Mark Henry has slowed down on the wrestling and has taken to a more PR role, similar to The Big Show. He was in fact named WWE’s Ambassador to the Rio Olympics this year. Even so, in the few televised appearances that he has had the past year, he has selflessly put over everyone he faced, including the likes of Neville and current WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens.
He has been a devoted employee of WWE since 1996, where he has gone through multiple gimmicks, perhaps most famously known for his “Sexual Chocolate” gimmick back in the Attitude Era. However, since the Ruthless Aggression Era, he has constantly carried the tag as “The World’s Strongest Man”.
His most prominent run in the last few years was in 2011 known as The Hall Of Pain which saw him win his first World Championship with WWE. As his career is wounding down, he had a chance to sit down with a couple of fellow veterans recently.
Henry was on an episode of the WWE Network show Table For 3, a show that features 3 WWE superstars of past or present, and they sit down and talk about their experiences, their stories and everything leading up to where they currently are. Henry was paired with Kane and The Big Show.
Mark Henry told a story about how he wound up going to the wrong Springfield, which he believes is the worst experience in his professional wrestling career that has spanned over two decades.
"They said, 'hey, we're in Springfield' and I was like, 'okay, well, I'm close.' I just book my ticket, so I go to Springfield, Illinois. The show wasn't in Springfield, Illinois. So I'm calling D'Lo [Brown], 'where are you at, man? I'm at the rental car place.' And he says, 'I'm in a rent-a-car place! Where are you?' I'm starting to look around and this is no cell phones. This is payphone.
I'm looking around and I said, 'man, quit playing. Like, we've got to hurry up and go.' He's like, 'what gate are you at?' 'There's only one gate.' It was a small airport. 'You're in Springfield, Mass.?' I said, 'Springfield what?' And he was like, 'Mark, we're in Springfield, Massachusetts.' And I went, 'I'm not.'"
"I was, like, panicking. I can't breathe. I think that was my first panic attack in my life. I was ready to jump off a bridge. I was like, 'oh my God, I'm so sorry I missed the show.' I got fined $1,500 and that was the worst thing that ever happened to me in wrestling."
All these experiences are what make someone like Mark Henry a valuable veteran in the locker room. There is no doubt that he is a future Hall Of Famer. He said that once his contract expired this year he was not going to resign.
But as mentioned above, he has taken on a different role and his house show schedule has lightened up as well, something which he has earned.
Would you like to see The World’s Strongest Man back on WWE television?
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