Mark Henry: Fans have 'stopped respecting the wrestling'

I had the chance to sit down with WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry this past weekend on my radio show in Cincinnati, OH. The interview was fresh off NXT defeating AEW Dynamite in the ratings for the first time, and I couldn't believe some of the vitriol I was seeing from wrestling fans on social media over something that has no impact on their own lives. Fans were literally arguing over ratings, and whether WWE "cheated" by bringing in stars from RAW and SmackDown.

Last week wasn't anything new either. Fans all across the world have had their battle lines drawn since the "Wednesday Night Wars" started in October. I have friends and co-workers who refuse to watch one brand over the other, and then fight over which one is better.

As someone who was only 10 years-old during the "Monday Night Wars," I had to ask Mark Henry if things were like this back when it was WWE vs. WCW. If anyone would know, it would be someone who was on the front lines of that battle. His response:

"No, this is a product of social media and people that have never competed at a high level before. When you watch football, you have your team... but you can watch the 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens, Denver, and Miami... and respect football. That's what people have stopped doing in wrestling. They've stopped respecting the wrestling and they've drawn these fake invisible lines between... what's talent, what's good wrestling or not."

As he has stated many times before on Sirius XM's Busted Open Radio, Henry told me that NXT has the best product out there from a wrestling stand point. He had praise for AEW as well, saying he's enjoyed what All Elite Wrestling has had to offer so far.

"AEW is a good brand, but the whole argument is... through the fans. Somewhere along the lines people need to stop being sheep, and start saying, 'You know what man, I just really love pro wrestling and I'm just happy I got it six days a week.'"

The WWE Hall of Famer also added that if you do enjoy one brand over the other, there's no reason to be negative on social media.

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Sexual Chocolate was a big hit for WWE ratings

So what was it like during the Monday Night Wars? What was the competition like?

"A lot of pride and ego. You did not want to have a segment on the show when the Nielsen ratings come out, and they say Sexual Chocolate 800,000 viewers... and who ever you was against on WCW having something above that."

Henry said his segments didn't get beat very often. He gave a lot of credit to Mae Young, saying the two of them together did wonders for ratings:

"During that time... Mae Young, like she had only met me a couple of times. I said, 'Mae... when I come out there I'm gonna kiss you like I love you.' She said, 'Bring it. Come on I'm ready'. It was just magic. We had a bunch of segments where... I didn't get beat very often in the Nielsen ratings."

You can hear my entire interview with Mark Henry on my show's website, including what he had to say about the infamous "hand" story line.