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What’s the story?
In a recent interview with the WWE website, Mark Henry spoke about his work with the company as a talent scout these days. Henry also revealed how he discovered and inspired some of the top talents in the industry including Braun Strowman, Apollo and Bianca Belair.
The background
Henry has been part of the sports-entertainment industry for 22 years now and he has seen the WWE’s developmental system grow over the years.
He recently retired and the former Olympian is now focused on helping the industry with his ability to spot potential superstars.
He now joins the WWE talent scouts on recruiting trips, including one at the Olympics 2016 in Rio. This comes as no surprise as Henry has discovered and helped refine some of the most talented youngsters in the industry like Strowman, Apollo and Bianca.
The heart of the matter
Strowman revealed that his first conversation with Henry was back in 2012 at the World’s Strongest Man.
I’d been a huge fan of his for a long time and had met him a couple of times through my strongman endeavours over the years. To have him approach me and offer me a tryout with WWE was a dream come true.
Henry spoke about what he wanted Strowman to do:
“Why wait on somebody else to stumble, so you can get one up on them, when you can just take over and do something completely different and be really, really good at it? It was hard for me to tell him that.”
As for Bianca, Henry approached her after seeing her compete in a CrossFit event.
“Having him contact me at that point, having someone like him believe in me and say, ‘I think you have all the qualities it takes to be a wrestler,’ put a lot of confidence in me,” she said.
Henry’s work doesn’t end with recruiting. He also works with these athletes in fine-tuning their careers and Baron Corbin is one of the beneficiaries of working with former Olympian.
What’s next?
Henry is opening the door for prospective competitors but it up to the athletes to grab the opportunity presented with both hands and strive for success. Belair revealed that’s exactly what Henry tells his proteges.
Author’s take
Henry is doing a terrific job as a talent scout and the above-mentioned names are a testament to the same. It’s also commendable that he helps these youngsters develop after recruiting them.
It is now up to these stars to repay the faith Henry has shown in them.
