Mark Henry

Veteran who left WWE rival opens up about treatment – “It’s good to be respected!”

Mark Henry receives WWE New Year’s card, shares insights on creative processes following AEW departure in May 2024.

Published

3 months ago

December 28, 2024

Mark Henry expressed gratitude toward WWE after receiving a New Year’s greeting card from the company. The wrestling veteran, who concluded his AEW tenure in May 2024, shared his appreciation on social media:

It’s good to be respected! Thank You WWE 🙏🏿
It’s good to be respected! Thank You WWE 🙏🏿. pic.twitter.com/1XK1jta7JJ— TheMarkHenry (@TheMarkHenry) December 27, 2024

Henry’s AEW departure came after a three-year stint with Tony Khan’s promotion from 2021 to 2024. In a subsequent interview with the Huge Pop podcast, he reflected on his time with the company, revealing he had accepted a reduced salary to join AEW with intentions of developing talent.

The former world champion addressed his position within AEW’s structure:

I was there for name recognition and visibility, and that’s a horrible place to feel if you’re a creative

Creative process differences surface in Henry’s analysis

Henry elaborated on fundamental differences in creative approaches between wrestling promotions. Drawing from his experience in WWE’s creative meetings, he highlighted the importance of constructive disagreement in the creative process.

The veteran pointed to specific examples of productive conflict:

[Creative] is supposed to be an argument. It’s supposed to be a shake-up to figure out what the f*** to do next

Henry emphasized the necessity of strong leadership in wrestling, comparing it to successful figures in other sports:

There’s a reason that [NFL coach Bill] Belichick is Belichick. There’s a reason that John Wooden is John Wooden, that Pat Patterson was Pat Patterson, that Dusty Rhodes was Dusty Rhodes. Bow down to their greatness and let them lead you

Mark Henry

WWE Star Lied to Wife About Retirement: “Even She Didn’t Know”

WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry reveals he deceived his wife Jana about his 2013 retirement speech before his shocking attack on John Cena in the iconic salmon suit segment.

Published

6 days ago

March 12, 2025

Patricki Chites

Mark Henry recently revealed he deceived his wife about his memorable WWE “retirement” segment with John Cena in 2013. WWE ranked the angle as No. 25 on their list of Top 30 villainous turns in wrestling history.

Speaking at Monopoly Events in February, Henry discussed how he prepared for the now-iconic retirement swerve. The WWE Hall of Famer admitted he misled everyone close to him, including his spouse.

I knew it was going to work because everybody that I knew, I just lied to their face. For like a year, I told people that I was retiring, the people that was the closet (to me). My wife did not know. She was prepared for me to retire and start doing what I’m doing now. And then when I did what I did, like every voicemail I had was like, ‘You b*stard! Don’t you ever lie to me like that again,’

The segment featured Henry delivering an emotional retirement speech while wearing his now-famous salmon-colored suit before suddenly attacking Cena. This surprising turn set up their WWE Championship match at Money in the Bank 2013.

Henry challenged Cena for the WWE Championship at the premium live event but was unsuccessful, losing via submission. Despite the defeat, many fans believe Henry should have won the match due to the effectiveness of his retirement angle.

The World’s Strongest Man’s villainous turn became one of wrestling’s most memorable moments, largely because of how convincingly he portrayed genuine emotion during his “retirement” speech before revealing it was all a deception.