Mark Henry talks about bringing in Braun Strowman to WWE and what he thinks of Strowman being Universal Champion.
At WrestleMania the WWE had to make a last minute adjustment to the main event match. The Universal Champion at the time, Goldberg, was supposed to defend his title against Roman Reigns. However, Reigns had to pull out at the last minute. This is when Strowman stepped in. Strowman was able to defeat the Hall of Famer Goldberg.
On The illumi-NERDI WRESTLING ORDER show, Henry spoke about what that moment meant to Henry, seeing Strowman hold the title for the first time and his history with Strowman.
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“Eleven years ago I saw him [Braun Strowman] at a strongman show and I said ‘man, you have too much personality for Strongman. You have to quit and start wrestling,’” Henry said.
“‘Ah, I can’t do it, Mark. I’m gonna be a champion,’” Strowman said.
“‘I was like, alright, man. I’ll tell you what, when you feel like you’ve had enough you give me a call,’” Henry said. “And two years later he gave me a call. I called Vince {McMahon] myself and said ‘Vince, you need this one,’” Henry said.
“He [Vince] said ‘well, what’s going on?’” ‘“Listen, he’s 6’7’’, 400 lbs and can move like a little guy,’”Henry said. He [Vince] said ‘“well get him down there.’”
“I paid my own money to fly him [Strowman] to Orlando,” Henry said.
“He [Strowman] didn’t have a try out, he didn’t have nothing,” Henry said. “They went on my word. They brought him down there. He started training. He got hurt and he was on the shelf for about a year and a half and then he started to develop. Here it is now, almost 11 years later, and he’s the Universal Champion of WWE and I feel so good and so happy for him that he was able to work and not squander away the blessing that he got. I got a little misty eyed watching him hold that title over his head.”
The Next Big Thing…Braun Strowman
Strowman has been one of the top guys almost since the moment he made his main roster debut. He has been a monster and it was apparent that this big guy was destined for a big push soon.
However, what was not immediately expected was how good he was going to be. Most guys who get recruited from other sports, in his case Strongman competitions, don’t end up being very good. Strowman on the other hand has a ton of charisma, has the look of a pro wrestler, and is decent on the mic.
Is Strowman Mark Henry Part 2?
It has taken Braun Strowman years to win a World/Universal title, but everyone knew it was only a matter of time. Henry did good recruiting Strowman for WWE and it must have been amazing to see his protege of sorts get the big title, as they both came from strongman and powerlifting backgrounds.
Strowman is getting better and better with each match and WWE is booking him well. A problem all big men face when booked is making them unbeatable. However, it makes when they do lose, and who they lose to, a big deal. To make things worse WWE will make them go from the monstrous wrestler, to someone who loses all the time. It happened to Henry and to Big Show. WWE has made Strowman look strong, but still beatable, which is great.
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What do you think of Braun Strowman being champion? Do you think he will be a good champion? Are there any other wrestlers who got recruited from other sports who you really liked? Mine was Kurt Angle. If you don’t want to “get these hands” then I suggest you comment below and on social media and share our stories!
Source: The illumi-NERDI WRESTLING ORDER
