Home / Sports / Wrestler's Demise Sparks Debate: The Great Khali's Alleged Role in Tragic Accident
Wrestler's Demise Sparks Debate: The Great Khali's Alleged Role in Tragic Accident
12 Nov, 2025
Summary
- Aspiring wrestler Brian Ong died in 2001 during training with The Great Khali
- Khali was never part of OVW, contrary to claims by David Otunga
- Jim Cornette refutes Otunga's claims, says no one was killed at OVW

The Great Khali, the renowned Indian wrestler, has recently found himself at the center of a controversial story. According to David Otunga, Khali was once part of OVW (Ohio Valley Wrestling) and allegedly killed someone there using one of his finishers. However, this claim has been vehemently denied by Jim Cornette, who was the co-owner, head booker, and head trainer of OVW from 1999 to 2005.
Cornette took to social media to discredit the story, stating that the Great Khali never attended OVW and that no one was ever killed, paralyzed, or allowed to dive off balconies at the wrestling school. He accused the media outlet TMZ of publishing the story without fact-checking.
While Otunga's claims about OVW were inaccurate, the tragic incident involving the Great Khali is indeed true. In 2001, an aspiring pro wrestler and former amateur wrestler named Brian Ong died after a training session with Khali at the APW Boot Camp. Khali was practicing the spinebuster move, and Ong was his partner, but on the second attempt, things went awry, and Ong was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The article provides a detailed account of the incident, with eyewitness statements describing how Ong's tailbone hit the mat first, and his head whipped back violently, causing him to collapse and eventually pass away. This tragic event has now resurfaced, sparking a debate around the Great Khali's alleged involvement in a wrestler's demise.