Chris Jericho has had a lot of big names on his Talk Is Jericho podcast, but none more, uh, surprising than his guest this week, The Great Khali. Yes, the guy who’s so incomprehensible that it’s practically his gimmick in a lengthy audio-only interview. No way I’m missing this potential train wreck.
Actually, once you catch onto Khali’s speaking patterns, he’s not that hard to understand, and Jericho helps by clarifying a lot of things. Here are a few highlights (I’ve cleaned up Khali’s quotes just a bit)…
– Khali claims he was bullied growing up, being that he was 7-foot-2 and only 200 pounds. He started using weights when he got his job with the Punjabi Police. Khali went to a WWE show in India, and WWE officials were impressed by his size and encouraged him to get into wrestling. Khali was excited to get into wrestling because he didn’t know it was fake and thought he’d be able to murder everybody with his size. Oh, Khali. You’re adorable.
– Khali talked about the popularity of wrestling in India, which he says is second only to cricket (which he pronounces KITTYCAT in the most delightful bit of Khalese of the show). Jericho went off on a tangent about Khali being the biggest Indian star in the world, and Khali was all too happy to back him up…
“Yes. I think it’s true. India has a lot of big stars, movie stars, cricket stars, but just for Indian people. Outside of India, I think I’m the bigger star. Kids don’t go to school. ‘No, Mom. I can’t go to school. Great Khali is wrestling.’ I wrestle Undertaker, and people go to the temple. They pray for me.”
That Great Khali, clearly not afraid of a little self-promotion.
– Khali talked about his driving buddies. He mentioned that he used to travel with Daivari and referee Scott Armstrong, but in recent years, it’s mostly been Natalya. No Tyson Kidd, just him and Nattie in a car together. How in the sweet hell was this not a Total Divas plot?
– Khali touched on the debacle where he was busted for “elevated liver enzymes,” and so Undertaker and Big Show had to fight in a Punjabi Prison Match without the guy the match was named for…
“First, they built a story with me and Undertaker. Doctor, medical something, said I couldn’t be in this match. I said, ‘Why?’ There were some problems. What could I do? There were legal problems, medical problems, something. Big Show took that spot.”
– Unsurprisingly, Khali’s matches with Undertaker were his favorite of his career, but the guy he most liked to face was John Cena. Why? Mainly because Cena let him do whatever the hell he wanted.
“John Cena is really good. He never complained. So, maybe I have some bad idea, and he’s like, ‘Oh yeah, great. Take it, yeah.’ Later, I realize I’m wrong, and I’m surprised he never said anything. My best experiences were with him.”
– Finally, Khali gave an update on his physical health and ability to continue wrestling. Now, to laymen like you and I, it may look like Khali can barely drag his Popsicle stick legs through a 90-second match, but, according to the man himself, he’s down to work Iron Man matches whenever…
“I can’t run, but I’m not feeling tired. I have no problems, no back, no nothing. I think I could work one-hour continuous wrestling. People think I can’t work a long match, but I know I can. I could go an hour. I work in the gym, every day, three hours. I’m tall, but I don’t have any problems with my body.”
Hey, I’m not about to argue with The Great Khali. Honestly, I hope he comes back for that Iron Man match. Let’s all pray for it to happen.
via Talk Is Jericho
