How did Shao Kahn beat Kotal Kahn and manage to cripple him?
Lets be clear, Kotal Kahn had a bad run in with D Vorah and Jade knocked him out, giving Shao Kahn the opportunity to capture him. It’s likely that Kotal was tormented and beaten by the latter’s minions.Â
Kotal likely wasn’t at his physical peak and he attacked Shao Kahn without thinking. Plus, notice that Kotal didn’t have his sword, so they probably took away his weapons and magical trinkets.Â
Again, it’s not all power levels, it’s circumstances. Kotal won the first fight because Shao Kahn was enraged and wasn’t thinking clearly as well as the fact that Kotal is a more polished fighter than him while here, Shao Kahn won because Kotal was exhausted and he made a fatal mistake.Â
As I said before, both of them are arguably equal in raw strength, but they have different fighting styles.The dialogues implied that Kotal is completely healed up, so I’m sure in the next round of the Kahns, Kotal would learn from his mistake and probably gain the advantage.
Keep in mind, this is the man that Shao Kahn imprisoned in the Flesh Pits because he viewed him as a major threat to his rule and power.