Mark Henry - Interim Commentator?

[Harthan]

If you watched SmackDown tonight, you heard the World's Strongest Man on commentaty during the main event. And he was good. He was just so good at the job of being a heel commentator in all the ways that Michael Cole is not. NorCal pointed out in the LD that he bore similarity to Jesse Ventura himself.

There's a perfect storm of circumstance a-brewin' here. One, Booker T, the third man in the SmackDown commentary booth, is apparently occupied with wrestling now, as he feuds with Cody Rhodes and potentially continues on to a match at WrestleMania. Two, Mark Henry is apparently hurt. We saw a similar situation arise last year when CM Punk was hurt, and he was placed on commentary for a while while he rehabbed, so that he could remain relevant until he got his health back.

Do you see what I see, here?

I can't think of a better scenario for the WWE to really spice up Friday nights and keep Mark Henry in the picture as he gets healthy than to make him the interim third man at the commentation station until he's ready to get back in the ring and Booker T is ready to exit it. Henry was a fun, aggressive, hell color commentator that could really serve well in the booth for SmackDown in the coming weeks, or even months, depending on just how serious his injury is. I would love to see this happen, both as a way to inject awesome commentary into SmackDown a la Punk on Raw, and to keep the big man that I've come to love so much on the TV screen while he gets healthy.

What do you think? Should Henry take over commentary duties while he rehabs his injury? Would you be happy to see this occur?

 

[#hamler]

I'd certainly be happy.

Mark Henry surprised me tonight. Henry took care of business at the commentary's desk and totally owned Cole which I desperately wanted to see. Wasn't it reported earlier last month that the WWE is having some sort of problem with Michael Cole's character? What a better way to fix that problem than by putting Mark Henry on commentary? As long as Cole doesn't degrade Henry on a weekly basis, I'm all for it. I wouldn't mind Henry eventually taking a step away from in ring action to call the shots on commentary side by side with Cole and Matthews. Or even when he retires, eventually coming back as a full-time color commentator.

The only problem with placing Henry in the booth right now is the fact that Henry is a full fledged heel. Michael Cole is another full-fledged heel. Henry owning Cole every week is eventually going to make me want to cheer Henry instead of boo him. It's a small problem that might not even matter but Henry is without a doubt WWE's best heel right now. I'm sure the WWE higher ups wouldn't want to jeopardize the heat Henry's receiving on a consistent basis.

 

[The American Legend]

I was very surprised by Henry's quality behind the booth. He kind of walked that CM Punk line, putting talent over, like giving props to Bryan during the match, still being heel with all of his tough guy attitude toward Show and Bryan, but also putting down Cole. An interesting dynamic for sure. I for one would love to see him stay for his recovery time if it means he'll still be heel but actually put talent over, unlike Cole.

Also, I though his whole 'Get back in the ring' stuff was actually pretty good. Calling both guys to toughen up. Could be viewed either in a heel or face light.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

He was solid. He did say midget, which isn't PC and may get him in some hot water but I liked the job he did. He stood up to Cole, finally someone did it. The thing I liked, and its a reason I see potential in Booker, is he gave praise to Bryan when was doing well, yet he still stayed true to himself and his character. Its like when Booker, who is a face, still praises the heels and is ok with some underhand tactics because he has been in the ring and knows you do whatever it takes to win

 

[Ellye]

Not only was him a fantastic color commentator, he also showed signs that he'd be a great manager. I really liked the tone of his voice when he screamed for Bryan to get back in the ring.

 

[Khalifa]

I personally don't think it should happen. While he may be good in the commentary position, I don't think Vince and co should leave him there just so he can stay in the main event when he comes back. Cole and Henry aren't a good team especially when both are heel. Also, despite how good Henry was last year I think he shouldn't even be in the main event when he comes back because we all know one day that Henry will fade in mid 2012 into a lower card/ not even wrestling at PPV. If Cole was to turn face I would like to see him there, not if they are both are heel.