Add as a preferred source on Google The Great Khali made a strong accusation against Vince McMahon while looking back on the latter part of his WWE run.
During a recent appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, the WWE Hall of Famer said his shift into a comedy character happened after the company learned he wanted to leave.
“After WWE finds out Khali wants to leave, so then he made me a comedy wrestler, because he wants to kill my character. When I start wrestling in WWE, all of India watches wrestling. Everyone. Kids, women, men, young and old. So he’s thinking he wants to leave, so he made me a comedy wrestler.”
When asked whether McMahon believed he wanted to leave WWE, Khali replied:
“I think so, because I wanted to work on my own thing.”
Great Khali says he wanted to leave WWE, and he believes that's the reason why Vince McMahon made him a comedy wrestler.
— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) July 7, 2026
"After WWE finds out Khali wants to leave, so then he made me a comedy wrestler, because he wants to kill my character. When I start wrestling in WWE, all of… pic.twitter.com/19mMGJNmJR
The change Khali referenced was most closely tied to the rise of the “Punjabi Playboy” character and the Khali Kiss Cam segments, a far cry from the dominant presentation he had when he arrived in the company in 2006.
Khali made his WWE debut by attacking The Undertaker on SmackDown and was quickly treated as a major attraction. On July 20, 2007, he won a 20-Man Battle Royal to capture the World Heavyweight Championship, last eliminating Batista and Kane.
In the same interview, Khali also confirmed that he is retired from in-ring competition. The Indian wrestler admitted he could accept a one-off appearance if WWE called, but ruled out any full-time return because of his knee issues.