[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/greatkhali.jpg]]

Dalip Singh Rana (born 27 August 1972), better known as The Great Khali, is an Indian-American professional wrestler and actor.

While working as a security guard, and later, a police officer in his home country of UsefulNotes/{{India}}, he fell in with the ProfessionalWrestling crowd, and soon headed to the United States for more training.

Making his debut in 2000, he initially wrestled for a number of small promotions, the most notable of them being All Pro Wrestling. He later worked with larger companies such as Wrestling/{{WCW}}, Wrestling/{{CMLL}} and Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling. In 2006, he signed on to Wrestling/{{WWE}}. In July 2007, he became the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, and the first Indian WWE champion. He left WWE in 2014 to found his own wrestling school in Punjab, before returning part-time in 2017.

Beyond wrestling, he's also an actor, having appeared in a couple Hollywood and Bollywood films.
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!!"Punjabi Nightmare Tropes":
* {{Acrofatic}}: Subverted and downplayed. While quite heavy, he is not fat, only massive and muscled, but he could slinghot the ropes with both legs in Japan back when his knee health allowed it.
* AllAsiansKnowMartialArts: Khali is an interesting version, as while he checks many points of the professional wrestling version of the trope (he is Asian, a ForeignWrestlingHeel, and has martial arts techniques in his moveset, namely a karate chop, a reverse kick and a couple PressurePoint holds), he was never referred as a martial artist onscreen, just as a very big guy.
* AntiVillain: He only worked with Wrestling/JinderMahal to protect his sister's honor.
* AchillesHeel[=/=]RealLifeWritesThePlot: He started off a force to be reckoned with, but in real life his knees began to deteriorate, and smaller wrestlers like Wrestling/CodyRhodes began to take advantage of this, being able to defeat Khali within minutes just by going after his knees.
* ArchEnemy: In NJPW, Wrestling/ChrisCandido and eventually Wrestling/GiantSilva. In WWE, Wrestling/TheUndertaker, Wrestling/{{Kane}} and Wrestling/{{Batista}}.
* BashBrothers: With Silva in NJPW at least until their falling out.
* TheBigGuy: As a face.
* UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}}: He's from India.
* BoringButPractical: He had a relatively rounded moveset when he wrestled in Japan, but in WWE, he had no moves that weren't strikes, slams of some kind and clawholds. Given his size and muscle mass, however, they were quite credible.
* TheBrute: As a heel.
* TheDogBitesBack: He eventually got tired of Jinder and punched him.
* DemotedToExtra: He was a force to be reckoned with when he debuted, but these days he is remembered as more of a comic relief character.
* DumbMuscle: For Jinder Mahal. During his heel run in 2011, he was cured when he had enough of Jinder's bullshit.
* EvilIsBigger: With his height, long hair, black attire, scary face and chokeslam finisher, he looked somewhat like a bigger, nastier version of The Undertaker, which was invoked by Khali himself during their feud by imitating Undertaker's signature pinfall pose as well.
* {{Expy}}: Of the villainous first version of Wrestling/{{Kurrgan}}, another roaring, evil giant clad in black with incredibly strong hands who was handled around by an eccentric manager.
* FinishingMove:
** In NJPW, Giant Bomb (a powerbomb) and chokeslam.
** In WWE, Khali Bomb/Punjabi Plunge (a two-handed chokeslam or standing chokebomb), Khali Vise Grip (a two-handed skull clawhold).
* ForeignWrestlingHeel: When he debuted, he was a heel.
* FunnyForeigner: After his HeelFaceTurn.
* GentleGiant: When he's a face and in real life.
* TheGiant: Dude is 7 feet tall and 400 pounds! Like Wrestling/AndreTheGiant and Wrestling/BigShow, he suffers from acromegaly, and had surgery to remove the tumor in his pituitary gland.
* GimmickMatches: Introduced the Punjabi Prison match.
* HardHead: One of his signature moves was a simple but hard headbutt.
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor
* AHeroToHisHometown: More popular in India than probably anywhere else by several magnitudes. He's absolutely despised everywhere else, regardless of whether he's a face or heel.
* HeroKiller: He and Silva dedicated their NJPW careers to destroy established veterans like Yutaka Yoshie, Wataru Inoue and Hiroshi Tanahashi, among others.
* MightyGlacier: Compared to his partner Silva or other superheavyweights like Mark Henry or Big Show, Khali isn't capable of running and doesn't have any LightningBruiser qualities: his moveset is focused on standing on his two feet and being immovable.
* MysticalIndia: He has a Mowgli haircut and his entrance video has been filled with all the requisite iconography.
* PowerStable: Wrestling/MasahiroChono's Team 2000, in Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling.
* PressurePoint: He had a wicked shoulder clawhold aside from his more known Vise Grip, which evokes this trope. Bonus points for Khali being oriental.
* PraetorianGuard: To Masahiro Chono in Team 2000 with Giant Silva.
* PutOnABus: Courtesy of Wrestling/MarkHenry.
** TheBusCameBack: A few months later.
* TheBusCameBack[=/=]CommutingOnABus: Returned at Battleground in July 2017 after almost three years away.
* TheUnintelligible: He only speaks Hindi onscreen, and even in that language his speech is rather muddled, needing either Daivari or his brother Ranjin to translate him. Also, for some reason, Natalya could understand him when she was his valet.
* StartMyOwn: Continental Wrestling Entertainment is mostly propped up by showcasing students from the school he trains wrestlers in, the school he started after leaving WWE.
* TagTeam: Club 7, with Wrestling/GiantSilva.
* UnrelatedBrothers: with Ranjin Singh, his manager.
* UnstoppableForceMeetsImmovableObject: Subverted - meeting an unstoppable force is one of the few things which make Khali stop being an immovable object. He had clashes with Giant Silva, Wrestling/MarkHenry and Big Show, all massive superheavyweights like him, but he actually lost to all of them every time they faced off.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: He got sick of Mahal's threats and bullying, broke away from him, and then kicked his ass. Between the sudden end to the feud, as well as either Mahal's inability or his unwillingness to speak English when on camera, we never found out whether Mahal was bluffing or whether he did indeed divorce Khali's sister. And looked like it wouldn't be addressed as he started a feud with Wrestling/TedDiBiaseJr, and Khali was out with an injury thanks to Mark Henry. However, when Khali returned at the Royal Rumble, he was referred to as Mahal's brother-in-law. Eventually, the entire angle was dropped, as when he reappeared in WWE in the summer of 2017, it was solely as Mahal's role model and friend.
* TheWorfEffect: For one reason or another, Khali frequently gets injured in-storyline to be prevented from participating in multi-man matches.
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