More on Mark Henry

Frequent contributor Kyle left some great comments during my LIVE Raw post, but I thought I'd respond with another post instead of leaving it in the comments section:

First, Mark Henry: People may be exaggerating it. BUT, let me see if I can make the point as to why I, who have never enjoyed Mark Henry's work (he seems like a good guy who works hard, just never liked him) have really liked his current run. #1, it's DIFFERENT than what we've been seeing. Every heel lately is the same. Cowardly, weak heels who aren't in the same league as Cena and Orton. Punk had to essentially turn face to be booked like that. Christian came close but as he went more and more heelish he was less and less in Orton's league, until he only one via a crazy stipulation and trickery. Miz, Truth, Del Rio, all booked as cowardly weak heels. Cena openly said Del Rio sucks and isn't in his league, then proved that to be correct by beating him at Extreme Rules and only losing here due to a triple threat stipulation and Cena being locked out of the cage. Mark Henry, meanwhile, just went out there and kicked Orton's ass, beating him clean. WWE hasn't really done that in a VERY long time. Sure, sometimes heels will beat up Cena or Orton, but that's always through dastardly sneak attacks and usually involve multiple people. In the context of a match, they never get beaten down like this. It's incredibly refreshing to see.

First and foremost, I completely agree on the freshness front. I admire the fact that they've pushed somebody new and, it seems, actually gone through with the push without pulling back. I also commend Mark Henry for taking the ball and running with it. He's definitely made the most of this opportunity, and good for him for that. However, I still don't think he's the highlight of the show, and I think people go a bit overboard with his routine just because it's new and unexpected.

And honestly, there's a bit about this push that frustrates me. Yes, Mark Henry has done a great job with this material, but it's also a push that nobody was really asking for. The fact that they've successfully pushed him shows how "easy" it can be when you book to the talent's strength and actually get behind him. Naturally, Christian couldn't have done the dominant monster bit, but imagine if WWE actually got behind him the way they have Henry. Or how about ADR? Or hell, even CM Punk. Each of those guys have the goods, yet there's been a definite resistance to play to their strengths with the full support of the powers that be.

I certainly don't blame Henry for that, but I can only imagine what others would do with this chance.

As far as why people are saying the WHC is higher on the food chain now, I don't think it is either, BUT, the argument is based on the fact that Orton and Henry actually seem to care about the title. That's what they're fighting over. Meanwhile, on Raw, it's a mess of inside references and lawyer angles and whatever. Punk lost the title to Del Rio and didn't even seem to care. Cena seemed much more concerned with whether or not Del Rio knew what his car was called as opposed to wanting the title (save for a brief promo about how Del Rio doesn't deserve the title because he sucks). There was some crappy buildup to Hell in a Cell, Del Rio won, which was immediately pushed aside for the Miz/Truth angle. And what happens on Raw the next night? It's pretty much ignored save for a few brief mentions. I'll get to this in my next post but we had literally no movement on the WWE title front last night. I don't mean no movement like the World Heavyweight title had, where we're not sure if Orton and Henry will fight again due to the pull apart brawl or not because Henry said he was done with Orton...I mean LITERALLY no movement. Nobody asked for a title shot. Cena didn't demand a rematch or overly seem to care that he lost his title last night. Punk didn't demand another shot. Just...nothing. With the next PPV 3 weeks away. Now the buildup has been cut down to "Hell in a Cell" time because the extra week between the PPVs is gone without even the tiniest bit of movement. At least Henry and Orton act like they care.

I have long felt that those that have held and competed for the World Heavyweight Championship have treated the title with more prestige than those who have fought for the WWE Championship. Edge was completely obsessed with the World Heavyweight Championship. Christian was so desperate to hold the title that he went over the deep end. Same goes for Batista, Undertaker, Kane, Triple H, and most recently Randy Orton. For the most part, these guys were fighting to be the champion -- there was little need to add a super personal aspect to their story. They just wanted the title.

The WWE Championship, on the other hand, has often been treated as a vanity object. Even CM Punk, who did a fantastic job of building the prestige of the title before Money in the Bank, responded with a "eh, oh well" when ADR nabbed the championship from him after SummerSlam.

The Smackdown writers have done a phenomenal job of making the World Heavyweight Championship seem like the most important title in wrestling. WWE, not so much.