5 best Mark Henry matches in WWE

Mark Henry and CM Punk captivated the WWE Universe for a time in 2012

#3 Mark Henry vs CM Punk- Monday Night RAW April 16th, 2012

This bout is a forgotten classic. Mark Henry was at the end of his Hall of Pain run here, as he had lost the World Heavyweight Championship several months earlier. Still, on the RAW after WrestleMania, he was put in a WWE Championship match with CM Punk.

There, he won the match via count-out. The next week, Mark Henry defeated the WWE Champion again, this time by disqualification. With two back-to-back wins over Punk, Henry seemed destined for another run at the top. After all, for two weeks, CM Punk was unable to put a dent in "The World's Strongest Man."

Looking back at their first bout in this series, this set of matches was already off to a great start. Mark Henry demolished Punk and a raucous post-Mania crowd was stunned when Henry picked up a victory. The fans were clearly furious when they saw what they did to their hero.

At this point, Punk was still in an intense feud with Chris Jericho, adding to the tension of Punk somehow getting cheated out of the WWE Championship. The "Voice of the Voiceless" faced another major test when, on April 16th, he faced Henry in a match with no count-outs and no disqualifications.

Henry was already able to dominate CM Punk for weeks under the regular rules of a WWE match. With the added possibility of Jericho's intererference, it seemed like there was no way Punk could escape with the title still around his waist.

This match should come to mind for anyone who wants to see the blueprint for a David vs. Goliath clash. The clear difference in size and power helped these competitors tell an excellent story. Punk had to use every trick in the book in order to tear down the wall that was Mark Henry. All the while, he had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hands.

It takes two to tango, and it was obvious that the crowd was more than invested in this match. The fans were on the edge of their seats for every move. Any time Punk began to fire up, they were right there with him, screaming and chanting him on. But when Henry cut him off, they fell silent, as their worst fears nearly came true.

Ultimately, Punk's ingenuity and speed allowed him to avoid Mark Henry and send him into a steel chair that was wedged into the turnbuckle. Punk then hit a chair-assisted elbow drop for the remarkable victory.

Find this one where you can. Whether you've got the network or you have to, unfortunately, use Peacock, this hidden gem is worth a watch.