WWE: Top 3 Oscar-worthy performances

#1: Mark Henry's fake retirement speech

Mark Henry talking about his career!

From the moment Mark Henry appeared on stage in a jacket coloured like the inside of a gutted fish, the audience could tell something was different. It’s not often someone saunters into a place with lyrics like, “Somebody is gonna get their wig split” playing over the instrumental while wearing something stained with the blood of a million Peeps.

When he tells John Cena, “You can put your guard down”, everyone followed along, not just the champ in the ring. When you watch the clip, make note of how Henry effortlessly and deliberately loses his bearing, step by step, in a controlled manner. It’s a captivating performance, from an untrained actor in front of a live television audience. Like all WWE wrestlers and personalities, Mark Henry hopped in the booth and one took it.

Mark Henry’s legacy is tied to his "Hall of Pain" run on Smackdown in 2012, which was immortalized in WWE 2K15 a few years ago. After 16 years, the creative staff finally figured out a way to present Mark Henry that was effective and profitable: let him destroy opponents and snarl at his vanquished foes. Radical thinking, I know. Let’s make sure that Mark Henry’s Oscar calibre retirement speech is included in that conversation going forward.