John Cena vs Mark Henry

Welcome back Beachsiders. It’s your boy Mike V here, coming at you with our first weekly edition of Wednesday Rewind. Where we look back and breakdown some of wrestling’s richest history. From feuds, to bad ass promos, we will take a walk down memory lane and discuss some of our favorite moments.

This is the part I usually get long winded and try to get widdy, but instead, I’m going to save that for another time because as I’m writing this, I have some dinner plans with some friends in about an hour, so I want to crush this piece and crush some beers! Am I right Beachsiders? 

Alright, let’s get to it.

So if you’re a fan of WWE, or even if you’re just dipping your toes into the world of wrestling, there’s one rivalry from 2013 that I think doesn’t get nearly enough credit: Mark Henry vs. John Cena. This one was built on pure emotion, deception, and one of the best promos in modern WWE history. Let me walk through this together shall we.

So, picture this: It’s June 2013. John Cena is the WWE Champion. He’s been doing his usual superhero thing. Hustle, loyalty, respect, all that. At the time, some fans were getting a bit tired of Cena always coming out on top, but there’s no denying the guy was the face of the company. And then, out of nowhere, Mark Henry steps up. But not in the way you might expect.

Now, this is where it gets good. 

On the June 17, 2013 episode of Monday Night Raw, Cena had just retained his title against Ryback, and the WWE was starting to build toward their next big pay-per-view, Money in the Bank. They teased that Cena’s next challenger would be revealed soon.

Enter Mark Henry.

He walked out in a pink suit.  Yes, a full pink suit, cradling his boots in his hands. For a guy who had spent almost two decades smashing through opponents, this was… surreal. Fans didn’t know what to make of it. He stepped into the ring, stood face-to-face with Cena, and delivered what I, and many others, consider to be the best promo of his career.

Henry poured his heart out. He talked about how much he’d sacrificed, how long he’d been in the business, and how it was time to hang it up. The crowd started to feel for him. I mean, this is the “World’s Strongest Man” we’re talking about a guy known for tearing through people. Seeing him like this? Vulnerable? It hit different. I remember believing it.

And then came the twist.

Cena, being the stand-up guy he is, raised Henry’s hand… and WHACK. Out of nowhere (lol), World’s Strongest Slam. Boom. The place exploded. People were stunned. I was stunned. Henry grabbed the mic, looked into the camera, and growled, “You think it’s that easy? I got a lot left in the tank.”

Chills.

Just like that, the stage was set for Money in the Bank 2013. Henry vs. Cena for the WWE Championship.

The Match: Cena’s Heart vs. Henry’s Power

Now, here’s the thing about this rivalry: it wasn’t drawn out over months and months like some others. It was short and sweet, but extremely effective. That promo alone added layers to Henry’s character. This wasn’t just some monster heel coming after the top guy. This was a man who felt disrespected by the system. A man who had never held the WWE Championship, despite being in the company for over 15 years. And now he was coming for Cena, and he wasn’t playing nice anymore.

The match itself went down on July 14, 2013, at Money in the Bank, and it honestly delivered better than a lot of people expected. Cena played his usual role, the valiant babyface who gets tossed around like a ragdoll but just keeps kicking out. And Henry? He was dominant. Ruthless. You could feel the urgency in how he wrestled. This wasn’t about hurting Cena. It was about finally getting the gold that had eluded him his whole career.

There were several points where it looked like Henry had it. Near falls, brutal slams, the works. The crowd was biting on every moment. But Cena, being Cena, dug deep. In classic fashion, he managed to lock Henry in the STF. Henry tried to crawl, tried to fight, but eventually tapped out.

2013 Super Cena retained.

And just like that, the rivalry should have been over. But even in defeat, Henry didn’t lose his heat. He was still a threat. He was still believable. The WWE had finally tapped into something that fans had been waiting to see from Henry for years: a serious main-event push.

Let’s take a step back for a second. Wrestling, at its core, is storytelling. And the best stories are the ones that blur the line between fiction and reality. That’s exactly what the Henry/Cena rivalry did. For a few minutes during that promo, fans really believed Mark Henry was done. That’s how good it was. He didn’t just fool Cena, he fooled the entire WWE Universe.

And when he turned on Cena, it felt like a betrayal. But not in the typical “bad guy attacks good guy” way. This was deeper. It was almost like Henry had tricked us, the fans. He used our emotions against us. That’s a rare kind of storytelling in wrestling, and when it’s done right, it sticks with you.

Another reason this feud hit so hard? Mark Henry’s legacy. Before 2013, he was often seen as a mid-card monster.  Scary, sure, but not exactly championship material. But during that short program with Cena, he proved that he could be a legitimate main eventer. That promo alone earned him universal respect. Even people who didn’t like him before had to admit: the man could talk.

Now, I’ll be real with you, this feud didn’t turn into a long-term thing. After Money in the Bank, Cena moved on to his next challenger (Daniel Bryan), and Henry kind of faded back into the upper mid-card. But the impact was already made. That promo is still talked about today. It’s become one of the all-time great “swerve” moments in WWE history.

Henry never did win the WWE Championship, which still stings a bit, considering how much he gave to the business. But for those few weeks in 2013, he reminded everyone exactly who he was, and how dangerous he could be.

So, what’s the takeaway from all this? Honestly, it’s that a great rivalry doesn’t need to be long, it just needs to be real. The Cena/Henry program was built on a foundation of emotion, legacy, and a shocking twist that nobody saw coming. It respected both characters while giving fans a moment they’ll never forget.

Thanks for reading and see ya’ll on the next one!