10 Secrets Nobody Has Told You About WCW

7. The Training Ground Of The Great Khali

The Great Khali WCW
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Whereas you may be surprised to realise AJ Styles competed in a WCW ring, it's even more shocking to learn that the future Great Khali spent eight months honing his craft under the WCW banner.

Having made his wrestling debut for US indy promotion All Pro Wrestling in 2000, the hulking frame of the real-life Dalip Singh was quickly signed up by WCW. Following in the footsteps of major stars such as Bill Goldberg and Paul Wight, Singh was assigned to the promotion's Power Plant training facility.

This WCW tenure came towards the end of the company's lifespan, and the 7'1" monster didn't have the opportunity to make an appearance on WCW TV before his time there came to a close. In terms of that "came to a close", Singh remained with WCW up until the organisation was assimilated by the World Wrestling Federation in early 2001.

Following that buyout, the Indian juggernaut headed to Japan and joined New Japan Pro-Wrestling, immediately forming a humongous tag team with the 7'2" Giant Silva. It would take a further five years until Dalip Singh joined WWE and became the Great Khali, with him initially landing in the Deep South Wrestling developmental territory before being fast-tracked to the main roster - where he'd become the World Heavyweight Champion the following year.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.