10 WWE Matches That Changed Your Mind About Wrestlers You Hated
6. MARK HENRY Vs. The Big Show - Vengeance 2011
Mark Henry's WWE run yielded astonishing little, when the epic tenure is considered. Prior to 2011, the man was a barely-walking injury waiting to happen. Even after his celebrated late-career renaissance, Henry rarely looked like the elder statesman he was, nominally; a man of his experience really shouldn't have allowed the 2015 Intercontinental Title Elimination Chamber match to disintegrate as drastically as it did.
That said: when pushed with maximum conviction in a role suited to his limited talents, Henry delivered.
Henry, an affable chap in real life by most accounts, looked menacing in the extreme here, intensely staring a hole through his gigantic opponent - but this was no static WWE Big Man battle built on body language. Almost unbelievably dynamic and athletic, Henry and the Big Show assembled a gripping tour-de-force rich with an anxious strand of drama. Every time the two monstrosities slammed one another into the mat, it threatened to implode - and it surprisingly didn’t, prior to the gimmicked finish, when Show planted Henry with a brutal-looking, stunning top-rope Choke Slam.
That finish, while derivative, made visual the spectacular dramatic heft - while also symbolising the literal smash success of Henry’s killer Hall Of Pain character.