The WWE Series: 12) Mark Henry

[Adam Rush]

Hey fans and haters alike, it is I, marsden88, with the next installment of the WWE Series! Tonight, we have Mark Henry, thanks to a request by Ethelion and an anonymous caller, if you will.

What kind of investment has Mark Henry been to the WWE: Positive, Neutral, or Negative?

Just the Facts:
1) Sexual Chocolate. 'Nuff said.
2) He is dyslexic.
3) He is a 2-time World Champ. It took him 12 years to win the barely legitimate WWECW Championship, which, like I said, was a joke, and it took him 15 years to win a real (though lacking in prestige) World Heavyweight Championship.

Overview:
Mark Henry has busted his arse for the WWE for the last 16 years. He is the perfect example of someone who gets a "pity reign" at the end of his career, rather like Christian. (Could be worse, he could have been Chavo. Does this mean Hornswoggle himself could have been ECW Champ? Screw Chavo. Not the point!) Henry is just a big body in the ring. Granted, he's better than Khali, he doesn't have the speed that Kane brings, and he doesn't have the...erm...whatever Big Show has. Henry is also injury-prone. That being said, Henry isn't necessarily a bad guy. Henry can play a really good heel, and I think he'd be the perfect addition to AW's stable. (Not just because he's black, but because he's got the ego too.) When Henry comes back from injury, it'll be interesting to see what happens.

Decision:
Mark Henry has been a neutral investment. He did stay in the company for the better part of 16 years. He would be a positive, but his injuries are piling up. When he retires, there's a chance he'll end up in the hall of fame, but we'll have to see. Don't get me wrong, I like Henry and all, but he can't be a positive with injuries.

Thoughts?

Closure:
Ladies: Would you rather have "The World's Largest Love Machine" or "Sexual Chocolate"? It's an intriguing question.

 

[Aquaman6686]

I'd say neutral. The two high points of Henry's career were his pair of World Championship victories, but between them, his career has been largely pointless. He is too injury prone to be considered a positive, since he spends half his career on the sidelines. However, I would say he has accomplished just enough to avoid being called a negative.

On a side note though, I think Henry winning the ECW Championship meant much more in 2008 than it would have in the original ECW. WWE's version of the ECW Championship was a legitimate world title, defended outside of America on a regular basis. The original ECW Championship was a regional title, nothing more.

 

[Ethelion]

Thanks again for giving us my request, marsden88.

Mark Henry has been a neutral investment to the WWE so far. Like I've said in the previous installment, I'm not a fan of Mark Henry. However, I requested for him as he could be the next interesting WWE Superstar to talk about.

Although I'm aware that he used to be the "Sexual Chocolate", I wasn't able to see him in this gimmick due to wrestling access being very limited in my country. However, I was able to see his crewcut look and hear his old theme song, which was a barrel of laughs, in my old WWF Attitude Video Game in Playstation. Seeing as this gimmick didn't last long, he was a bust during his earlier days in the WWE.

When he started basing his gimmick with his then real-life occupation as the "World's Strongest Man", he merely became another monster heel who squashes jobbers.

When he became ECW Champion, he actually looked dominant enough to be a credible champion. In fact, this was during the time when he showed the one feud that I enjoyed: his ECW Title Feud with Matt Hardy, who later took the title off him. Then, he became irrelevant again.

He became relevant again when he started teaming and turning face with MVP. This was the only time that I was his fan. There was nothing going on for him when he flew solo and turned heel again. That is, until he added the "Hall of Pain" to his gimmick after first being knocked out by Big Show. Although he deserved to win the World Heavyweight Championship during his reign, his major push was too little too late for me when he could have been something bigger way back. And no, I don't consider the ECW Championship as a World Title, knowing that the WWE doesn't either. After his feuds with Show, Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan, he got injured.

With him sidelined, it's a make-or-break situation in his career today.

 

[stillboy21]

After thinking back over his career, I would put a neutral. Henry wasn't bad, actually incredible compared to others but it just wasn't anything special. That is until this last fall. The Hall of Pain and winning the World Heavyweight Championship did it in for me. I loved those times, I couldn't wait to see who he would dominate next. Plus he was a monster heel but not mindless or a coward. He just wanted to hurt others. This last bit of intensity from him this last year has totally made his career worth something now unfortunately he has been plagued with many injuries. But it sounds like he is getting into shape and I hope he still has that fire he had last fall. The World's Strongest Man is a positive.

 

[Radical]

I would say positive.

But I would say that he has been tragically under appreciated over his 16 years with the WWE.

He's been in some very good matches and storylines. He's a very believable World Heavyweight Champion and that's why I think it's a shame he had not won the title until last year.

Sure, he's not fast in the ring but I think you need a few big, tough, strong guys in the ring to make things interesting. I know pro wrestling is about entertainment and people seem to think that they would rather have an entire roster of cruiserweights and light heavyweights because they could zip around the ring and pull off any other move but then what about guys who are ACTUALLY big, strong athletes? They need to have credibility too. That's what Mark Henry has done.

IMO, he's fun to watch in the ring. I love it when an opponent tries to irish whip him across the ring and he just won't go and he reverses it into a clothesline or when he gives them the military press ride. Then, for more 'clever' opponents you'll see them resort to trying to take out his legs and get him grounded and then 'the bigger they are the harder they fall' rule applies but the pace of a match can still be good and it can lead to awesome moments like breaking through the barricade or ring collapses, etc.

I will agree, he is injury prone and it is because of an injury that his WHC title reign go cut short. I really hope though, when he returns, he wins back the WHC title and goes on a longer reign before he retires.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

Mark Henry got signed in 1996.

I think everyone will agree, that except for maybe a minor stint in the Nation of Domination or feuding with Undertaker, Henry didn't become anything even worth watching until 2011 when he started the Hall of Pain gimmick.

Now he is much older, got injured in his only run as champion, he doesn't really draw except for his size, he doen't put any people in the seats at shows, he doesn't sell merch, and he still isn't anything that amazing on the mic & in the ring.

With this WWE Series (which I LOVE by the way) I compare what I believe are the 2 most basic/important categories:
-Legacy - Impact on fans? Have they left a positive & memorable impression on the fans? Good/Memorable matches? Memorable title reigns/feuds/segments?
-Draw - Do/Did people want to see them? Did the COMPANY want people to see them? (aka did they get TV/PPV time? Promo time? Promoted?), Did they make WWE & themselves good money?
And compare it to their tenure, for example:
Stone Cold was only a full time competitor for about 5 years in WWE but he made them TONS of money!

Henry is a prime example of negative using my personal system. Not to mention, Henry has been in WWE over 16 years now and I woud bet alot of money that his lengthy contract made him more money than he will EVER make for WWE! And if your not making the company money, people aren't paying to see you.

I don't see how he could be positive

 

[HBsam31]

HBKistheHOF summed it up perfect. I was a huge fan of Henry's hall of Pain run, but lets face it that's all he did. He had a really lengthy contract and I would have to think the WWE put a lot more money out to him than he made for them. That alone would make him a negative investment. His injuries have piled up and until recently he never reached the potential that I am sure they thought he would.

 

[TheLoneCharles]

I vote neutral.

Henry has sometimes had a fun gimmick. Sexual Chocolate was hilarious and "Hall of Pain" was entertaining. However, that accounts for maybe 3 years of the last dozen or so.

Henry is in the same boat as Big Show, they were irrevelant for so long that it stuck with them. I remember when he tried to come in as an Olympic Hero, which felt like Lex Luger 2 at the time. Then all the jobbing to mid and low carders, and that awful tagteam with MVP. I seriously thought the guy was DONE until the Hall of Pain gimmick.

I respect Henry for staying all those years and having his World Title run, but he will always be neutral because he had far more dull times than exciting ones to watch.

 

[Arcade]

After his Hall of Pain run, I'd say Mark Henry is a positive. Too many people think of Mark Henry as a Attitude Era jobber and a joke character. The Sexual Chocolate gimmick was 10 to 11 years ago. Let it go. Mark Henry's whole career isn't irrelevant. In 2005, he destroyed Batista inside a steel cage. In 2006, he hit a body splash to Kurt Angle through a table, putting him out for awhile. In that year, Henry also had a mini-feud with Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship. Henry also feuded with the Undertaker earlier that year, and lost to Taker at Wrestlemania 22. In 2007, Henry dubbed himself "The Silverback" and defeated people like Kane. I think he also attacked Undertaker that year which led Edge to cash in on Undertaker(correct me if I'm wrong). In 2008, Mark Henry won the ECW Championship. From 2005-2008, Mark Henry was a key player in the WWE. In 2009-2011, with his face turn, Henry went on a decline. In mid 2011, Henry turned heel again, which allowed him to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Mark Henry's whole career isn't just a joke, as many of you make it seem like it is, and when Mark Henry returns, he will still play a huge role in the WWE.

 

[Death Before Disco]

Neutral

The Hall of Pain was positive, but I don't think that makes him an overall positive investment for WWE. Everything that I've watched of him over the years has been sub-par to average, with his performances during the Hall of Pain run being above average. I didn't see much of him as Sexual Chocolate, and thank God I never saw that infamous angle with Mae Young. So overall, I consider him a neutral investment.