The Mark Henry Lesson
 

Recently I saw an interview with Greg Helms and in it he stated that the "big leagues" used to be the end game for wrestlers. They would season themselves for a number of years in the indys/territories or overseas and once they had honed their in ring skills, mic skills and personalities/gimmicks they would be prepared to hit WWF or WCW. However, now a number of guys are starting in WWE, many of them in their early + mid-20's. Granted, I don't think all guys ought to be held back due to some being more advanced or just plain better than the others, but most of the youngsters probably ought to be held back for a while in order to better themselves and therefore the product (though it can't totally erase much of the bad writing by creative).

This brings me to Monday Night, when for the first time since MITB 2011 I had a mark out moment. Mizark Henry made a cynical man watching wrestling feel like a 12 year old for a minute. Say what you will about Mark Henry, but the past number of years have been GREAT. He has always been a company guy, much like Kane in a sense. Katie Vick angle= Mae Young birthing a hand/Sexual Chocolate gimmick. Since his signing in 1995 there has been a lot of crap from Mark, but I think it can be attributed to the fact that his growing pains and struggles to find himself in business were on display for everyone to see rather than in the shadows of the developmental system.

Mark Henry has finally achieved the level that Vince McMahon thought he would nearly 18 years ago. Through the Nation, tagging with D'Lo, Sexual Chocolate, Hall of Pain and everything else he seems to be a throwback type of the business that needed years of experience and hardwork to reach a certain level.

Was Greg Helms right that these guys need more work and when they are too raw they hurt the product? I've heard enough people complain of certain performers being bad on the mic, or their ring work being sloppy and/or unimaginative. I think that Mark Henry's career serves as a lesson to the WWE that perhaps more time ought to be put into development rather than pushing guys out too soon because they have a "look," or "potential." Am I off base or does this make some sense? Thoughts?

You can tell the guys who've worked other places straight away, the thing with the in house developmental system is kind of a double edged sword, everyone is taught the WWE style and theoretically can then work with anyone but they are also all really similar in the early goings of their careers. There's always going to be guys like Brock who just get it but ideally you want everyone coming in to have some seasoning.

It's hard to think that he debuted in 1996, a year before the Kane character. I have more to say, which I will do soon.

They've tried to give him these monster pushes in the past. The problem is that he was too injury prone to keep it going for an extended period of time. The best thing he did was injury Batista enough to make him drop the title. I knew he was going to succeed the last time because he actually broke the lock on the door without any problem. They've tried that a few times and he always seemed to mess it up or they somehow forgot to gimmick the lock.

The segment on Raw was pure genius. At first I thought it was going to be a fake out retirement but then he was so heartfelt with his comments that I thought it was going to be a real retirement. Then the World Strongest Slam out of the hug I was pretty shocked. If he did that against anybody else other than Cena he'd be a super-over heel right now. Since it's Cena he's just our hero.

Welsh Batista, what's his name... Mason Ryan, is a good example of a guy who got called up way too fast, and Husky Harris to a lesser extent. Now look at Husky, he's about to come in hot with a new stable. Hopefully it goes well.

There's also the 'build on smackdown / then move to raw' process from 2006-2012 which saw MVP, Kennedy, Ryback, Cesaro and Sandow all pretty much get their first shots on pre-taped TV before getting more time on Raw. With the brandsplit over that's not so much the case.

Mark Henry has only really been watchable the last two years though, and his character hasn't really changed over the last ten years, only his catchphrases. Up until his world title win in 2011, he was fucking boring to watch.

Does Mark Henry get into the Hall of Fame when he finally does hang up his boots? His tenure with the company alone is remarkable, but his career as a whole is kind of a mixed bag.

I still can't believe how I've become a fan of Henry. Used to change the channel when he was on TV.

[INSERT OBLIGATORY "If Koko B. Ware is in..." COMMENT HERE]

Considering how memorable the "Sexual Chocolate" gimmick was and his recent success, I'd say he goes in pretty easily. It will probably be a few years after he retires though.

I don't feel WWE will look at Mark Henry's career and think anything that the OP posted. If anything, it'll probably further the idea that you can force-feed a greenhorn and eventually something will stick.

"Sexual Chocolate" was pretty damn over. The N.O.D. was pretty damn over. He was green and not very good, but he was involved in some very over storylines.

"Sexual Chocolate" is still over to this day, if the chants are any indication.

It was a fun gimmick. Mark Henry is amazing when he is being funny/laid back or when he is destructive violent beast. His worst period was from like 2001-2009 when all he did was either "babyface powerlifter" or "angry fat man" with lots of injuries in between.

Mark Henry is what a "monster heel" should be. He is a very real gimmick. He is a big, strong, pissed off mother fucker who wants to hurt people because its fun and he wants something at any cost. He isn't some over the top gimmick. We all have experience or understand the idea of "that guy you shouldn't fuck with". Mark Henry is that guy. You do not fuck with Mark Henry.

Mark Henry/Undertaker at Mania now as opposed to how I felt about it at WrestleMania 22 is amazing to thing about. Mark Henry could get more sympathy for the Undertaker than HBK, HHH, Punk, etc. because he could beat the ever loving fuck out of The Undertaker and not need chairs, 40 finishers, and crazy bumps to make The Undertaker look like he has been beaten within an inch of his life.

I do like Henry a bit now, but I really would not like to see him vs. The Undertaker at Wrestlemania. That match would not be good with a very obvious outcome.

It wouldn't be the instant classic like the past 6 have been, but it'd be a different kind of match than he has had in ages at WrestleMania. CM Punk/Undertaker was an awesome match, but "The Streak" matches have become too similar in their layout. It'd be interesting to see a match where Undertaker doesn't have to give 4 Tombstones, 3 Last Rides, and 2 Chokeslams to win after overcoming 4 finishers, 3 sets of repeated chair shots, and 10 minutes of reversal-counter-reversal.

I wonder if Undertaker can even lift Mark Henry at this point though.

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I'd rather have a paint-by-numbers classic match than a glacial-paced "Big Man" match. Maybe it's me.

That'd add to the match and tie it into the storyline. Outside of John Cena, who is an opponent for The Undertaker that would basically sell itself?

I think Mark Henry is good enough now to make that match more than that.

Honestly, that idea really intrigues me at this point. Henry VS. Undertaker.

What kind of match though? Gimmick or no though?

No DQ/No Countout is all it would need. The idea is that Mark Henry wants to avenge his loss at WM22 and forever cement him as the most violent superstar in WWE history. He beats the ever loving fuck out of The Undertaker, but Undertaker won't stay down. You do some hope spots, fake a comeback, and then Taker really does make a come back and wins the match. It is a tried and true match formula for a reason. Just because something isn't innovative doesn't mean it isn't good.

I think they need to try and make his Mania matches more about the emotion and the idea that he is going to break down and it could easily be this year instead of "THE UNDERTAKER VS ____ AT WRESTLEMANIA! IT WILL BE AN EPIC BATTLE FOR THE AGES!" Everybody loves the fuck out of The Undertaker and the idea that this big bastard would go out of his way to destroy him and end his career would be easy heel heat and tell a great story. Also, you wouldn't need anyone to pass away at the perfect time.

I still think John Cena will turn heel by beating The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXX.

Did you just hear Brother Love breathe a sigh of relief?

Henry has been great for nearly 5 years.

I am pretty sure Mick Foley is going to pass away soon. With his history of sacrificing for the business he's probably going to do it before Undertaker retires and right before Mania.

This is a heavily depressing thought but hard to argue with.

I know, it kills me to realize that he's no longer the Mick I practically worshipped in my teens. If I had ever gone to a WWF show, I would have been one of the dorks with a "Foley is God" sign.

His promo work is no longer good, in fact it's barely tolerable, his jokes are no longer so corny they're funny, they're so corny that they are in fact just corny. I've seen morbidly obese women who look more intimidating and less likely to collapse from heart failure after running 12 feet.

We can only hope DDP takes pity on him and gets him into something resembling shape and not the amorphous blob he has become.

I haven't checked out his stand-up routine at all, but that man knew how to create a story in his books.

I love Mark Henry so much

... while Terry Funk continues wrestling in matches on his 120th birthday, moonsaulting through flaming tables.

And still promising he'll retire...

Of course Greg Helms is right. I've been saying it for years now.

When did Terry Funk come out of retirement again? Also, now I want to see Terry Funk VS. Mark Henry.

Foley never used drugs or alcohol. Sure hes fat, but his bumps arent going to kill him, and hes still pretty young to be worried about obesity killing him. Hes not THAT bad. Hes not going to die soon.