The Great Khali On Which WWE Legend Was His “Inspiration”

Former WWE star Great Khali was recently followed around by WWE Now India, allowing the former WWE Champion to talk about his wrestling school in India. In the interview (transcribed by ITN WWE), Great Khali talked about how he always wanted to open a wrestling school in his native country, to give aspiring WWE wrestlers a better road to success than he had when he began his wrestling career.

"It was my dream to start an academy in India," Khali said. "Since I was a wrestler myself, I did not want to be the last wrestler from India to join WWE. I wanted more young wrestlers from India to go to WWE to make India proud. I had a very hard time when I started my journey. Going from India, getting a visa in the US, finding a good academy to get trained. It was a tough path for me.

"I also did not have much money. So it was my dream from that time. I went to the US in 2000. My dream was to remove all these barriers and perils for the next generation. So I always had in mind that if I could become something credible, I will create a wrestling academy in India to give youngsters a platform to achieve their dreams."

One of the more memorable feuds of Great Khali's WWE career was his feud with The Undertaker; the two would feud during the first few months of Khali's WWE main roster run, culminating in a Last Man Standing match on an August 2016 episode of Smackdown. Great Khali said he was inspired to wrestle after watching Undertaker and spoke fondly of their matches together.

"I started wrestling after watching The Undertaker," Khali said. "He was my inspiration to get into the business. It was such a memorable moment for me (getting a win over The Undertaker). It was a challenging match for me but it was equally momentous. It's very close to my heart."

You can watch the full video below.