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A WWE Hall of Famer recently disclosed that Jim Ross suggested he walk away from professional wrestling early in his career.
Mark Henry was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018. The World's Strongest Man exited the company following his in-ring retirement and currently works for All Elite Wrestling. Mark can typically be seen every Friday night on Rampage interviewing the wrestlers before the main event.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, the 51-year-old recalled a time when the then-Head of Talent Relations in WWE, Jim Ross, suggested he quit the business after he had sustained some injuries.
"Jim Ross had thought that I had, you know, lived out. The highest that I was going to be, you peaked and that you know they should move on from me being not only with the company but wrestling period. He was like, ‘You know, maybe it’s not for you.’ And he said that in front of Vince. He said that in front of my manager. That was another reason why, when I had him by the tie after I won the championship, it was so f*cking sweet to say. ‘You were wrong about me'," said Mark Henry. [H/T: EWrestlingNews]
WWE legend Mark Henry on pushing through injuries despite Jim Ross suggesting he retire
Mark Henry admitted that the first few years of his career were rough due to injuries but he kept pushing through and ignored the advice of Jim Ross.
The former champion had a remarkable WWE career, but there were questions surrounding him early on. Speaking on Busted Open Radio, he noted that many of his injuries were because he wasn't doing the right things.
"It was money and position they invested. I had an injury-driven career. My first five years, I just kept getting hurt. And a lot of that was because I was doing stuff that I shouldn’t have been doing, and nobody told me, hey man, why don’t you just really learn how to wrestle first and then? Then you can do that. They invested a lot of time and money in me to be in that main event type of spot and I felt like I was letting Vince down," he said.
The WWE Hall of Famer added that he didn't want to let Jim Ross and his detractors win, so he worked hard to keep his spot on the card.
"And giving other people the reason to agree because Jim Ross was like, you should cut your losses and just you know. You know, keep it moving. And I did not want to let them win. Of course, I work my a** off and I got better to be in that spot, but I’ll be damned if I stop because I was a little hurt," he added. [H/T: EWrestlingNews]
Thankfully, Mark Henry didn't listen to the advice and went on to have a legendary career in WWE. It will be interesting to see if the veteran appears on AEW's new show "Collision" premiering on Saturday, June 17th.
Do you think Mark Henry is underutilized in AEW? Let us know in the comments section below.
