The Great Khali birth name Dalip Singh Rana, is an Indian professional wrestler, actor, bodybuilder, and better known for his work in WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) between 2006 and 2014.
Dalip Singh began his wrestling career in 2000 after immigrating to the United States. He joined New Japan Pro-Wrestling a year later where he teamed up with Giant Silva. He signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment in 2006. Later a year, he became the first Indian to win the World Heavyweight Championship once in 2007.
Apart from wrestling, he has also worked in several Hollywood and Bollywood films. He was the runner-up of the fourth edition of the Bigg Boss reality show. After leaving WWE, Dalip Singh Rana established his wrestling school and federation in his homeland India in 2015 called Continental Wrestling Entertainment.
Facts About The Great Khali
| Born | 27 August 1972, Dhiraina, Himachal Pradesh, India |
| Real name | Dalip Singh Rana |
| Nickname | The Great Khali |
| Age | 49 years old |
| Height | 7 feet 1 inch 216 Centimeters 2.16 Meters |
| Weight | 157 Kilograms 347 Pounds |
| Training | All Pro Wrestling |
| Nationality | Indian American |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Caste | Punjabi Hindu Rajput Caste |
| Wife | Harminder Kaur (m. 2002) |
| Children | Avleen Kaur (Daughter) |
| Parents | Father: Jwala Ram Mother: Tandi Devi |
| Siblings | None |
| Net Worth | $5 Million or ₹374 Crore (As of 2022) |
The Great Khali Biography
The Great Khali was born as a Dalip Singh Rana on August 24, 1942, in Himachal Pradesh, India. He was born into a Punjabi Hindu Rajput family. The Great Khali father’s name is Jwala Ram, Who was a farmer, and his mother, Tandi Devi was a simple housewife.
He was born normal just like his other siblings but later in a few years his parents know that he is suffering from the rare medical condition called acromegaly, where his body produces too much growth hormone (GH or “somatotropin”), which among other effects causes gigantism and chin protrusion
Dalip Singh started wrestling for American All Pro Wrestling in October 2000, under his real name and initially made himself best known for his size (216 cm, 191 kg). However, May 28, 2001, changed a lot, when Singh’s opponent Brian Ong died after being thrown on the mat during a training match.
Ong’s family sued All Pro Wrestling for $1.3 million, and Singh was forced to find a new employer. In August 2001, he made his debut under the nickname Giant Singh in New Japan Pro Wrestling in pairs with the even longer Brazilian giant Giant Silva.
The two were wrestling history’s longest team teams with an average length of almost 216 cm and a total weight of just under 400 kg. Not infrequently they had to wrestle in handicap matches against twice as many opponents but still lost very few matches.
During his wrestling years in Japan, The Great Khali also learned some local martial arts such as aikido and judo.
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Personal Life
Dalip Singh Rana began working as a teenager to help the family. Before joining the Punjab police force, he worked for some time in the mines of the Himalayas; in this period he began to practice various sports, succeeding well in each of them. Of all, Singh had a particular fondness for bodybuilding.
The Director-General of the Punjab Police Forces noticed the abilities of the young Singh and did everything to help him get into the police. Thanks to his steady job, Singh was able to devote a lot of time to his passion, eventually winning the title of “Mister India” 1995-96.
His remarkable success and hard work earned him a training contract in the United States of America in 1996. Dalip Singh Rana managed to achieve his greatest goal, to help his family and the village where he was born.
On February 2, 2002, He married Harminder Kaur. On July 26, 2012, he underwent surgery to remove a benign tumor in his pituitary gland and the surgery was successful. In 2014 he obtained US citizenship with a ceremony celebrated in Houston.
The Great Khali is a Hindu and has been described himself as an “extremely religious person”. Dalip Singh Rana is a vegetarian but in his many interviews, he was claimed that he consumes vast quantities of chicken and eggs, for getting a good amount of protein.
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The Great Khali
All-Pro Wrestling (2000–2001)
In 2000 after immigrating to the United States, he joined the American All Pro Wrestling. On May 28, 2001, he performed a so-called flapjack on Brian Ong during a training session. Ong was fatally injured in this action because he moved incorrectly and had suffered a concussion before the action.
Ong’s family received $1.3 million in compensation from the APW. The League was blamed for the incident as Ong was not instructed to undergo a medical examination. Singh was not found guilty.
New Japan Pro Wrestling (2001–2002)
In August 2001, Singh was brought to New Japan Pro Wrestling by Team 2000 leader Masahiro Chono, along with another man, Giant Silva. They were the largest tag team in history, the average height of the team was 7 feet.
The two first teamed up at the Tokyo Dome in October, called ” Club 7 ” by Chono, and beat Yutaka Yoshie, Kenzo Suzuki, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Wataru Itonue in a Handicap Match. Singh suffered his first loss in a tag team match at the Tokyo Dome in January 2002, being defeated by Hiroyoshi Tenzan.
The Great Khali suffered another major defeat in Tag mode in March, being covered by Manabu Nakanishi. His biggest loss was in a single’s match against Giant Silva, who pinned him after a “Giant Press”.
World Wrestling Entertainment (2006-2014)
In March 2006 Singh signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment and went to wrestling development in the development league Deep South Wrestling. On April 7, 2006, Singh made his debut as The Great Khali on SmackDown! Daivari acted as manager.
He had his first SmackDown match on April 21, 2006, in which he was able to defeat Funaki. As a result, the roles were swapped between Singh and Daivari, in which Daivari now competed, while Singh acted as a mixture of bodyguard and manager.
Dalip Singh Rana was later involved in a brief feud against Tommy Dreamer. Another roster change followed. On January 8, 2007, Singh was presented as a new signing at RAW and made his debut in a fight against John Cena, which he was allowed to win. Dave Kapoor (Ranjin Singh) acted as the manager of Singh in front of the cameras but is actually the booker.
On July 20, 2007, SmackDown! Edition, The Great Khali was able to win a Battle Royal for the vacant World Heavyweight title, as the reigning champion Edge had to give it up before due to a chest muscle injury.
After several successful defenses, he had to lose his title to Batista after just under two months at the PPV Unforgiven. After a brief feud program with Big Show, Singh was only used sporadically. In early 2010, Singh briefly tagged with Matt Hardy.
In the 2010 WWE Draft, he switched to Monday Night RAW but went back to SmackDown on April 26, 2011, through the WWE Draft. After a few brief feuds, he paused from early October 2011 until the Royal Rumble on January 29, 2012, when he returned.
On July 26, 2012, a tumor was removed from his pituitary gland. On November 14, 2014, he was released from the WWE.
Continental Wrestling Entertainment
In February 2015, The Great Khali opens his wrestling school in Punjab, India, Continental Wrestling Entertainment. The first show will take place on December 12, 2015.
Return to WWE
On July 24, 2017, The Great Khali returned to WWE at Battleground with the help of WWE Champion Jinder Mahal in a Punjabi Prison Match between Randy Orton and Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship and helped the latter to defend his title. He also competed in the Greatest Royal Rumble in 2018 in the match of the same name.
The Great Khali Movie List
- In 2005: The Longest Yard
- In 2008: Get Smart
- In 2010: MacGruber
- In 2010: Kushti
- In 2010: Ramaa: The Saviour
- In 2012: HOUBA! On the Trail of the Marsupilami
Television Show
- In 2010: Bigg Boss
- In 2011: Outsourced
- In 2012: Pair of Kings
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