[2006-01-29-WWE-Royal Rumble] Kurt Angle vs Mark Henry

[Superstar Sleeze]

World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle vs Mark Henry - Royal Rumble 2006

 

After missing most of 2004 & 2005, Mark Henry was pushed as a main event talent on Smackdown. He was not yet Hall of Pain, Mark Henry, but there were glimmers of it in this performance. His facial expressions at the beginning of the match were spot on. From Angle trying to takedown Mark, what are you doing little man. To cat & mouse, his frustration. Angle punches and the way he catches the fist and breaks him down and lays the badmouth on him. Hall of Pain Mark Henry is inside there. He throws Angle up onto the ropes twice. Splash gets two. This match is built around Mark Henry being able to break out of the Anklelock. Yes seriously! The announcers are acting like they have never seen this before. Are you fucking kidding me? I liked Angle getting the German because it is the underdog babyface getting the slam. But then to do Angleslam just cheapens it. It does not feel like he is respecting Henry's size. Angle then just blatantly cheats. Wicked chair shots that Henry sells like a champ. Then exposes the buckle and holds the rope. Henry fought an almost completely fair fight. This was basically Angle resigning himself to the fact that Henry was the better wrestler and he couldn't beat him without cheating. It was really strange. Mark Henry gave a good performance. The ending sucked out loud.

[Makai Club #1]

It’s amazing the difference between Mark Henry against an all timer like Rey Mysterio and Mark Henry against Kurt Angle. It’s matches like these that Mark Henry is considered a bad wrestler during this time period. The high profile wrestlers, like Angle, have no clue what to do with him or how to make great use of his size. Mark Henry applied a bearhug which lasted an eternity, only ending when Angle hit a hara goshi to escape, which was pretty cool but the crowd barely made any noise. Nor did they make noise when Henry kicked out of the Angle Slam. And I mean no noise. Silence. Angle then begins to cheat, using the chair and exposed turnbuckle before holding the ropes for the school boy. Shocking. 1/2*