Mark Henry making his AEW debut came as a big surprise to many because the former champion had spent all of his wrestling career in WWE until earlier this year. The world’s strongest man recently appeared on Talk Is Jericho podcast. Among other things, he also detailed the circumstances leading up to his WWE departure.
Henry has previously explained how he wanted to get an executive position in the company and help young talent. During the talk, he explained the efforts he made to try and convince the top brass that he deserved the job:
“I spent months putting together a two year plan of events. I was like, ‘What else can I do?’ I called and said, ‘I’m going to start looking for work because I know what I can do well, and I don’t feel like I’m valued in that capacity.’”
Mark Henry then recalled how the answer to his request came from John Laurinaitis instead of Vince McMahon. This is when he knew that it was time to leave:
“When I got the no, it didn’t come from Vince or Brad Blum, it came from Johnny, who is an employee. It’s not his place to tell me no. If the dude has got delegated to somebody that is not their job to tell me, then it’s over. You have to know when the door has been closed.”
Mark Henry made his last WWE appearance during the Raw Legends Night on January 4 where he was humiliated by Randy Orton. He made his AEW debut during the Double Or Nothing PPV in May.