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Frankly, surprise is an element that can boost the reputation of a match to that MOTY level. Batista vs. Undertaker at Wrestlemania 23 was one of the most pleasant surprises in history. The build-up was great, but the execution was in question. That was another expectation-shattering wrestling match that, at least in part, played into why it is held in such high regard. JBL vs. Eddie Guerrero, which I wrote about a couple of months ago, is another match that fits the profile. There’s just something about matches like those that you remember for as long as you’re a fan because they are seemingly so out of left field. It’s not a rare thing for Undertaker or Eddie Guerrero to have (or have had) a classic match, but it was certainly not something you ever thought they’d be able to pull out of a JBL or Batista. So, when you see it, you always have this moment where you mentally pause for a moment and think to yourself, “This is actually pretty good,” followed by another such moment minutes later where you think, “Damn…this is great! Where did this come from?” That moment for me in the above matches, respectively, was when Batista powered out of the chokeslam and when Eddie did his blade job from hell, but in the Henry-Show match it came during a moment that was much more basic. Henry, he of the monster heels that cannot move club, pops up twice about as quickly as a humongous cat during Show’s comeback. I was, at that point, in awe of what I was seeing. There were three great false finishes that came after that moment that sent this match into the special stratosphere, but that moment – which the King even mentioned on commentary – will forever be the most lasting piece of that classic big man encounter. Dare I say this was the most surprised I’ve ever been by quality, though? The examples used earlier featured all-time great in-ring performers and masters of their craft. I have a lot of respect for Big Show, but I cannot confidently put him into an all-time category, yet. Show has been impressive at times throughout his career, especially with his work re-launching ECW and the work he did in 2008 with Floyd Mayweather and Undertaker, but I didn’t think he had it in him to do what I saw with Mark Henry. For 11-minutes prior to the ring collapsing superplex, Show wrestled like a guy about 200 pounds lighter. He’s always been known for his ability to move for his size, but there was an extra pep in his step that said to me, “Damn it, I’m glad to be back to competing for the World title and I want people to remember this.” Well, mission accomplished, Mr. Wight. You did a tremendous job. Of course, credit must also be given, again, to Mark Henry, who followed right alongside Big Show and worked like a much smaller man. We’ve grown so accustomed to the World’s Strongest Man playing the world’s most calculatedly moving man that seeing him not only channel his inner Mr. Perfect/Shawn Michaels with his quick(er) bumping, but also work a sound, technically proficient style was quite a sight to see and a real eye-opener. I sat in my chair watching him move and my eyebrow raised a bit…and then eventually a smile spread across my face as I witnessed the best match of a man’s 15 year career take place in large part because he loosened up and really put his body on the line. He worked really hard and it paid off in spades. Henry is one of the top stories of the year without the Vengeance match, but now critics have something to sink their teeth into for years with work like that. Funny - I’ve not once been a fan of this guy up until his matches with Sheamus. I was as much of a doubter and hater as anyone and I’m a generally positive guy, but good Lord I am impressed with Mark Henry right now. I had absolutely zero thoughts that Henry vs. Show could be a good match. I figured the bouts with Orton were as good as it was going to get. Remember, the World title match at Vengeance was essentially a rematch of Money in the Bank from July and, if you recall, that match from the summer saw neither Henry nor Show really give us something that night to think that their eventual continuation of the feud would produce much more than average matches at best. I rated their first match at a star and a half because it was basically a squash match. Granted, that match was pretty much what started this run for Henry. It served its greater purpose, but we have to base expectations as fans on what we see. There was nothing that I’d seen to make me think Show vs. Henry 2 would be significantly better than the first go-round. So, here I sit putting the finishing touches on another “Praise Mark Henry” column… If you would’ve told me six months ago that I would be using column space to nominate a Mark Henry match for the best of the year, then I’d have called you a liar (Mean Gene). However, I think it was that good and he and Show deserve heaps of adulation. I ask you to sit down and objectively watch that match again and try to strip away year’s worth of the Silsby, Texas native’s piles of garbage that he strewn about the ring and temporarily forget about the usual stigmas of a plodding “big man” match. Then, tell me that wasn’t one of the year’s best matches…
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