Backstage News On The Future Of The Great Khali On ‘SmackDown Live’
At the WWE Battleground pay-per-view, former World Heavyweight Champion The Great Khali made a shocking return. Khali appeared at the conclusion of the Punjabi Prison match to assist Jinder Mahal in retaining the WWE Championship and celebrated with him post-match. This raised a great deal of speculation of whether Khali would be involved in WWE storylines, particularly with Randy Orton, moving forward.
Seemingly, Orton would shift his issues over to Khali and commence a feud with him since he cost him the opportunity to become WWE Champion. However, this does not appear to be happening.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the shocking appearance of Khali is only scheduled to be a one-time deal. WWE reportedly did their best to keep this a secret, and reports did not surface until hours before the pay-per-view. Although Orton vs. Khali would be a match that would give Orton some good babyface steam, and get away from the WWE title picture, there are no plans as of now for that to occur.
Regarding future appearances, the Newsletter reported that he is not scheduled for anything, nor is he advertised for any dates henceforth. Ultimately, Khali was used as a person to help the company’s expansion to the India market, since that has obviously been a focal point this year. In fact, Mahal’s title run was specifically done for this project, although it has widely been viewed as unsuccessful.
For Khali, this was a good way for him to reintroduce himself to the WWE Universe. Although he has been a huge star in India, his win-loss record towards the latter years of his WWE run was not very impressive.
Even with an unimpressive win-loss record, Khali has still been utilized as a monstrous heel who is used as a huge hurdle for a top babyface at SummerSlam. In 2007, Khali went in as World Heavyweight Champion to defend the title against Batista. The very next year, in 2008, he had a chance to win the WWE Championship by competing against Triple H. In 2009, he feuded with Kane, which led to a match at SummerSlam in Los Angeles, CA.
While a match against Randy Orton would not have been the most anticipated match, it does have a special attraction feel and would have kept Orton relevant without vying for a championship. Now, the WWE Universe will have to see what is next for The Viper.
[Featured Image by WWE]
