Mark Henry took one star to task for her part in a huge title match at AEW All In.
On August 25th, AEW All In emanated from inside Wembley Stadium in London, England. One of the highly anticipated matches saw Mercedes Mone defend her TBS Championship against Britt Baker.
The match came about after the events of Forbidden Door, where Britt Baker made a surprise return to AEW for the first time in ten months. After Mercedes Mone successfully defeated Stephanie Vaquer to retain the TBS Championship and capture the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship, Baker confronted the double champ, staring her down from the ramp.
On the following episode of Dynamite, Britt Baker opened up about her absence from AEW, revealing that she’d suffered a TIA and ended up in the hospital. Mone interrupted this promo to begin her championship celebration, and tensions between the women continued to rise in the following weeks.
According to WWE Hall of Famer and former AEW broadcaster Mark Henry, the match between Baker and Mone missed the mark. Speaking on Busted Open, Henry said he believes Mone wasn’t at fault for some of the missed spots in the match, pointing out that Baker was out of position a number of times.
“It missed the mark. I’m used to seeing Mercedes work a certain way and she didn’t work like that, and I don’t think that was because of her. Also, there were times they did a couple of things over again, because it didn’t get done right the first time, and a lot of that was the fact that the position that Britt was in was wrong.”
Henry went on to point to a moment in the bout where Baker attempted a backbreaker off the ropes to Mone despite her opponent not having the size or strength to make the move effective. According to Henry, this was an example of “sandbagging,” something Baker accused Thunder Rose of in the past.
“Work Like Your Life Depended On It”: Mark Henry Criticizes Britt Baker
Continuing, Mark Henry pointed to Britt Baker’s previous claims to be a pillar who’s foundational to AEW. Henry made it clear that he believes Baker should be proving herself in the ring by helping her opponents shine.
“It would take for both people to be on the same page, and work together for the greater good of the match — not the greater good of the individual. ‘I don’t want this person to shine over me. I don’t want them to look good at my expense. I’m a pillar!’ That’s a work. You’re just the first woman hired. Get your ass out there and work for that person like your life depended on it.”
Britt Baker was recently suspended from AEW after an incident involving MJF.
h/t WrestlingInc