The Great Khali, whose original name is Dalip Singh Rana, is being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. The 48-year old was associated with the company between 2006 and 2014.
Who's The Great Khali?
Born in a Hindu family in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, Dalip Singh Rana had faced hardship in his childhood for two square meals. He dropped out of school as his family could not afford the admission fees.
The Giant Singh had lost interest in school as his classmates used to make fun out of his large physique. Further, he was unable to understand what his teachers used to teach him. To add salt to the injury, Khali was humiliated by his class teacher for failing to clear the dues.
"Almost a month had passed since I moved to class II, and the principal was accosting me on a daily basis for not paying the school fees. Then one day, my class teacher abused me in front of the entire class. The other students sneered at me and made fun of me," The Great Khali shared the painful incident in his biography.
1st Job, 1st Salary
His education ended there and he started working at the age of eight. He took up his first job where he was paid Rs 5 ($0.069), per day, in 1979. "For me, a sum of Rs 5 per day was a huge amount. It struck me that not long ago, we didn't even have Rs 2.50 for my school fees. Compared to that, Rs 5 seemed like a jackpot! I was motivated to work hard for it," the 48-year old claims in his memoir.
Although he took up a plantation job in the beginning, he considers his first real work as a bodyguard to a businessman. He was paid Rs 1,500 ($20.66) a month apart from getting free food and accommodation.
In 1993, he was picked by Punjab police for his well-built body and offered him the Assitant Police Inspector job which had a monthly salary of Rs 14,000 ($192.81). During his stay here, he focussed on his wrestling career.
In 2000, he officially began his career in wrestling with All Pro Wrestling with the ring name Giant Singh. He then got an offer from New Japan Pro-Wrestling by Team 2000. After working there for five years, he joined All Japan Pro Wrestling and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre.
WWE Entry
In the same year, he made his debut on a SmackDown episode. The Great Khali became the first Indian to win the WWE title after emerging victorious in a Battle Royal for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
He was associated with WWE till 2014 having feuds with many big names that include The Undertaker. His revenue increased manifold after joining the Vince McMahon-run company. As per the reports, his earnings before his contract ended was $900,000 from WWE and other promotions.
Today, the net worth of The Great Khali, who used to struggle for a meal at one point in time, is estimated to be over $6M.
