WWE's Mark Henry: Does He Deserve a Bigger Push, or Should He Be Pushed Aside?

Devastating power. Unbridled aggression. A force of nature who carved a path of destruction through WWE and left a trail of bruised and broken bodies in his wake. He dominated everyone put in front of him and did it with a level of intensity not seen before.

No doubt about it, Brock Lesnar was the man.

Surprised? These days in WWE, the description above fits one guy: the World’s Strongest Man Mark Henry.

So, why then is he not being considered among the upper echelon in the company?

Don’t misunderstand me here, Brock’s amateur wrestling background sets him apart from Henry in the ring. The way he transitioned that career into professional wrestling made him one of the best workers of his era. On the greatest of all time list, Brock is miles above Henry in terms of wrestling ability.

But in terms of booking and how each man has been presented in WWE, right now there is little difference in Brock’s run as The Next Big Thing in 2002 and Henry’s current run as the unstoppable juggernaut on Smackdown.

Yet I still find myself wondering if and when Henry will be moved to the next level.

It’s a reasonable question, considering the fact that this has been done before with Mark. It seems as though the time for him to be in the spotlight only comes sporadically, and once WWE creative has used him to put over another guy, he’s back down to doing nothing.

Is that where Mark is headed once again?

It could be the fact that he is a veteran and WWE is known for pushing the younger talent. There is nothing wrong with that in theory, but when workers like Mark who have been a reliable talent and always consistent in his character, are passed up, then it seems very wrong to me.

A lot of it of course has to do with the way the crowd receives him. If fans are relatively quiet, at times even near flat lining, then that is a big deal. Heels need to be hated. Simple as that.

On the flip side, when a worker is appropriately booked with the full promotional mechanism of WWE behind him, then the crowd is groomed to respond in kind.

For perhaps the first time in his career, both of these elements have come together, and Mark is finally at home as a dominant heel and has never been more relevant.

Defeating Sheamus at SummerSlam is a good sign that he is on the way up.

When Sheamus first stepped up as Smackdown’s primary monster hunter, I personally believed that it was only a matter of time until Mark would be buried, while Sheamus, the younger talent, would get the rub and be pushed back to main event status once again.

Mark didn’t have a good showing at SummerSlam--he had a great showing. Their match was intense, hard hitting, and ended with Sheamus being drove through the ringside barrier.

When was the last time that Sheamus was out matched, in a toe to toe brawl, like he was at the pay per view? Mark Henry took care of business, and he proved that he is the real deal.

Now, this feud is more than likely not over, and it shouldn’t be. There’s nothing like two rough and tumble bare knuckled bruisers tearing an arena apart to get the fans popping. These two have a lot of fight left in them.

But once it’s over, Mark Henry should come out on top. Sheamus does not have to end up being buried as a result of it, however. After all, with the work that has been done getting Mark to this level, it would be foolish to believe that Sheamus could not lose to him in the end. It would be a reasonable conclusion to their rivalry.

By the same token, there is also no reason to bury Mark Henry. The guy is primed and ready for a run at the top. He should be given a chance.

Thanks to good booking and the fan response that has followed, Mark Henry has never been more valuable to the company. If there was ever a time for Mark to be elevated and given a shot at World Title status, it is now.

This is Mark’s time. Strike while the iron is hot and book this guy against Randy Orton. After all, Christian, for better or worse, has had his run; it’s now time for the monster that has been created to devour the Viper.