Mark Henry explains why he signed with AEW and how he told Vince McMahon he was leaving.
Henry was a staple at WWE for over 25 years and made sporadic appearances over the last few years. However, over the weekend Henry made a surprise appearance at AEW Double Or Nothing.
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Recently Henry was a guest on Busted Open Radio where he discussed why he made the jump to AEW.
“My deal was up and this is not something that was recent, you know, I go back to five months, six months,” Henry said. “I [knew I] wanted a position in office. And I want everything that comes with it and I talked with Vince himself and he said, ‘Write it up.’
He’s like, you know, ‘You’re somebody that I’ll hear from, I’ll listen to.’ And I was told that there was a lot of cleaning house and there was a lot of cuts that were happening and there were a lot to come. And I’ve seen hundreds of people in the company go, and I still felt like well, knowing this, I feel valuable enough that I’m not going anywhere. Well that’s cool. But when your deal comes up, and the rights, the legality part of it comes up to where you gonna go next, and what [are you] gonna do? I felt like I wanted to do more, I always wanted to do more.”
Wrestling’s Grip Stronger Than Mark Henry
This is a textbook feeling for pro wrestlers. They retire from the ring and get that itch to return. It is why so many wrestlers keep wrestling into old age like Ric Flair and Terry Funk. Mark Henry isn’t anywhere near as old as they were.
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However, the need to be more involved in wrestling is there for Mark Henry. He just didn’t feel like he was being used to his full potential at WWE. Henry was at WWE for well over twenty years and developed a relationship with many people at WWE, Vince included. He went into what it was like telling Vince he was leaving and Vince’s reaction.
“It wasn’t negative,” Mark Henry said. “You know, everybody knows me and Vince got love for each other. And more than love, respect. And me calling him and saying what needed to be said came from a place of like a brother telling his older brother ‘Man, I’m tired of being in the shadows.’ Like, ‘I feel like somebody beneath you is holding me back. And if somebody is holding me back, I gotta go.’
I feel like I’m being held back, I’m not getting what I want and I wanted to be successful. I wanted to be able to earn more. It was just like the coolest thing. He’s like, ‘Man you know everything you need to know. If you feel like you have to go, I don’t necessarily want it, but if you feel like you need to go, then go. I know you’re gonna be successful.’”
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It will be interesting to see what he will do in AEW. It isn’t clear if he’ll make a full return to the ring, occasional matches, do run-ins or work mostly backstage. Big Show – now known by his real name, Paul Wight – is also at AEW and has said he will wrestle over there. Could we see a rematch between these two big men?
I’m very interested to see how AEW will use Henry and if we will be able to see his impact on the product in the near future.
What do you think about Mark Henry signing with AEW? Do you think he’ll return to in-ring action? Is there anyone you would like to see Henry wrestle? Maybe a new opponent or a rematch from his WWE days. Please deliver a World’s Strongest Slam on that keyboard and leave your thoughts in the comments, and don’t forget to check back with The Illuminerdi for the latest wrestling news and features.
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Sources: WrestleZone, Busted Open Radio
