Will Mark Henry Be One Of The Great Black World Champions?

[CM Steel]

Mark Henry has been in the WWF/E for a very long time. He is now the 5th world champion ever of African-American decent. We can run down a list...


-Bobo Brazil: Became the first African-American to win the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Chmapionship, also making him the first African-American World Champion in professional wrestling history.

-Ron Simmons: The (so-called) first world champion of African-American decent, back in the old WCW.

-The Rock: Some see him as African-American, some see him as just mixed. But a icon! The WWF/E's Barack Obama during the Attitude Era years.

-Booker T: First won a world title in WCW.Hulk Hogan's backstage politics, and announced that Jarrett was still the champion (nullifying the result of the Hogan match) and would defend the title in an impromptu match against Booker T.

And now over 11 years now. Mark Heny is now on that list as a black world champion. (Sorry ECW doesn't count)

He won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Randy Orton at Night of Champions. Now how well will Mark Henry defend the world title. By the way the face card is going on Smackdown. Randy Orton gets another crack at MH. Sheamus is a contender. And what if the Undertaker returns by the Survivor Series pay per view? Because Mark Henry isn't going to be the WWE World Heavyweight Champion going into 2012.

But Will Mark Henry be one of the great black World champions that we'll remember?

 

[The Crock]

Why must everything come down to race? Dear God.

Anyway, with how wrestling is nowadays, there really are no great title reigns and at Mark Henry's age, I can see this being his only run with the title, so I'll have to go with no. Don't get me wrong, every once in a while we might have an excellent title reign, but the titles switch hands so often that it's virtually impossible to remember a guy for what he did as champ, unless he got the belt on multiple occasions.

Bobo Brazil is only remembered for being the first African American champion, same goes for Ron Simmons really. Rock and Booker have some legitimate claim to being called "great," though. Both were multiple time World Champions and The Rock is often considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Do you really think Mark Henry stacks up against them? No, he'll be forgotten in the shuffle. He has looked very good as of late, an absolute monster, but that does nothing for him in the long run. So many other guys have pulled this same shtick, only to be overshadowed by someone else.

After 15 years, Mark Henry finally got his World Heavyweight Championship. That in and of itself says it all. 15 years is a long time and Henry's nearing the end of the road (he said it himself). Don't expect much longevity from this reign or from Mark Henry's main event status. I love the guy, but it's just not happening.

 

[IT Factor]

I must agree that Henry should be considered a great World Champion. It should have nothing to do with him being black. He's a great talent and that would be the same reguardless of whether he's black, green, or purple. People always gotta play the race card, though.

 

[The_Sharpshooter]

The Crock said it all for the most part, but I'll speak more firm. The Rock is the ONLY great black champion. Booker was entertaining, but I wouldn't use great in a sentence with him unless he had a three way tag match against the Steiners & the Road Warriors.

Henry is extremely entertaining, but do you expect 2012 to start off with Mark Henry as champ? I don't, and no one can be great with a 3 month run.

But this is a racist world. Whether purposely or just for observation, people see things in black & white. When you look at Henry, do you think, "Big, Black Monster?" I'm a black man from Jersey, and I do! Wrestling is built on stereotypes(whenever you say a wrestler has "The Look") and to get on people for speaking what they think is so 1990. Move on...

 

[Da Solo]

Quick logic: just because you acknowledge the fact that someone is black/white doesn't mean you're playing the so-called "race card". Just Sayin...

Now back on topic, the only truly great black champions would be Booker and (obviously) Rock. Some would make a case for Ron Simmons, but that wasn't in my era, so I won't comment. Will Henry be great? I don't know. I think he could be if the give the run some length, but I see his reign being quite like Kane's last WHC run tbh.

 

[The A]

I Think he does need this run to solidify him as one of the greats and that is regardless of race. This is his first world title so he needs a nice run to even have a chance of being one of the great wrestlers let alone one of the few black world champions. They were all great I guess they had to be but lets be honest there just aren't as many black professional wrestlers and fans (remember usually wrestlers start out as fans) and there were many Great Black Wrestlers who were probably in line to get titles and there are many ways to explain that not happening.

But I honestly want to see a Black man hold the WWE Championship. I see the HW title as the wcw championship and the 2nd belt in the company maybe not a few years ago when it was on raw. But anyways....With Mark I feel this run is gonna make or break his career as a GREAT wrestler. He is for sure great in strength and in loyalty and his last few months have been great. Its been a long time though that also helps his greatness though cause he was always sort of over someway or another

 

[ellax]

I really feel that Mark Henry did very well throughout these few mths.. I can strongly say he has officially put himself as the top heel in Smackdown..

I'm not sure if this push will last.. I personally wish it will.. He's loyal to the company.. he's working really hard.. he has performed well since turning heel this year..

I can frankly say that one good thing about WWE lately.. is that they are quite fine with who is winning the title in terms of races..

But if the greatest.. sad to say.. there's The Rock in that list.. and nothing can beat that.. but Mark Henry can easily come in as second place..

 

[xoxo French Kiss xoxo]

Until I read this thread I didn't even remember that Mark Henry was black/African American/darker than most of the other guys in the WWE. And after reading it I still don't give a shit about his skin color.

Henry's done a hell of a job over the past few months with this push to get over and make himself a believable contender, and now champion. He went from crap to gold in 5 months, I hope they don't drop the ball with his character and his first real title run. He'll I hope hes so good that he gets more than one title run. He stated he was going to retire within 18 months earlier this year, hopefully the WWE gets their investment back out of Henry.

 

[sikkbones]

the WHC championship is meaningless... it's obvious that the WWE Title is the only one that matters.. and i honestly doubt Vince would ever let a black man win that title... he let a mexican win it for how many minutes? Has anyone of any other race than white won the WWE title and had a decent run with it Excluding the rock?

 

[IT Factor]

Until I read this thread I didn't even remember that Mark Henry was black/African American/darker than most of the other guys in the WWE. And after reading it I still don't give a shit about his skin color.

THANK YOU!!! Finally, someone who sees the bigger picture. While I do agree that racism exists, why does that have to enter the topic? Mark Henry is a great addition to Smackdown and that's not just because he's black. Other big men like Vader have impressed me in the past with their athleticism and it had nothing to do with skin pigmintation. Although you can spot the more rascist people on this board by skimming over the replies in this topic alone. They're the ones making the big deal out of race when it clearly isn't a real-life issue. Way to go!

Henry's done a hell of a job over the past few months with this push to get over and make himself a believable contender, and now champion. He went from crap to gold in 5 months, I hope they don't drop the ball with his character and his first real title run. He'll I hope hes so good that he gets more than one title run. He stated he was going to retire within 18 months earlier this year, hopefully the WWE gets their investment back out of Henry.

Alot of online fans have given Mark Henry criticism over the years for being too fat, too slow, or whatever they chose to nag about. Sometimes the critique was deserving and sometimes it wasn't. I've seen Mark Henry twice at live events. Once was a live Smackdown taping in 2003 and the other was a RAW house show in 2008. There was such a big difference in Henry's advancement in character and presence that I was impressed back then and still am now. Talent has nothing to do with race and has everything to do with the individual. Trying to put that into a box with the racism issue is lowering the status-quo and copping out.

I hope that the WWE actually keeps Mark as the World Champion for at least a few months. And after that, they should keep him on top and relevant as he deserves the push he's currently getting. End of story.

 

[justtxyank]

Until I read this thread I didn't even remember that Mark Henry was black/African American/darker than most of the other guys in the WWE.

I don't care how racist or race friendly you are. I don't care what skin color you are. I don't care how old you are. I'm gonna go ahead and say "unlikely" to anyone who says they don't "remember" that Mark freaking Henry is black.

 

[IT Factor]

I don't care how racist or race friendly you are. I don't care what skin color you are. I don't care how old you are. I'm gonna go ahead and say "unlikely" to anyone who says they don't "remember" that Mark freaking Henry is black.

I think you're missing the point. It's not that people don't remember that Henry is a black guy. Anyone with good vision can see that. I think the point was that Henry is a great new champion who shouldn't be stereotyped because some people can't get over the race issue. Anyone who's watching for talent sees a solid in-ring performer and not seeing him as "a great black champion". Of course, most people aren't tolerant enough on the race card topic. Hence the reason people are freakishly obsessing when any normal fan could care less.

 

[BigPoppaPunk]

The only ones here who are offended by the issue of racism are those who want to use it as an excuse. It's convient to say "Is Mark Henry a great black champion?", when the same statement could be used without the word "black". And with the same effect I might add. While it would be wrong to say racism doesn't exist(cause clearly some a-holes here still use it as an issue), it isn't as important as it used to be.

Mark Henry is a great talent and deserving champion. To limit him to the "black" label is undermining everything he's worked for. I personally don't care if he's black or not, as long as he's an interesting character, I couldn't care less.

Seriously, why the hell do ppl have to label everything with racists overtones? It may have been important back when racism was more of a problem, but these days it doesn't mean jack shit. As long as you have what fans wanna see, color isn't relevant here.

 

[justtxyank]

I think you're missing the point. It's not that people don't remember that Henry is a black guy. Anyone with good vision can see that. I think the point was that Henry is a great new champion who shouldn't be stereotyped because some people can't get over the race issue. Anyone who's watching for talent sees a solid in-ring performer and not seeing him as "a great black champion". Of course, most people aren't tolerant enough on the race card topic. Hence the reason people are freakishly obsessing when any normal fan could care less.

I have no problem with this post and agree with it. The guy I responded to said he didn't remember Mark Henry was black until he saw this thread. That's just laughable.

 

[RicoLen]

He won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Randy Orton at Night of Champions. Now how well will Mark Henry defend the world title. By the way the face card is going on Smackdown. Randy Orton gets another crack at MH. Sheamus is a contender. And what if the Undertaker returns by the Survivor Series pay per view? Because Mark Henry isn't going to be the WWE World Heavyweight Champion going into 2012.

But Will Mark Henry be one of the great black World champions that we'll remember?

I don't think I'm in a position to even guess whether or not he's a great 'black' champion, and true be told, I don't care either.

I DO however think he will be a great champion so long as he keeps going on like this. He reminds me of Zeus back in the day when Hogan was feuding with him. Only Henry is the real deal and has actually won the championship belt too.

As for that whole comment of "I didn't even remember he was black" to be honest with you I have that exact problem with The Rock (but not Halle Berry, Lenny Kravitz or many other people that are 50/50's). I think of him as Samoan. He looks Samoan, perhaps a little darker than some guys, but not by much if at all. The Rock & Umaga look very similar to me. I can definitely see the family resemblance between them. Honestly, aside from The Rock's build, I see more family resemblance between The Rock & Umaga than I do between Umaga & Rikishi. If someone were to put Umaga, Rikishi, The Rock, & Yokozuna in a lineup and asked me to pick the guy that wasn't a 100% Samoan, I would pick Yokozuna, and that's probably more because of the name and the gimmick rather than anything else.

 

[cod500]

Why does race even matter? A champ is a champ, this isn't 1980.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

Well, when there's only five African American world champions in history, he is by default one of the great black World Champions... All sarcasm aside, I'm looking forward to the future of Mark Henry. He could very well blow it and get the title taken off of him in 3 days, or he could hold it for six months and main event WrestleMania... It's really all up in the air right now, and even if he does do incredible as a champion, they could take the title because apparently Randy Orton sells more or draws in ratings... Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to hate on Orton, I just hope that Mark Henry gets his time.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

When there have been fewer than a handful of black performers who've been champion, it's understandable why any one asks whether he'll be a great 'black' champ. I'm glad Henry got his chance. I think he got it for being a loyal performer with the company for the last 15 years or so. I don't think Henry will anything more than a short term champion used to add to Orton's tenure on SD. SD is meant to be Orton's show with him being the central focus of that program.

As far as one of the great champions black or white, no I don't think he will be. Henry will enjoy his time as champ and will do his best to work hard as champ. Imo to be great, one has to be able to deliver solid performances, sell merchandise, fill arenas and I think the number of people who get a championship reign at just the drop of a hat, which sort of minimizes the value of what it is to be a champion, let alone a great one.

 

[IT Factor]

I have no problem with this post and agree with it. The guy I responded to said he didn't remember Mark Henry was black until he saw this thread. That's just laughable.

I wasn't trying to pick an arguement or have anyone endorse my view. I was simply pointing out that race has nothing to do with why I enjoy Mark Henry's work. I see alot of people making a big deal of it when it isn't a problem. And have you ever noticed that the minority groups accuse a sport like pro wrestling of racism when it usually isn't even brought up before their comments are added? I'm a white guy and I could care less if Henry is black, green, yellow, red, purple, or indigo[sorry, had to throw a random crayon color refrence in there ]. Mark Henry is a good champion and that would be true no matter what his skin color is and he's a hard worker. Of course, good luck getting the heavily biased people in this topic to see that objectively.

 

[hollowpoint]

I don't think I'm in a position to even guess whether or not he's a great 'black' champion, and true be told, I don't care either.

I DO however think he will be a great champion so long as he keeps going on like this. He reminds me of Zeus back in the day when Hogan was feuding with him. Only Henry is the real deal and has actually won the championship belt too.

As for that whole comment of "I didn't even remember he was black" to be honest with you I have that exact problem with The Rock (but not Halle Berry, Lenny Kravitz or many other people that are 50/50's). I think of him as Samoan. He looks Samoan, perhaps a little darker than some guys, but not by much if at all. The Rock & Umaga look very similar to me. I can definitely see the family resemblance between them. Honestly, aside from The Rock's build, I see more family resemblance between The Rock & Umaga than I do between Umaga & Rikishi. If someone were to put Umaga, Rikishi, The Rock, & Yokozuna in a lineup and asked me to pick the guy that wasn't a 100% Samoan, I would pick Yokozuna, and that's probably more because of the name and the gimmick rather than anything else.

Wait a minute, Yokozuna isn't Japanese? LOL..

On topic. I think he can not only be a great black champion, I think he can be at least the second best in the history of wrestling. The Rock will hold that forever and a day in my book. You can downplay it about the whole "race doesn't matter" all you want, but the fact is it does. It matters to the little kids that watch wrestling looking for someone to emulate. I grew up watching guys like JYD and Ice Man, but neither of them were ever a world champion. The highest the black wrestlers ever got was a tag team championship. Seeing him win it all was like watching Ron Simmons, The Rock, or Booker T win it all the same.

The only problem with the "black champion" label is that it takes away from his run as a WHC. Mark Henry is having a career year right now. I don't see him losing to Randy Orton at HIAC. It's only gonna make him seem more dominant than ever. I actually hope that's the case, because I wanna see him and Sheamus go at it again.

 

[H33LTurn]

I dont think that hes at the level of The Rock or even Booker T but his title win is significant and given the small number of African American champions in the past I do think he'll be remembered.

 

[CM Steel]

I wasn't trying to pick an arguement or have anyone endorse my view. I was simply pointing out that race has nothing to do with why I enjoy Mark Henry's work. I see alot of people making a big deal of it when it isn't a problem. And have you ever noticed that the minority groups accuse a sport like pro wrestling of racism when it usually isn't even brought up before their comments are added? I'm a white guy and I could care less if Henry is black, green, yellow, red, purple, or indigo[sorry, had to throw a random crayon color refrence in there ]. Mark Henry is a good champion and that would be true no matter what his skin color is and he's a hard worker. Of course, good luck getting the heavily biased people in this topic to see that objectively.

Your right. Race has nothing to do with Mark Henry winning a world championship. But the point that I was pointing out is that a african-american wrestler is a minority in pro wrestling, as you can see by the list of former black champions. I think that it's really good that Mark Henry has finally won the big one (no pun intended)!

But do you think that it's kinda of strange that in all wrestling history that there's only been five world champions that are african-american? So I'm not playing the race card. The promoters are! Going back to the days of Ernie Ladd. He would have made a grand world champion. But there's racism everywhere I guess.

Didn't people learn anything from Jackie Robinson breaking racial gates in sports (entertainment)?

 

[c-trass]

Um to the guy who made this thread. You forgot one name on your list, ron killings. he was a two-time NWA world heavyweight champion.

Why does race have to be involved?

Mark Herny is obviously the top heel at the moment. WWE should give him a good run with the title no dobut cause he deserves it.

 

[xoxo French Kiss xoxo]

Um to the guy who made this thread. You forgot one name on your list, ron killings. he was a two-time NWA world heavyweight champion.

Why does race have to be involved?

Mark Herny is obviously the top heel at the moment. WWE should give him a good run with the title no dobut cause he deserves it.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion?

LMAO thats not a REAL thing.

This is the WWE were talking about.

Rather than classify Henry as a "Great African American" champion, lets just judge him against other champions. Many great wrestlers throughout time have held the WHC/WWE titles. When the time comes lets compare Henry's reign to some of them. He's only been champion a few weeks and so far he has had a strong showing... but its really to soon to tell the impact he'll have long term as champion.

 

[sikkbones]

NWA World Heavyweight Champion?

LMAO thats not a REAL thing.

This is the WWE were talking about.

Rather than classify Henry as a "Great African American" champion, lets just judge him against other champions. Many great wrestlers throughout time have held the WHC/WWE titles. When the time comes lets compare Henry's reign to some of them. He's only been champion a few weeks and so far he has had a strong showing... but its really to soon to tell the impact he'll have long term as champion.

Neither is the WHC title... it's very clear it's a secondary title to the WWE title... esp. when it is defended or the champion is on raw.