WWE Should Scrap Mark Henry's Face Turn Permanently

I am not afraid to admit that I am a Mark Henry fan. No, he isn't the most technically proficient superstar to ever grace a WWE ring. And no, his skills on the microphone aren't in the same league as the likes of CM Punk or John Cena.

But there is just something about Henry that you can't help but be a fan of.

That is, as long as he is in the role of the dominant heel.

The last few weeks have seen the World's Strongest Man transition from a heel to a face. It was fully cemented on the July 29 episode of Raw where Henry physically dispatched of The Shield following a match that had him paired with The Usos.

While I understand that Henry has been a heel for over two years, and WWE may have felt it was time for a change, it really doesn't seem necessary.

First off, the face side of the WWE roster is already well-stocked. John Cena, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Rob Van Dam, Christian, Randy Orton (though a heel turn feels imminent) and Dolph Ziggler are all main event caliber talents who are currently face performers.

The heel side is far less top-heavy. Behind Brock Lesnar and Alberto Del Rio there really isn't much. Ryback doesn't feel like a credible main event, and The Shield have seemingly been pushed back down to the midcard.

So, from that perspective the face turn seems like a bad idea.

Secondly, Henry has been far more successful as a heel performer than as a face. His ECW and World Heavyweight Championship runs were both during a tenure as a heel.

As a face performer his only highlights were his run as Sexual Chocolate coupled with the subsequent fathering of Mae Young's hand baby and some failed tag team attempts with other midcard performers.

It just makes more sense that Henry plays the role of the bully than that of the victim.

After all, the man is 400 pounds and a former powerlifting champion. It is hard to ever get behind him as the sympathetic baby face when he can clearly overpower any opponent that the WWE could throw at him.

Henry was never accepted as a main eventer until his most recent heel run which began in mid-2011. Prior to this he was given a couple of championship opportunities, but no one ever expected him to win, regardless of how much WWE pushed the idea that he was a legitimate threat.

At the 2011 Night of Champions pay-per-view event, Henry surprised the world when he captured his first, and to this point only, world heavyweight championship. 

His reign lasted until December. And while he lost the title after only four months, he had earned his place as a true main eventer after 15 years in the company.

After a brief feud with CM Punk in early 2012, Henry sustained an injury and was out of action for nine months. Upon his return he had minor feuds with Ryback (who was a face at that time) and Sheamus.

Following a pay-per-view loss to Sheamus this past May, Henry announced that he was "going home". This led to his television disappearance for a month.

During that time, using social media, Henry hinted at retirement.

On the June 17 edition of Monday Night Raw, Henry returned and gave the best performance of his 17-year career. 

While John Cena was in the ring, Henry came out and delivered a retirement speech. It was emotional, eloquent, from the heart and best of all? It was fake.

At the end of his speech he picked up Cena and delivered the World's Strongest Slam, thus making himself the number one contender to Cena's WWE Championship.

The whole segment was incredible. Henry had the fans believing everything he said. They continuously chanted his name and pleaded with him not to leave the WWE.

He truly acted like a man who was ready to walk away, and then with one vicious slam he firmly entrenched himself back into the main event scene.

After failing in his quest to capture championship gold once more, the WWE has turned Henry face for the umpteenth time in his career.

While I hope WWE uses Henry better in this tenure as a good guy than they have in face runs of the past, I strongly have my doubts.

More than likely, in a short time Henry will be just another midcard guy with no real character direction. WWE will throw him into some random feuds or put him in some makeshift tag teams that will only last for a few weeks.

In fact, Henry's descent back down the card may have already begun. After his recent altercations with The Shield, the storyline was not progressed any further on Monday's episode of Raw.

Instead, Henry was thrust into a random match with Ryback, while The Shield took on John Cena, Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton in six-man tag-team action.

But there is another option. A can't-miss option.

Scrap the face turn. Keep Mark Henry as a heel and don't ever change him back. No one wants to see this man doing comedy segments or teaming with lifelong midcarders.

All we, the WWE Universe, really want is to continuously watch Henry induct new members into his illustrious Hall of Pain.