Did WWE commit a blunder in signing 'The Great Khali' late?

The Great Khali made his WWE debut in 2006 at the age of 34. Before his stint with WWE, the mighty wrestler was in different companies like APW, NJPW, WCW, and AJPW. It was in the period outside of WWE that he was at his absolute best in terms of delivering in the ring. His first three years in WWE were the only period where Khali was agile enough.

There is no doubt that The Great Khali was not the most athletic wrestler on the roster. However, not many are aware of his stint outside of WWE. In his stint with NJPW and APW, Kahli was a monster who destroyed many wrestlers. WWE presented a similar version of the Indian wrestler when he made his debut against someone like The Undertaker.

For 3 long years, the Indian wrestler was presented in a way that he seemed nearly unbeatable. His transition from a bodybuilder to a wrestler is a story in itself. But his transition from various companies to WWE often comes out as a rollercoaster of a ride. In all his previous companies, Khali was fit, agile, and showed great in-work abilities.

Age became the villain for Great Khali

After going to WWE, Khali was presented as a giant wrestler, which he was. With time, Khali started to get slow in the ring. His move sets got limited and it became difficult for him to even bend making his pinfall unique. As time passed, WWE realized that they could not present him as an unbeatable entity. Hence, he was tried in a lot of gimmicks many of which were rather forgettable.

WWE had a good chance of recognizing Khali early in his career. When he was Dalip Singh Rana in APW and made a move to WCW, the then WWF conquered the company. They could have signed Khali back then. But it was only 5 years later that Khali got drafted to WWE. Things would have been different if the WWE Hall of Famer got a WWE call-up way before.