Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion The Great Khali was recently interviewed by The New Indian Express to talk about several professional wrestling topics. During the interview Khali discussed his time with WWE and expressed his frustration with the company’s success in his native India. Khali said the WWE failed in India and it’s a key reason he decided to leave before starting his own promotion, Continental Wrestling Entertainment (CWE):

“The WWE has failed in India. They thought they would use the Great Khali fully and then leave him. I [had] been trying hard for [a long time] to leave WWE, but they kept on offering me [a] contract. Finally in 2014, I decided I [would] leave once my contract [ended] and [would] not work with them ever again. Then I came back and opened CWE [Continental Wrestling Entertainment] in Punjab, which is doing well.”

As it pertains to the state of professional wrestling in India as a whole, Khali explained how he wanted to change the mentality of how professional wrestling training is done:

“The future of wrestling is very bright and it can be better, if handled in a better way, if a coach is provided or [a better foundation] is given. The mentality of the Indian sportsmen is very weak. Many of them depend upon drugs. They feel that the consumption of drugs will help in enhancing their performance and will help them in clinching a medal. They receive too much of love after winning a medal that they forget to concentrate on sports.”