Is WWE Finally Treating The Big Men Right?

[Pay Per Ghost]

A re-invigoration that boosted a largely dormant career. Mark Henry was a joke for the bulk of his 10 year contract and then suddenly, he begins the Hall of Pain. First destroying the Big Show at MiTB and then crushing his leg. The man went on a well-deserved rampage inducting Kane, Khali, Kozlov?, and then finally; Randy Orton to his HoP.

It was a fantastic culmination to the NoC where he basically squashed Orton for the Heavyweight Championship. During all this, Henry brought that 'big-fight' feel, and really has carried that momentum into 2013. Credit to WWE. He was given an amazing run as champion and was allowed to do something as the beast that he is.

Also, a fantastic rivalry of his was renewed soon after and probably the 2nd best rivalry behind Cena/Punk in 2011...with this man....

I remember this promo by Vince. And hating how he basically buried Show, for saying he was irrelevant for the past 10 years...he was right though. He was slowly built again as the giant, and after his Cena program, he got Sheamus. Sheamus and Show worked an amazing program with Show winning the title at the HIaC. Show's dominance as a heel is helped further that the man has still kept a good unbeatable villain aura to him. Though he lost to ADR, he still has gained a lot of his luster that was, quite frankly never there.



Now with these two men being made up again, first we must pat WWE on the back and then ask among us...




Is WWE finally treating the big men right?

 

[fenderjapan]

I think Mark Henry taking so long to be a main eventer is an exception...the rule being that big men have a lot of opportunities in WWE. Now, whether they are able to cash in on those opportunities is another question, but WWE is usually willing to give big guys a chance...Mabel, Khali, Andre, Bam Bam Bigelow, Rikishi, Yokozuna, Taker, Sid, Vader, King Kong Bundy, Diesel, and of course Undi and Kane...all had opportunities as main eventers.

 

[berlinbrawler]

Is WWE finally treating the big men right?

I would say so, yes. I must say I have been very pleased by how Mark Henry and the Big Show have been booked in recent years. The IWC "experts", the Labars and the Isenbergs, may have largely hated it, but I think it was great that the giants of wrestling have been booked to look nearly unstoppable of late.

I remember hating it when Big Show was just "one of the guys," losing left and right to anyone getting the slightest bit of a push. I was pissed when he was just fed to RVD in a random 4 minute match on RAw one time. The same was true for Henry, but at the time I thought he was worthless anyway. How wrong I had been.

The way they are presented now is the way it should have been all along. That's how you book giants properly.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I wouldn't say treating them "right" as that implies that they should always be top of the pile. Wrestling is fundamental in being based on David and Goliath and that underdogs can win out. If it was "realistic" then the Big Show would have been champion forever on sheer size.

In Henry's case they were finally able to find the "personality turned up" aspect that made guys like The Rock and Austin work. The "Hall Of Pain" gimmick was finally the thing that a "World's Strongest Man" should have been going for all along. They made him too much of a comedy/weakling character in the past and the answer was staring them in the face.

Big Show had the same vibe but he had been flip-flopped so many times he is almost in the same situation as Jericho is, pretty much bullet-proof. That they have now built him back up to the previous peaks of Jeri-show and his US title feud with Cena.

But these are just 2 of their "big men" there are several still languishing in the mid and lower card like Mason Ryan, Zeke and JTG, all of whom have been touted as the "next big thing" at some time or another so they aren't generally handling them "right", they just salvaged two of their older ones for a few more years.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

In the cases of Mark Henry & Big Show, I'd have to say yes. Since Big Show's return from a few month's off late in 2011, WWE has consistently booked him to be the giant, no pun intended, threat that he always should have been. Since the summer of 2011, WWE has done the same thing with Mark Henry. These are two huge, genuinely powerful guys who should be a threat to anyone on the roster because of that size & strength.

When it comes to guys like Mason Ryan or Khali, sometimes, there's just nothing to be done. Mason Ryan looks like a walking endorsement for a steroid legal America. He has an impressive physique but the guy can't wrestle. Much like we saw with Scott Steiner, especially in the late 90s & early 2000s, he's so freakishly muscle bound that he has very little athletic ability. Maybe things would be different for the guy if he dropped about 50 or 60 pounds. At least then he might be able to move inside the ring. As for Khali, it's just a hopeless case. He barely understands English, he's incredibly slow, he's awkward, his knees are shot to shit, his wrestling ability is limited to chops to the chest & head, an occasional body slam or a clothesline.

Mark Henry & Big Show are two guys that have always had something there. They've always had potential that hasn't really been brought to the surface, at least not consistently, until the past couple of years. Some big guys have that while others simply don't.

 

[Mr Socko]

WWE is treating these big men right, but they are other big men on the roster who are getting little to no opportunity. Yes, Khali can hardly walk and should call it a day. But their is some very talented big men who aren't getting a chance.

Tensai is an example. His push was stopped almost immediately, as WWE often does with it's wrestlers. Had they continued to push him correctly, he could be used in a solid high mid card position, maybe even in the main event on Smackdown.

Brodus Clay is another example. His gimmick as the funkasouros is terrible, but WWE lost interest in him very quickly, then he just became another jobber to the stars. Had WWE brought him back still with his monster heel gimmick, I believe he could of had a similar role to Mark Henry, and perhaps even have done it better than Henry did.

 

[daddyJ_t]

ok first to the guy who mentioned jtg? what the hell are u smoking? he isnt a big man and was never evvvveeeer touted as the next big thing. as for brodus, there is hope with him as i see an inpending split with sweet T and a ugly heel turn and feud. as for zeke and mason? never cared for them. henry finally came into his own and is in my opinion one of if not thee best big man around. big show? he needs to freshen up his character. maybe grow back his hair and become that big ogre again. become the actual giant he debuted as in wcw. not the big slow

 

[#heel420]

Some guys like Big Show and Mark Henry are finally being booked as dominant monsters, but that's only gonna last so long. Look at the other big men that are basically running jokes like Brodus, Sweet T & Khali. Then there's Kane who's going around hugging everybody. So, no I don't think they're treating the big guys as they should be. I understand not everybody can be the big monster heel, but fuck. You don't have to make them look so silly and stupid.

 

[The Butcher]

Tensai and Brodus are great. WWE has to have something for everybody, that's always been the case. Just because a guy is big doesn't mean he has to be a monster nor does he have to be anything serious or intimidating. There's a big picture to consider, not just the likes and wants of older fans. Personally, I enjoy Sweet T a thousand times more than I ever enjoyed Tensai. It was a lame gimmick that was poorly executed. Comedy characters have always been part of WWE, and big guys shouldn't be spared those roles just because they're big. If Brodus and Tensai weren't shucking and jiving they'd either be lost in the shuffle or out of a job.

Kane has always been all over the place, character-wise. His versatility is part of what makes him a great character and Glenn Jacobs a great wrestler. Team Hell No is very entertaining and very over, which is why despite the desire of many (myself included) to see them split, they're still together.

Khali though... yeesh.

 

[Pedigree1]

I love love WWE i really do! Been following since i was a kid. But yes finally finally there treating their big men they way they should have been along. Big Show was a so-so dominant force in WCW a really slender Big Man then he comes in WWE wins the title at Survivor Series 1999 then after that nothing! Yah if you count his short title reign in 2002 but by now IMO Show should be at least a six to seven time world champion.

Mark Henry up until 2012 was treated worse than show ever could ever dream of. Mark Henry is dubbed the WSM has been since his debut in 1997 or so. This guy until recently IMO has been treated like an absolute joke. Where was this monster gimmick this guy that destroys everything in his path at 10 years ago? So yah about effin time the WWE is treating their big men they way they should be.

I get the whole suspension of disbelief the David beating the Goliath! But its about time that Goliath kicks a little ass and runs over david time and time again.

 

[lowandmighty]

I'm saying no. The WWE is not treating its talented big men well.

Yes Kane, Mark Henry and The Big Show Paul Wight have had world heavyweight championship runs over the past few years.

However a world heavyweight championship run is just not good enough. The world heavyweight championship is a constellation prize and the proverbial silver medal one step down on the podium from the WWE championship.

They're not carrying the belt with the storied history, the real championship of wrestling that represents what wrestling is today and where it has grown from, they don't have the belt that gave rise to the popularity and prestige of todays wrestling.

In a way having the world heavyweight title for Big Show is actually where the belt should be because it is pretty much a replica of the wcw belt which the big show was screwed out of by Hollywood Hulk Hogan like 17 years ago or something and Hogan carried it around with Big Shows then name on it. So it is fitting that Big Show finally gets his hands on it once more, even if its not the first time since, I feel that belts spiritual home is around The Giants waist, considering all the other great wcw champions are retired.

So until one of these big dudes like Kane, The Undertaker, The Big Show or Mark Henry is given a run with the real championship (the WWE championship) then they're not being taken seriously for mine.

Quite frankly what they have done with these big men and the constellation prize of the world heavyweight championship is a fiasco, an abomination.

I think its pathetic and I want to see a probe into wwe management, a full fledged investigation and I want to hear from people like, Stephanie McMahon, Vince himself and other people high up in the organisation to find out what the deal is.

 

[rerun406]

"His push was stopped almost immediately, as WWE often does with it's wrestlers. Had they continued to push him correctly, he could be used in a solid high mid card position,"

^
it's not the WWE's fault that Tensai couldn't get over. They pushed him hard and gave him big wins over Punk (handicap match) and John Cena

but every one of his matches was just so dull, and the noticeable "Albert" chants certainly didn't help

he's better of as a comedic wrestler tagging with Brodus, but not by much

 

[drobs85]

I don't see what some of the posters are seeing on here. Big Show is still a joke, still gets knocked around, thrown around like he's 200lbs. Holds the belt for 3 weeks. I loved Henry in 2011 but he hasn't been back to that point yet. He's now starting to remind me of Big Show. But Big men back then were better than these guys these days.

 

[drobs85]

"His push was stopped almost immediately, as WWE often does with it's wrestlers. Had they continued to push him correctly, he could be used in a solid high mid card position,"

^
it's not the WWE's fault that Tensai couldn't get over. They pushed him hard and gave him big wins over Punk (handicap match) and John Cena

but every one of his matches was just so dull, and the noticeable "Albert" chants certainly didn't help

he's better of as a comedic wrestler tagging with Brodus, but not by much

It is the WWE fault. They are the ones who gave him that stupid ass gimmick in the first place. No chance in Hell Vince could have possibly thought that one was going to work.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I loved Henry in 2011 but he hasn't been back to that point yet. He's now starting to remind me of Big Show.

In one sense, this is true. Ironically, Big Show seems to be showing more mobility than he did years ago. Back then, he was like Mark Henry is now; so slow and massive that the only way opponents could get in offense was to run up to the big man and stand directly in front of him, accepting whatever punishment the big guy wanted to give. That's the way Mark Henry is now; if you really watch his ring repertoire, he's not moving much at all....his opponent (illogically) moves into Mark's path and gets clobbered. When Mark was in a down cycle a few years ago, losing to people like Evan Bourne, the smaller men were wrestling him the way they should: moving away from him. Today, they're catering to him. If you regard that as a positive thing, one could say he's a big man being treated better.

In the past year or so, Big Show is showing more movement in the ring, which seems strange given his advancing age and weight. He actually chases the smaller guys a lot more, rather than waiting for them to come to him. Also, he takes more punishment and gets knocked around more, which makes sense because a man who's committing himself more to movement is subject to being hit more by the smaller, faster enemy.

The Natural Disasters used to fight the traditional way big men have always been depicted; they could barely get out of their own way, much less their smaller opponents. Instead, the little guys would rush them and get knocked on their asses, making it easy for Earthquake and Typhoon to look effective while hardly moving in the ring. During their push, they looked devastating because of this. In later times, they looked like the slow, overweight behemoths they actually were.

Especially when it comes to Big Show, I think big men are being treated better today. This applies to personality too, not just ring work. The brief union he had with Orton and Sheamus was very entertaining; we didn't know if a face change was coming or not.....and he kept us guessing, which is always good.