Does Mark Henry have the potential to be a major short-term babyface?

[Mr. Nerfect]

Discuss the suggestion that when Mark Henry returns to the WWE, the World's Strongest Man can ride his initial return momentum and become an ass-kicking babyface -- perhaps even winning the World Heavyweight Title from Big Show, and having a monster run like last year -- filled with credible wins, only this time over top heels in the WWE.

[Heyman]

I don't see it working.

Keep him heel.

[#1-norm-fan]

His face run a few years ago when he was doing that schtick where he would make the audience cheer and then get quiet by raising his arms was promising. It wasn't like it was a genius tactic or anything but anytime you can get the audience to be part of the show like that, you've got something.

Plus I'm a fan of bad ass monsters who can destroy someone but still have fun and not be a dick heel just because he's a monster. Faces don't always have to be playing against the odds. It's fun to have a face go up against a heel and have everyone tune in just because they know this is the guy who can rip the heel apart.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Henry vs. Ziggler would be so much fun.

[Cool King]

Well I remember his last face run began really well. He was able to control the crowd just by raising and lowering his hands, but that was it and the WWE didn't really do much with him so he quickly became just another face who constantly smiled and interacted with the kids.

That's all I can remember from his last run as a face. Before he was injured though, I loved Henry. I think his reign as World Heavyweight Champion was fantastic and at that time, I hadn't enjoyed a World Heavyweight Championship run since Jack Swagger's run, even though the majory of people see Swagger's run as being forgettable.

I don't think a return as a face would be a good thing for Henry. SmackDown already has quite a few top faces at the moment and adding another one will probably be too much. We already have Sheamus, Orton, Mysterio, Sin Cara and to a lesser extent, Brodus Clay. The kids love Brodus.

I think it would be best for Henry to return unexpectedly to Raw sometime next year and attack and demolish Ryback then the two would have a feud going. It would be better if Ryback was WWE Champion but we know that won't happen due to The Rock and all that. I can just imagine the crowd going mad if Ryback was to manage to lift up Henry and hit Shell Shocked on him.

Or if Henry returns unexpectedly during the Royal Rumble match and eliminates a ton of guys and almost wins the thing. If a face Intercontinental Champion eliminated him, then he can fued with him up until WrestleMania, where Henry becomes Intercontinental Champion. From there, he could go after the WWE Championship.

[Nicky Fives]

better as a heel, I don't see it working, but then again, I never saw him being a legitimate main eventer either.....

[Heyman]

I've mentioned this before but I think The Miz should turn face.

R-Truth should be tweener (I.e. heel that gets cheered), while Orton should make the full fledged heel turn while re-uniting Legacy.

[Fignuts]

As long as he doesn't change his demeanor.

I hated Henry's recent face run. He was this big goofy smiling, non-threatening loser.

Mark Henry should be a walking tank, with a permenant "You bout to get raped" expression on his face.

I hate when they completely change a guy's personality when they change someone to face or heel. It sucked when they did it for Henry. It sucked when they did it for Big Show. And it sucked when they did it for Shaemus.

Worst part is, that it is completely unnessecary. You want to turn Henry face? Easiest thing to do in the world. Just send him out and let him be the bad mutha fucker he's always been as a heel, but have him fuck CM Punk's shit up instead of John Cena's.

Easy peesy.

[GD]

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6D5KqyApnJU#t=1m08s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Juan]

Replace Ryback with Henry in the Punk feud and now I'm watching

[Autobahn]

Henry has beenthe best in his career recently. If it isnt broken, dont fix it.

[Inadequacy]

Henry's face turn against Randy Orton is one of my favourite turns of the last few years.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Replace Ryback with Henry in the Punk feud and now I'm watching

Nobody else would.

Mark Henry works better as a heel. Shouldn't even be a thought in their head to make him a face.

[Gertner]

Replace Ryback with Henry in the Punk feud and now I'm watching

This is exactly why we nobody likes Mexicans. Go home. Seriously.

[Optimus Bone 69]

i'm still hoping for a mega Henry run before he retires, heel or face

[mike adamle]

i'm still hoping for a mega Henry run before he retires, heel or face

You got it last year.

[Emperor Smeat]

I could see it working well as a short-term plan or something like a meaner version of Brodus. He still shows signs of being a brute but now has fun or toys with his opponents for some laughs from the audience.

[Perry Saturn]

R-Truth should be tweener (I.e. heel that gets cheered).

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He should stick to this

[Razzamajazz]

remember when r truth main evented a ppv?

i didn't watch that one

[Shisen Kopf]

Still don't see why his finisher isn't called "the chocolate drop"

[Lock Jaw]

I liked the series of matches he had with CM Punk before he left. Was really "well done".

[Fignuts]

Yeah, his matches with Punk were mint, but whose aren't?

Feel like he needs a new finisher. WSS is kind of boring.

[Curd]

It's a nice thought, Noid, but I see a Tensai-Henry program in the future. Perhaps they'll make it about who has the better bear hug.

[DAMN iNATOR]

remember when r truth main evented a ppv?

i didn't watch that one

You mean Capitol Punishment?
<iframe frameborder="0" width="480" height="270" src="http://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/xk2do8"></iframe><br /><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xk2do8_wwe-capitol-punishment-2011-r-truth-vs-john-cena_sport" target="_blank">WWE Capitol Punishment 2011 - R Truth VS John Cena</a> <i>by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/DJLDX" target="_blank">DJLDX</a></i>

Sorry about the guy talking in the vid...:-\

[Rock Bottom]

Henry needs to go in there with some more big guys and have some power slamming slobberknockers. Face, heel, I don't care - book him the same, and don't let him smile. Henry and Ryback would be good. Henry and Punk got skipped over due to Henry's injury during Punk's face run. They had a match on Raw without a clean decision, which was a sign that the WWE had faith in Henry as a top heel opponent for Punk. Things have changed, and I don't see how that would fit anymore. Henry was pretty much the heel version of Ryback, toned down a bit. The same thing could work as a face if Ryback weren't around.

Ryback has thrown the WWE champion around like a toy in the ring. If Mark Henry were to actually "be able to hurt" Ryback and give him a "real challenge," later on if he returns, I think that'd be the best bet. It'd build Ryback even more, and have Henry look even better because no one else can keep Ryback down for anything significant. Especially if by the time Henry returns, if he does, Ryback has gone over The Rock at any point.

[#1-norm-fan]

I liked the series of matches he had with CM Punk before he left. Was really "well done".

Yeah it was. I loved how they had a feud that took place entirely on Raw, including the blowoff match, just to make Punk look good. It was a refreshing change-up from "Hey, these two guys are facing at the next PPV in a month... so let's throw them in random, meaningless tag team matches for the next 4 weeks."

[#1-norm-fan]

remember when r truth main evented a ppv?

i didn't watch that one

I loved that. Besides R-Truth being amazing at that time, I like the idea of just throwing heel challengers at the face champion to let him overcome without it hurting the heel's image. It wasn't a "huge" feeling match but it was Capitol Punishment. The match was fun, it was definitely fresh and new, the ending was perfect, Truth got to get some time in the spotlight (regardless of the fact that they didn't follow up on it) and Cena got a W for the happy ending.

[#1-norm-fan]

They should do that more with guys like Wade Barrett who everyone wanted to see as champion years ago. He's not at the level of someone like Cena so him being champion would just make the title seem below the REAL main event. So you throw him in as #1 contender and let him fight his ass off and fall short. Let the face legit main eventer keep the title while Barrett looks like a million bucks and makes you think he's right on the brink of being able to compete with those guys. Solidify him as a threat.

[drave]

They should do that more with guys like Wade Barrett who everyone wanted to see as champion years ago. He's not at the level of someone like Cena so him being champion would just make the title seem below the REAL main event. So you throw him in as #1 contender and let him fight his ass off and fall short. Let the face legit main eventer keep the title while Barrett looks like a million bucks and makes you think he's right on the brink of being able to compete with those guys. Solidify him as a threat.

This needs to happen NAO! :y:

[DLVH84]

I thought Mark Henry had a decent face run in 2002-2003. So, I believe it's possible.

[Mr. Nerfect]

As long as he doesn't change his demeanor.

I hated Henry's recent face run. He was this big goofy smiling, non-threatening loser.

Mark Henry should be a walking tank, with a permenant "You bout to get raped" expression on his face.

I hate when they completely change a guy's personality when they change someone to face or heel. It sucked when they did it for Henry. It sucked when they did it for Big Show. And it sucked when they did it for Shaemus.

Worst part is, that it is completely unnessecary. You want to turn Henry face? Easiest thing to do in the world. Just send him out and let him be the bad mutha fucker he's always been as a heel, but have him fuck CM Punk's shit up instead of John Cena's.

Easy peesy.

This was basically what I had in mind. Henry coming back with a rape-face directed at Big Show would make total sense.

[Shadrick]

They should do that more with guys like Wade Barrett who everyone wanted to see as champion years ago. He's not at the level of someone like Cena so him being champion would just make the title seem below the REAL main event. So you throw him in as #1 contender and let him fight his ass off and fall short. Let the face legit main eventer keep the title while Barrett looks like a million bucks and makes you think he's right on the brink of being able to compete with those guys. Solidify him as a threat.

I swear to God, I've been saying do things like this for YEARS for certain guys. It's a proven thing but for some reason they just DONT do it. They did it for Hardy, and when Jeff finally won it, the crowd went apeshit. Have him chase it for a bit, look like he ALMOST made it, and that will have the crowd rooting for him.

I firmly believe its on creative, but I've read somewhere that ULTIMATELY, they'll have great ideas but Stephanie/Vince will just do what they want to do, which sucks.

[#1-norm-fan]

Instead, the gameplan is have someone win MITB and become champion out of the blue straight from the mid-card. They desperately need to tweak that gimmick a little.

[#1-norm-fan]

Ziggler had the one good PPV title match against Sheamus because of Del Rio's injury. They didn't really follow up on it very well though.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I think they are currently doing that with Ryback at the moment. He got screwed at Hell in a Cell, and I have a feeling that Punk will retain at Survivor Series with assist from Brad Maddox or Dolph Ziggler (possibly a combination of the two). Ryback will then have one last shot to secure the title at TLC, where he doesn't achieve his goal, but it makes him look like a killer heading into the Royal Rumble.