10 Stupidest Decisions By WWE In 2007
7. Great Khali: World Heavyweight Champion
You could list several dud WWE World Heavyweight Champions. Jack Swagger, for example. Can you believe the All-American American was once in possession of the Big Gold Belt? Madness. Even Chris Benoit, industry veteran and pro wrestling wizard, was a bit of a washout when holding the strap. Neither of those compare, however, to The Great Khali's reign as WHC.
Khali had threatened to win the WWE Title earlier in the year during his feud with John Cena but failed to do so, much to the relief of fans (they may have hated Cena, but they knew he was the better option here). With Smackdown's roster thinning due to injuries and suspensions and whatnot, though, WWE transferred the Punjabi giant over in the draft and decided to give him the belt on the July 20th episode of the show.
The seven-footer won a 20-man battle royal to win the vacant belt (Edge had to give it up due to injury), last eliminating Batista and Kane. His two-month reign was a washout. Even though he was booked strong, his matches and angles were characteristically poor. At Unforgiven in late September, Batista defeated Khali and Mysterio to win the title, putting an end to Khali's tenure as champ.
From a kayfabe perspective, Khali winning the title made perfect sense. Why wouldn't this freakishly tall and strong man, who had pinned The Undertaker after a one-sided match with one foot on his chest, win the title? The problem was he was awful in the ring, was physically knackered and couldn't cut a promo to save his life.
His reign was short and remarkable only for the fact it happened in the first place. Smackdown's roster was weak at the time, sure, but there were better candidates for standard-bearer. Thankfully, WWE didn't go back to Khali as World Heavyweight Champion when they reheated him as a viable challenger a year later.