Mark Henry vs. Rusev
Mark Henry’s rise from “categorical disappointment” to “surefire first ballot Hall of Famer and genuine future Legend” is almost unprecedented. The Hall of Pain stands with the second Hart Foundation, the first year of Hollywood Hogan and Stone Cold’s work pre-WrestleMania 13 as one of the great and defining works of heeldom, and will likely be remembered the way those programs were for a long time. He’s carved a very specific and nearly transcendent role for himself and could have continued milking that until the end of time.
But he didn’t. Which is why despite the appearances in the Olympics, his winning any number of strongman competitions and shattering any number of real weightlifting records, his crowning achievement may be his feud with Rusev. Which might sound somewhere between “insane hyperbole” and just “insane”, but this match — which will go a long way in turning Rusev into the money-making attraction that the company is building him into — was the culmination of nearly twenty years of work to turn the scariest person on earth into a sympathetic hero.
We root, and this crowd in particular, rooted for Mark Henry not just because he represented us but because we loved him and wanted to succeed despite knowing what he was up against. Mark Henry wasn’t our guy because he was the next on the list of “Americans who are super strong”, he was our guy because we chose him on some level. That, when he lost, we still embraced him because of what he tried to give us, is everything we should love about wrestling specifically and sports in general.
And, it didn’t help that it was the kind of HOSS FIGHT you can tell your kids about. Rusev is going to be a star, and with the help of Mark Henry, this was his coming out party. He’s made it clear that, for someone as green as he, his understanding of ring psychology and presence have him on a path to the very top. Or at least someone “Very top” adjacent.
Match +.75 | PPV 2.95
RT @JuiceMakeSugar: Bang for Your Buck PPV Review (with @TheN1ckster): Night of Champions http://t.co/0bT83yNsoT