WWE SummerSlam 2011 Results: Mark Henry Beats Sheamus and What It Means

“The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry has been on a rampage on SmackDown for the better part of the last two months. With his count-out victory over Sheamus at SummerSlam, it seems as though his reign of terror over the blue brand will continue.

Leading up to SummerSlam, Henry had taken out Big Show, Kane and the since-released Vladimir Kozlov by placing their legs in a chair and “Vader Bombing” them. Just when it seemed as though nobody would step up to the plate in an effort to dethrone Henry, “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus answered the bell.

While Henry attempted to maintain his tough-guy image, he often appeared to be afraid of Sheamus. There were numerous occasions where Sheamus ran in during a Henry beat down, but rather than stand up and fight, Henry fled the ring.

With Sheamus seemingly being built up as a no-nonsense face/tweener and Henry beginning to show chinks in his armor, it seemed as though a Sheamus win at SummerSlam was a foregone conclusion. As is often the case in professional wrestling, however, conventional wisdom didn’t win out.

The match itself was quite good, especially when you consider the fact that Henry was involved in it. At this point it’s safe to say that Sheamus is the best big-man worker in the WWE by a long shot. It isn’t a stretch to think that he could lead Stevie Wonder through a believable match at this point, especially since he did one better by carrying The Great Khali a couple weeks ago on SmackDown.

The Henry/Sheamus bout featured plenty of heavy-hitting action which was to be expected with two behemoths doing battle. Henry got the best of Sheamus in the early going, but the action picked up when Sheamus took control. The climax of the match happened when Sheamus delivered a mighty Brogue Kick to the chest of Henry.

Sheamus had been building momentum to that point, so it seemed as though it would be the deathblow for Henry. Rather than fall to the canvas, though, Henry tumbled outside the ring. With Henry seemingly knocked out cold, Sheamus could have easily stayed in the ring for the 10 count and picked up the victory.

Instead, Sheamus acted as the honorable face and attempted to roll Henry back into the ring. Once he finally got Henry to his feet, however, Henry scooped Sheamus up, bashed him into the ring post, and finally slammed him right through the crowd barricade in an awesome spot.

The referee presumably hadn’t been counting since the two of them had been outside the ring for a good 30 seconds, so Henry rolled back into the ring and the official began the 10 count. About midway through the count Sheamus began stirring amongst the wreckage, and he slowly crawled toward the ring.

It became quite apparent that he wouldn’t make it, though, as Henry ultimately won the match via count out. I felt a bit cheated at the conclusion of the match and initially thought that giving Henry the win was a mistake, but after thinking about it further, the WWE probably made a pretty good decision.

The absolute best decision, however, would have been a double count out. In the case of a double count out both men would have come out of the match looking like equals. This would have allowed them to continue their feud without either man having the upper hand.

If the WWE was going to give Henry the win, though, it’s best that it was by count out rather than pinfall. Had Henry beaten Sheamus cleanly, then it really would have destroyed any credibility he had built up in recent weeks.

The way the finish went down was advantageous for both Sheamus and Henry. Sheamus could have won the match had he taken the easy way out, but he decided not to. Trying to roll Henry back into the ring should definitely score him some points as a face and it almost assuredly cements his face turn. He also looked tough by almost getting back to the ring after being slammed through the barricade.

Henry obviously benefits from the win as he has bragging rights over Sheamus for the time being. The win also allows him to carry on with his unstoppable monster gimmick. Sheamus had begun to expose Henry as a fraud, but he was able to regain some credibility on Sunday.

With that said, it seems as though this feud is poised to continue for at least another month or two. Had Christian retained the World Heavyweight Championship, a feud against Sheamus would have made perfect sense since Sheamus is one of the few main-event talents outside of Christian and Randy Orton at the moment.

There is a possibility that Henry could enter a feud with Orton over the title, but that feud would obviously be extremely one-sided in favor of Orton. Since Christian is sure to enact his automatic rematch clause, his rivalry with Orton will last through at least Night of Champions.

With that in mind, the Sheamus/Henry feud has to last through Night of Champions at the very least as well. The next few weeks of SmackDown will feature Henry bragging about his win over Sheamus in all likelihood, and they’ll probably continually interfere in each other’s matches.

Henry may have struck the first blow in the feud, but I have no doubt that Sheamus will ultimately be the victor when it’s all said and done. Henry should enjoy his time in the spotlight because it could very well be his last big angle before retirement.