH title that night, I walked out of that arena as a Kevin Steen fan. I loved his tag matches with Generico against The Briscoes, and I wanted to like him in WWE, I really did. But he has been slowly draining my will to live since Wrestlemania.

 

I'm glad to know it's not just me and that fellow PWO members whose opinions I respect are seeing the same things I am.

I know Gabe was burned out by then but I really enjoyed that time in ROH and Steen and Zayn was a big reason Why. Both guys went from World/Universal Champs to being stuck with nothing overnight.

[sek69]

Its amazing that a wrestler who is pretty much universally panned online has had such a lasting and unsung influence on WWE (and pro wrestling's ) popularity in India. Sounds like, with no understatements or hyperbole, that Great Khali broke down barriers and help expand markets. Sounds like a HOF in my book.

 

 

Plus after his WWE run ended, his school seems to have been the go to place to train for wrestling in India. His guys were featured on TNA's India tours if I'm not mistaken, and WWE was using his students too.

[El-P]

Let's see :

 

He's a godawful worker who can barely make a step without looking like shit. Barely above Giant Gonzalez.

 

He actually killed a guy during training.

 

He arguably opened the Indian market which is probably why Jinder is pushed today.

 

And from all acounts, he's got a big ego to boot while having zero talent.

 

Yeah, great legacy, for sure. Ah, 2017...

[FMKK]

Let's see :

 

He's a godawful worker who can barely make a step without looking like shit. Barely above Giant Gonzalez.

 

He actually killed a guy during training.

 

He arguably opened the Indian market which is probably why Jinder is pushed today.

 

And from all acounts, he's got a big ego to boot while having zero talent.

 

Yeah, great legacy, for sure. Ah, 2017...

If India ends up being an important facet of WWE business and he's the guy who opened up that market then you have to examine his case as an important drawing card whether you like him or not.

[Matt D]

 

Let's see :

 

He's a godawful worker who can barely make a step without looking like shit. Barely above Giant Gonzalez.

 

He actually killed a guy during training.

 

He arguably opened the Indian market which is probably why Jinder is pushed today.

 

And from all acounts, he's got a big ego to boot while having zero talent.

 

Yeah, great legacy, for sure. Ah, 2017...

If India ends up being an important facet of WWE business and he's the guy who opened up that market then you have to examine his case as an important drawing card whether you like him or not.

 

[El-P]

Exactly whom I thought about.

 

(and for the record, I don't give a flying fuck about "HOF" wankeries in general, so there)

 

((plus, Jinder Mahal will open the India market. Ah ah ah.))

 

(((was Bret Hart German BTW ?)))

[sek69]

It always gets brought up as a knock against him for obvious reasons, but it was really on APW for putting Brian Ong in the ring after previously getting concussed and have him do spots with a seven foot guy. Yeah technically Khali killed a guy, but it wasn't from any incompetence on his part.

[El-P]

That part was tongue-in-cheek (not the rest though). I know he's not Snuka. (nor... Kensuke Sasaki ?)

 

Actually, the one thing I'll give Khali is that he's got a freaky presence and character that Giant Silva really never had, and that made him kinda fascinating to watch for car crash matches and Royal Rumble spots. BTW, remember Giant Silva ? I used to love him back in 98 and hoped he would get a push and be the next Andre. Yeah, I know...

[Al]

I agree with most of the above sentiments about Khali. He deserved his push, he was a net asset to wrestling. But opening up India is a stretch when there's a strong line of Indian wrestlers going back to the 19th century. Dara Singh is already in, and I'd start considering the Great Gama before Khali.

[El-P]

And really, Tiger Jeet Singh, fucking atrocious in the ring but drew a whole lot in Japan against Inoki.

[goc]

I agree with most of the above sentiments about Khali. He deserved his push, he was a net asset to wrestling. But opening up India is a stretch when there's a strong line of Indian wrestlers going back to the 19th century. Dara Singh is already in, and I'd start considering the Great Gama before Khali.

Were people watching Dara Singh or Great Gama wrestle on national TV in India or was Great Khali the first Indian born wrestler they were able to watch like that?

[MoS]

Dara Singh is an absolute legend and deserves to be in the Hall of Fame (so does Great Gama and I am actually surprised he is not in) and I am not advocating for Khali to enter the HOF at all, but Dara Singh is NOT considered a "professional" wrestler here. At least, he has not been for decades now. In the sense that no one associates him with professional wrestling; people associate him (and used to associate him) far more with amateur wrestling and kushti, as absurd as it sounds. Khali is considered massive and gigantic, but Dara was considered a legitimately tough strongman/badass shoot wrestler, if that makes sense. Pro wrestling as we know it did not really have a presence here (or at least in the last few generations) until the 90s when wrestling first appeared on TV, and Khali did make that market much bigger.

 

Most Indians did not have a TV until the 80s so no one watched Dara Singh. By the 90s, he had transitioned from ex-wrestler to famous character actor in movies who was famous for legends like "He had beaten wrestlers from all over the world" "He had once embarrassed a cocky Pakistani wrestler" etc.

[MoS]

Of course, while fans know it is fake, often pro wrestling is treated by the sensationalistic news channels as real. They script segments where they act as if wrestling is real. Here is a subtitled segment of Khali acting like a proper good old-fashioned carny. "Whatever you see on TV is real. If someone is getting hit they are getting hit for real."

[iamthedoctor]

Has there been an actual date announced for the "India trip" or is it still just a vague rumor?

 

Ill be glad when its all over so we can have a real World Champion!