Rehabbing the Monster: Mark Henry's Rebirth

Somebody gon' get they ass kicked
Photo Credit: WWE.com

When you're with WWE for as long as Mark Henry has without really busting through to the main event, it can be easy to claim that he'll never be a big player, he'll never be really over, he'll never get that allure about him. I mean, you'd think that if he hasn't connected with the crowds all this time, what makes anyone think he could be the guy they thought he could be when they signed him 15 years ago? But that's the funny thing about pro wrestling and crowds in general. They don't tend to have long memories. That's why it kills me when people say that "so and so has been ruined forever because of being booked badly for one night!" Unless the performance is so dreadfully bad or the humiliation is so severe that it scars a guy for life, people can come back from most degrees of malaise. When I say that heat is elastic, it's not some trite, anti-smark sentiment that I use to look down on the pessimists. I really do think it's true.

Case in point, look at Henry since Capitol Punishment. He womped on the Big Show. He beat on Kane like he was some sort of hybrid government mule/red-headed stepchild. In two segments, Mark Henry became a monster again, and from the way the crowd reacted, ESPECIALLY that lady with the cell phone, they bought it. It was sublime.

Of course, it's all for naught if they don't follow up on this. If Henry is back threatening to put his stank on the Divas or gets squashed within the next few weeks as recourse, then it's a failure. I don't give the WWE any credit to keep this going until they prove to me they can. I've seen too many instances of bullshit parity booking in the last couple of years to really believe they have a long term star here. However, the initial spark is enough for me to prove that it doesn't matter who you are. If you get a good faith push and you get to destroy peeps, you'll get over, especially if you're talented like Henry is.

Seriously, there's no reason why Mark Henry has had to languish his whole career. Call it a grudge against him from management, call it Vince Russo and those who were scions of his awful style of booking trying to get too fancy with a simple archetype, call it whatever. It's better late than never, but for a guy who's as good a big man worker as he is, a guy whose angry scowl is among the best facial expressions in the business, for a guy who can project anger and rage and fearsomeness as good as some of the best in the business, well, I'm glad that he is getting chance after chance.

Hopefully, the front office will stop dicking around and notice that hey, this is working and hey, maybe he could be used for something better than fodder.

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