Mark Henry recently did an interview with TMZ where he talked about WWE going through with their Crown Jewel event this Friday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Saud University Stadium that will air on the WWE Network despite the public backlash of them doing so due to the recent controversial incident involving the Saudi government.

It was revealed on Monday that Cena had been pulled from the Crown Jewel event after WWE announced that Cena would be featured in the World Cup tournament just a few weeks ago. It has since been revealed that his replacement would be Bobby Lashley.

According to Henry, he would never tell anyone that they’re making the wrong call but he wouldn’t have done that if he was in the shoes of Cena. “I wouldn’t ever say that person is making the wrong decision. I’d say, that’s not the decision I’d make. I would stand by my guns and do what’s right for business.”

Although Henry is not currently scheduled to go to Saudi Arabia, he made it known in this interview that if he were asked then he would go. He also defended WWE Chairman Vince McMahon for making the call to go to the country to hold this show even if it’s not a popular decision in the public eye.

“I’m a firm believer in not leaving people out to dry,” … Henry says, “Our fans, they wanna see you. Give our fans what they want. The WWE is just 1 business. There’s hundreds of thousands of businesses doing business internationally. Why pick on one?”

Henry’s last match came at the Greatest Royal Rumble event which just so happened to be in Saudi Arabia.

WWE Hall Of Famer Mark Henry has expressed his interest in seeing Randy Orton be a World Champion in the WWE once again.

During a recent edition of Busted Open Radio on SiriusXM, the former WWE World Champion talked about Orton beating Jeff Hardy at Sunday’s (September 16, 2018) Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event in San Antonio, Texas at the AT&T Center on the WWE Network in a cell match.

This is when Henry explained his position and why he thinks WWE Chairman Vince McMahon should make Orton a champion again. Henry stated that Orton is one of his top favorite wrestlers of all-time and that he’s one of the most underrated guys of all time. He brought up how Orton’s accolades speak for himself and his talent speaks for himself. He thinks Orton’s heel character is getting meaner and more vicious as time goes on.

The WWE Legend pointed out that Orton started off very smooth and fluid, and usually guys like him don’t rise to the level of excellence that he’s rose to but he has done that and is looking forward to seeing him get his just due.

“Randy needs to be in that conversation for Universal Champion like roles. He’s that good,” Henry said.

"Randy needs to be in that conversation for 'Universal Champion' like roles. He's that good."@TheMarkHenry on Randy Orton's level of talent after witnessing the incredible #HIAC match with Jeff Hardy. pic.twitter.com/aXB8pGIsVO

— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) September 18, 2018

WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry gave his take on the current storyline between Becky Lynch and WWE SmackDown women’s Champion Charlotte Flair during a recent edition of Busted Open Radio on SiriusXM.

He also touched on how it seems that WWE fans are relating to Lynch over Flair. The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion stated that Flair was born to be great and came from greatness so her success is expected.

However, he pointed out how Lynch is the commonplace and her character comes across as someone who has struggled and came from nothing to the point where she worked hard to get where she is at now.

He noted that the fanbase of the company is people who work hard for a living. “The reason that this is an angle that we love so much is that we all identify with it,” Henry said.

"Charlotte is the success story. Becky came from nothing and had to work her ass off just to get looked at." @TheMarkHenry on why the @BeckyLynchWWE & @MsCharlotteWWE angle is resonating with fans.#SDLive #HIAC pic.twitter.com/C8bTUg7bZJ

— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) September 5, 2018

Lynch vs. Flair is one of the top program featured on WWE SmackDown Live right now. They are set to compete for the gold at two upcoming events including the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event on Sunday, September 16, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas at the AT&T Center as well as the Super Show-Down event on Saturday, October 6, 2018 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, Australia. Both events will air on WWE’s streaming service, WWE Network.

This past weekend’s All In pay-per-view (PPV) was a huge success.

Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks self-funded a professional wrestling event that sold out over 10,000 seats in just a few minutes. Some of the biggest names in the industry were on the card; such as Kenny Omega, Okada, Rey Mysterio, Nick Aldis and more.

One of the premiere matches on the card was Cody and Nick Aldis’ match for the NWA World Heavyweight Title. The entrances to the match were very MMA/boxing like. Both Cody and Aldis were followed by camera from the back, walking to the ring.

Cody was accompanied to the ring by Diamond Dallas Page and Tommy Dreamer. Aldis had WWE Hall Of Famer Jeff Jarrett at his side. The pair put on an emotional match, which ended with Cody winning the World Title his father once held high.

On a recent edition of Busted Open Radio, WWE Hall Of Famer Mark Henry offered his thoughts on the match. Henry revealed he actually teared up during the bout:

“When @CodyRhodes won I started to well up because I started to think about what Dusty did for that title, and then I started to think about what Cody sacrificed to make that PPV happen. I have so much respect for him.”

"When @CodyRhodes won I started to well up because I started to think about what Dusty did for that title, and then I started to think about what Cody sacrificed to make that PPV happen. I have so much respect for him" – @TheMarkHenry on #ALLIN @nwa @ALL_IN_2018 pic.twitter.com/xzgSpJCrlX

— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) September 5, 2018

WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry is a strong believer that WWE needs to introduce a women’s tag team division. During a recent edition of Busted Open Radio on Sirius XM, he talked about this idea as well as the upcoming all-women’s Evolution pay-per-view event.

The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion stated that he thinks this division is needed and that with this event coming up, WWE is going to need more programming, which could be the next step. He noted that the Mae Young Classic is another one where there’s no tag teams but rather single matches.

“I think that the tag titles could carry, and go between both shows.” He would continue by stating that fans will get to see the women from the other shows on RAW and SmackDown and it’ll be a win for the fan.

"A tag-team division, I think, is definitely needed"

– @TheMarkHenry & @RyanMcKinnell discuss why a women's tag-team division can up the value of the #Evolution PPV pic.twitter.com/Dz3kKS1WRV

— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) August 24, 2018

The Evolution pay-per-view event takes place on Sunday, October 28, 2018 in Long Island, New York at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and will air on the WWE Network.

WWE officially announced the first match for WWE Evolution. WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus is coming out of retirement once again to face Alexa Bliss.

WWE Hall of Famer Lita, WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix, SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella, Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Naomi, Asuka, Nia Jax, Ember Moon, Natalya, Shayna Baszler, Bayley, Sasha Banks and NXT Women’s Champion Kairi Sane are all advertised for this show.

Mark Henry, the Rock, and D-Lo Brown once found themselves in a potentially dangerous situation outside Madison Square Garden. Henry recalled the story recently on the latest edition of Chris Jericho’s podcast.

According to Henry, a mob of fans once smashed in their rental car’s window, hit D-Lo Brown in the face with pizza, and damaged their car so badly they almost couldn’t get away.

Jericho and Henry were talking about how at MSG, talent often has to park in the same lot as fans. This they said, can lead to some unpleasant interactions.

Check out the ALL NEW ⁦@TalkIsJericho⁩ with ⁦@IAmJericho⁩ & our very own ⁦@davidlagreca1⁩ & ⁦@TheMarkHenry⁩ discussing the history of WWE in ⁦@TheGarden⁩ , Chris & Mark’s best & worst moments there, Lagreca’s first event & more! It’s LIVE NOW! pic.twitter.com/B156zxv7x7

— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) August 1, 2018

Mark Henry Recalls Being Attacked By Fans Outside MSG

“There are 3 other people who can verify this story,” Henry said. “Because you’re going to think this is B***S***.”

The story happened while Henry, Brown, and the Rock were all still in the Nation of Domination and were leaving a show from MSG one night.

Henry said that the Rock asked them to pull up the car right next to the exit so he wouldn’t get mobbed by fans when they were leaving. They weren’t so lucky, however. D-Lo and Henry went to get the car from the public lot they had to park in. That’s when D-Lo got hit in the face with a slice of pizza and things started to go downhill.

“D-Lo gets hit in the face with a piece of pizza,” Henry said. “And that was light of the s*** they were throwing at us.”

Then Henry explains what happened when they picked up the Rock from outside the arena.

“Dwayne throws his bag in, gets in the car, the window goes out,” Henry said before making a sound to resemble a window being shattered. “Somebody bust the window out. They start beating the car, they totaled the car with their hands.”

“They totaled a Lincoln Towncar beating on it with their hands,” he continued. “We got back and they said ‘this car is totaled.'”

“They mashed the hood in so much that it broke the carburetor. I don’t know how we made it to the airport. By the grace of God, we made it to the airport and the car wouldn’t start after that.”

Hulk Hogan has been reinstated into the WWE Hall Of Fame.

Last night (Sun. July 15, 2018) Hogan was backstage at the WWE’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view (PPV). He issued out an apology to the entire WWE roster about his racially insensitive comments from several years ago that got him released from his WWE deal and the Hall Of Fame.

According to TMZ Live, WWE Hall Of Famer Mark Henry has been speaking to Hogan regularly in the lead-up to his WWE reinstatement. Henry said that he believes Hogan is being genuine in his remorse for his comments, but noted the locker room is split 50/50 on Hogan.

Allegedly some Superstars don’t believe Hogan’s apology is genuine and think he only did it because he wants to collect a paycheck. No names were given as to what Superstars do and don’t believe Hogan’s apology. It should be interesting to see if and when Hogan returns to WWE TV.

“I do feel like he genuinely wants to clear his name. He sees people that used to respect him, they look at him different. And it hurts. And he brought that on himself. But, he’s trying his best to clear that up,” Henry said.

“It’s 50-50. I’ve talked to guys that were like, ‘Man, the hell with him,'” Henry said of other black WWE wrestlers. “And I had guys that were like, ‘You know what, man, if you’re willing to make a change and try to help out and go and speak up and be a part of the answer rather than a part of the problem, then it’s all good.'”

You can watch Mark Henry’s comments about Hulk Hogan’s return to WWE here, courtesy of TMZ Sports:

Mark Henry recently gave his take on the current feud booked by the WWE that involves Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley.

The Hall of Famer discussed this feud and the way that WWE has handled it on the Busted Open Radio podcast. As seen on this week’s episode of WWE Monday Night RAW in Boston, MA at the TD Garden on the USA Network, the latest angle that helped build the feud saw both men being involved in a pull-apart brawl with other stars.

According to Henry, this brawl helped both Reigns and Lashley. The former World Champion believes that making Lashley a tough and aggressive character will get support from fans rather than the smiley character he had during his feud with Sami Zayn.

“The fans are getting a chance to see two big physically impressive tough guys go at it,” said Henry. “That’s how I feel about Bobby Lashley and Roman Reigns. I feel like, ‘oh sh*t, let’s go! Put ’em in there, let ’em go!’ Like they are ready to do something that hasn’t been done in a long while. And that thing is to take over the show without bells and whistles.”

Henry did bring up the fact that he was a fan of the brawl because it felt like a schoolyard fight as stars stopped what they were doing to run to the fight to step in and break it up. He also praised the WWE for not adding a stipulation to the match.

“A lot of times you’re like, oh, it’s a cage match, it’s a falls count anywhere. It’s pot pans and chairs and ladders. It’s nothing [in this feud],” said Henry. “They don’t need anything. It’s two big strong physically impressive guys that need to get in there and punch each other in the face. Everybody is ready to see it.”

Reigns vs. Lashley in a singles match is slated to go down at this Sunday’s WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the PPG Paints Arena on the WWE Network.

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcript.

What are your thoughts on Henry’s comments? Sound off in the comment section.

Hall of Famer Does Paul Bearer Impression

Busted Open Radio posted a video on their Twitter account showing WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry impersonating late WWE Hall of Famer Paul Bearer. You can check out the video below:

I think the one gift @TheMarkHenry would want from a wrestler is the Undertaker’s urn… pic.twitter.com/cxv5h3oiM8

— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) May 1, 2018

WWE Star Reveals Lessons He Learned In Wrestling

RAW Superstar Mike Kanellis scribed a tweet where he lists the lessons he’s learned in pro-wrestling:

https://twitter.com/RealMikeBennett/status/991868383384633344

Photo Credit: WWE.com

WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry was asked what he thought about the current WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins when he appeared on Busted Open recently. He was also asked if Rollins can become a top star for the company, to which Henry replied that not only can Rollins become the face of the company, he might be the one best wrestlers in the business right now.

“Seth Rollins. Right now, to me, is one of the most exciting guys in wrestling,” Henry said. “He’s getting to that ‘great’ stratosphere, you know, beyond ‘elite.’ He’s becoming – dare I say – Hall of Fame caliber-like. He’s going to be one of the best before it’s all said and done with.”

Seth Rollins The Grand Slam Champion

Mark Henry might not be too far off. Rollins has already become a Grand Slam Champion – by capturing the Tag Team, Intercontinental, United States and the World Heavyweight Championships. He is also the winner of the 2014 Money In The Bank Ladder Match, and one of the few who held two championships simultaneously, and he is constantly improving. It is quite possible that he could go on to become one of the industry’s legends in the future.

Also read: Seth Rollins Talks Using Curb Stomp Again, Recent Shield Reunion, Potential Feud With Roman Reigns

You can listen to Mark Henry’s comments from the tweet below.

"He's getting into that 'great' stratosphere, you know, beyond elite." @TheMarkHenry says @WWERollins is well on his way to cementing himself among the all time greats in the business.
#RAW #ICTitle pic.twitter.com/JFH4EY4FBx

— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) May 1, 2018

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for transcription.

WWE Hall Of Famer and former World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry recently did an interview with The National to promote tomorrow’s Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia. He explained why he thinks the show is just as special as WrestleMania:

“You have a a lot of guys who have not wrestled in a long time in the WWE competing. Great Khali, Kurt Angle, Bobby Lashley, Rey Mysterio and myself and many others. It is an unbelievable thing. You also have the Undertaker up against Rusev. Triple H against John Cena. This is special. It is like WrestleMania in some of the special events we have going on here.”

As for the historic 50-Man over-the-top-rope battle royal main event in Saudi Arabia, Henry will be competing in the match and wants to have immortalized as the victor:

“If I am in it I want to win it. I am not here to look pretty. It is a historic event and if I win it my name will be immortalized in the record books so it is something that I am aiming for.”

Henry then discussed his 2011 feud with Randy Orton. The World’s Strongest Man has a huge amount of respect for Orton, who he won the World Heavyweight Title from at Night Of Champions 2011, and retained it at Hell In A Cell:

“Randy Orton is one of the people in the industry I respect the most. Not many people can be as smooth and polished in the ring as Randy is, and still be over with the fans, and he is one of the very best in the industry. For me to able to win over him twice in a row was one of the biggest things in my career as I have so much respect for him.”

You can read Henry’s full interview with The National by clicking this link here.

Mark Henry is coming out of retirement from in-ring competition for one special WWE event.

Henry has been with the sports entertainment company since 1996. He was just 24-years of age when he decided to get into the pro wrestling business. During his time with the company, he held the WWE World Heavyweight Title, ECW Title, and European Title.

If you recall, Henry hinted that he would be wrapping up his career as an in-ring performer in WWE when the WWE Network aired an episode of “Table For 3.” He would later officially announce that his 21-year in-ring career was coming to an end.

He has gone on record in previous interviews by stating that he wants to help all of the up-and-coming male and female talent develop and become successful in the company.

WWE has released this video of the WWE Hall of Famer talking about working the upcoming Greatest Royal Rumble event. As for the reason he’s coming out of retirement, Henry stated, “I’ve been retired now for 10 months and I’m only coming out of retirement this one time for you.”

What are your thoughts on Henry coming out of retirement for this show? Sound off in the comment section below.

You can add another big name confirmed to be working the upcoming 50-Man Royal Rumble Match at the upcoming WWE Greatest Royal Rumble event.

That star is former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry. If you recall, the WWE Hall of Famer hinted that he would be wrapping up his career as an in-ring performer in WWE when the WWE Network aired an episode of “Table For 3” last year.

The episode featured Henry and WWE Hall of Famers Ron Simmons and The Godfather. During the show, Henry dropped a bombshell by revealing a bit of information regarding what’s to come in his WWE career.

The longtime Superstar officially announced later that his 21-year in-ring career is coming to an end. He will transition from being a WWE Superstar to a WWE employee to help all of the up-and-coming male and female talent develop and become successful in the company.

He confirmed his status for this upcoming event by posting the following on his official Instagram account:

https://instagram.com/p/Bh505M-h8u2/?utm_source=ig_embed

The WWE Greatest Royal Rumble event takes place on Friday, April 27, 2018 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at the King Abdullah International Stadium and will air on the WWE Network.

What are your thoughts on Henry working this match? Sound off in the comment section below.

Big Show said that he was so honored to talk about his friend, Mark Henry. Big Show stated that Mark became like family to him while traveling on the road with him for so many years. Big Show said that one night he saw Mark Henry and he looked sad. He asked if he was okay and Mark looked up and said that he has been trying to break this quarter in half for the past 30 minutes and all he can do is bend it.

Big Show stated that Mark Henry is one of WWE’s best recruiters. He would find anyone that was interested in the business and take the time to talk to them. Big Show added that Mark Henry is also not a guy you want to test. A guy came up with a camera without asking for a picture backstage once and Henry covered 15 feet in one step, grabbed the camera and crushed it.

Mark Henry came down to the stage to a great reaction from the crowd. Mark gave honor to God because it is going to take God to get him through this without crying. The crowd started chanting “Sexual Chocolate” and Henry thanked them. Henry thanked the Big Show and said that it has been a great ride in this business. Mark stated that he respects everyone that loves this business and that he knows how difficult it is to travel and miss a lot of stuff.

Henry stated that he was humbled and that he was in shock that he was able to make it 20 years. The crowd chanted “you deserve it!” and Henry thanked the crowd. Mark said that when he was 9-years-old his grandmother took him to a show and it just so happened that his favorite wrestler was on the card. Henry paused for a moment and started to choke up. Mark Henry said that he got to go see Andre the Giant and once upon a time he was one of the kids running to the barricade to see the wrestlers. Henry noted that some kids behind him knocked him down and Andre picked him up and that is why he is here today.

He said that he did not get here by himself and thanked all the people that inspired him and believed in him. Henry said that the backbone of his strength was his mother and she bought him his first set of weights when he was 10-years-old. He added that she was looking down on him right now smiling and proud. Henry called his mother a historical cook and then pointed to his belly and the crowd laughed.

Henry thanked all of the coaches and trainers for giving him the foundation to become the strongest man in the world. Henry said that he used to watch matches with his grandmother and that was their thing. He stated that he loved the Junkyard Dog, the Iron Sheik and Andre the Giant and that they were his idols.

Mark said that one day he got a call from Vince McMahon and he promptly hung the phone up because he just knew it was one of his friends pranking him. Dr. Terry Todd then called Mark and asked him why he hung up on Vince McMahon and that he might want to take his call if he calls him back. Vince called him back and probably was the biggest mark in the history of professional wrestling. Mark stated that half the conversation was him asking Vince if he could meet Yokozuna and if he could wrestle The Undertaker. He added that the business gave him a lot and that he was fixated on meeting legends that he watched on television. He then signed with WWE in March of 1996 and never looked back.

"I signed with the company in '96, and I never looked back!" – 2018 #WWEHOF inductee @TheMarkHenry on signing with @WWE pic.twitter.com/xEoGA9uiKL

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) April 7, 2018

Henry said that he knew from the first couple of weeks in the business that this was going to be something like he has never seen before. He noted that he initially didn’t have the in-ring success that he should have because he wasn’t focused enough. He said that this business needs you to be focused because you have other people’s lives in your hands. Henry brought up Big Cat Ernie Ladd and how he told him to come over and sit under the learning tree. There was a technical difficulty that caused a loud noise and Henry asked if that was God or Ernie. Big Cat put a lot of pressure on Henry and Mark added that Ernie is looking down and proud of the work he has done.

Mark Henry brought up the Hart family and how they mentored him for a year and thanked them. Henry said that he first met Owen Hart in Canada and that he brought so much joy to his life and he wished that he could be here with us. Henry asked the camera to zoom in on him and then addressed Owen’s widow, Martha, and said that Owen needs to be here. He belongs here and it is his birth right.

https://twitter.com/nickpiccone/status/982461996565192704

Mark Henry then brought up his alter-ego, Sexual Chocolate. The music hit Henry turned into Sexual Chocolate. Henry brought up the time he and Stephanie danced. Henry asked if Stephanie was married and added that doesn’t matter to Sexual Chocolate. Mark then pointed at his wife and said wow that was fun. Henry said that when he told D’Lo Brown about Sexual Chocolate he almost fell out of the car laughing. He said that there is no way that they are going to allow him to do that on television, but they did. Henry thanked Mae Young and Chyna for making Sexual Chocolate.

Is that you, #SexualChocolate? #WWEHOF @TheMarkHenry pic.twitter.com/HIwg4arYO8

— WWE (@WWE) April 7, 2018

Henry brought up the Nation of Domination and said that was fun. He said that D’Lo is his brother and thanked him for being there for him. Henry thanked The Godfather for all the knowledge that he gave to him. He also thanked Ron Simmons and said that when you look up man in the dictionary there is a picture of Ron Simmons. Henry noted that Simmons was the first recognized WCW World Heavy Champion. Henry thanked him for being a positive role model to his children.

Mark stated that he met Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson back in 1995 and that he was the offspring of wrestling. Henry said that he helped out Dwayne the rock and told him that he could pay him back later. Henry noted that The Rock is doing pretty good now and he joked that he could use that money back and that the interest has been compounding daily.

Henry brought up winning the ECW title and winning the World Heavyweight Championship in 2011. Henry thanked Big Show, Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton for helping him with that. He added that he turned the corner from being the world’s strongest man to becoming a world champion. Henry apologized if he left anyone out and stated that he has been a wrestling fan for more than 40 years and has been living this wrestling dream. Henry then thanked his family for years of support. Henry pointed out that his son his dressed up like him in his retirement speech and that he already thinks he is a WWE Superstar.

Mark stated that he is very proud of what WWE has done to foster diversity and that the future will be brighter with everyone of us living as one. Henry stated that there was one more thing he needs to do and took off his jacket. The pink suit jacket was brought out and Henry put it on. Mark stated that some fans might think that he has a lot left in the tank and that they are right. Henry cut a promo and said to John Cena that he should have gotten a shot at that title. Henry looked at AJ Styles and said that he has a title that he can take. Henry called out Roman Reigns and then said that he was just playing. Henry said that he was incredibly lucky and that he proudly accepts his place in the WWE Hall of Fame and then shouted because “that is what I do!” into the microphone. Henry then raised his fist with the HOF ring and pose for the crowd.

The #WorldsStrongestMan @TheMarkHenry dons a familiar jacket to call out some BIG name @WWE Superstars just one more time! #WWEHOF pic.twitter.com/pU1zHJiS5s

— WWE (@WWE) April 7, 2018

– Congratulations are in order for WWE Superstars Maria and Mike Kanellis. WWE.com reports that Maria gave birth this morning to Fredrica Moon, a healthy 6-pound baby girl. Both Maria and baby Fredrica are both doing great after the delivery.

– Today marks 7 years since WWE Hall of Famer Edge wrestled his final match. The Rated R Superstar was forced into retirement due to a chronic neck injury, diagnosed as cervical spinal stenosis.

I watched @EdgeRatedR wrestle his last match behind the curtain as a fan, and a friend, 7 years ago today. His career was so special and I am grateful to have been a part of the lockeroom that he helped lead. #ThankYouAdam pic.twitter.com/Ya3mtAT7I3

— THE GLAMAZON (@TheBethPhoenix) April 4, 2018

– Mark Henry teased that his infamous salmon sports jacket might make an appearance this Friday night when he’s inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

You know you were wondering, too… will @TheMarkHenry wear THE salmon jacket during his #WWEHOF Class of 2018 Induction?! pic.twitter.com/IFIG9IYIAV

— WWE (@WWE) April 3, 2018

– For what it’s worth, Roman Reigns re-tweeted this article featuring a quote from Paul Heyman talking about managing Roman Reigns (should Brock Lesnar leave WWE for UFC).

.@HeymanHustle: Working with @WWERomanReigns would be an absolute career defining moment for me https://t.co/HMwuZRok5N pic.twitter.com/MH1iKdcH44

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) April 4, 2018

WWE has officially announced who will be inducting Mark Henry into the WWE Hall of Fame this year.

On Tuesday morning, the sports entertainment company announced that former WWE Champion The Big Show would do the honors.

“I’ve spent a lot of time going up and down the road with Mark Henry,” Big Show told WWE.com. “I’ve had battles with him, and I know what kind of a human being and community leader he is. I can’t think of anyone more deserving of the WWE Hall of Fame. It is my honor to induct my friend.”

BREAKING: @WWETheBigShow will induct @TheMarkHenry into the #WWEHOF Class of 2018 this Friday! https://t.co/t5lCZkfQqM

— WWE (@WWE) April 2, 2018

WWE holds their 2018 Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday, April 6th in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Smoothie King Center and will air on WWE’s streaming service, WWE Network. Bill Goldberg will headline the class.

Here is the list of inductees and those who will do the induction speeches:

Goldberg – inducted by Paul Heyman

Ivory – inducted by Molly Holly

Dudley Boyz – inducted by Edge and Christian

Mark Henry – inducted by Big Show

Hillbilly Jim – inducted by Jimmy Hart

Jeff Jarrett – inducted by Road Dogg

Kid Rock (Celebrity Wing) – inducted by TBA

Jarrius “JJ” Robertson (Warrior Award) – inducted by Dana Warrior

Mark Henry says he’s retired but he’s not ruling out a return to the ring either.

Whether or not Henry is officially done wrestling has been a topic of conversation the last few months. Rumors circulated earlier this year that he was retired but Henry seemed to half-heartidly deny those rumors. Henry clarified that he can’t see returning in the next year or two but something could happen down the line to bring him out of retirement.

He spoke to TMZ recently on the subject:

Mark Henry on Retirement

“If it was a perfect circumstance and something happened down the road, then yeah. Sometime this year and next year, you can put it out your mind.”

Mark Henry will be part of the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2018.

Mark Henry recently discussed Hulk Hogan possibly returning to the WWE in the near future on Busted Open Radio. Below are Henry’s comments:

“There are leaked videos of Andre’s story on HBO coming up on the 29th and he (Hogan) is in it. It is kind of a deal where you just have to accept it, he is a public figure. It does not mean that everything that he has done is forgiven, you’ve just got to take the good with the bad and see how you can help the situation.

I’m sitting on the chair of delegation and they are not ready. I have had many talks with dozens of guys and the consensus is that there is a lot of work to be done to heal that wound and to fix that wall”.

Henry was asked to explain what the delegation was and here was his response:

“The delegation is pretty much all of the established African American wrestlers in the country. And in the world, for that matter. Every promotion, there is not a wrestling promotion that does not house someone from the delegation”.

On what Hulk Hogan needs to do going forward:

“There is going to have to be more community service and outside work, support for programs and even create a program that deals with diversity in the workplace”.

If he would be shocked if Hulk Hogan appeared at WrestleMania 34:

“I am very rarely shocked, but in that case, I don’t know if I am ready. There is a lot that needs to be done. I don’t think it would be disappointment because I do not process everything like everybody else. I believe that everybody should get a second chance, but I also believe that you have to own your issue, whatever that issue is. You have got to try and make closure on everyone else’s behalf, not just yours.”

"I don't know if I'm ready. There's a lot to be done." – @TheMarkHenry addresses the discussions between Hulk Hogan and the WWE, if we should see him at #WrestleMania 34 and what Hogan should do if he wants to come back. pic.twitter.com/CfZ23zlLaO

— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) March 24, 2018

Henry has commented on a potential WWE return a few times now. TMZ caught up with Henry last month and Henry said that Hogan would be forgiven if apologized to all the existing African American talent.

• WWE Confirms Talks With Hulk Hogan About Possible Return

Triple H Praises Desire of NXT Talent

Last year was a wild ride for the WWE and NXT was certainly no exception. In 2017, Bobby Roode, Drew Mcintyre, and Cien Almas emerged as the cream of the crop on the brand. We also saw Asuka continue her dominance until leaving for Monday Night Raw. A new women’s champion then emerged and her name is Ember Moon.

San Antonio, Orlando, Chicago, Brooklyn, and Houston were all the destinations for NXT’s TakeOver events last year. The WWE Network is taking a look back with its “Best of NXT 2017” special. Here’s a first look with Triple H praising NXT talent:

“The superstars of NXT scratch and claw everyday to be the best. They give it their all to be the best. But the truth is, we cannot do any of it without you. We say it all the time, “We Are NXT.” And we truly mean that. Without the NXT universe, without all of you, we are nothing. You rise us up, you make us bigger, stronger, and better. And that’s what we do. We go to the ring every night, our NXT superstars, and they leave it all out there for all of you.”

Jim Cornette Thrilled With Mark Henry’s WWE HOF Induction

Legendary wrestling manager Jim Cornette is happy to hear that Mark Henry is on his way to the WWE Hall of Fame. Henry will join the class of 2018 which includes stars such as Goldberg, Jeff Jarrett, The Dudley Boyz, and more. It’s a long time coming for Henry, who has been with the WWE since 1996.

During a recent episode of “The Jim Cornette Experience,” Cornette talked about Henry’s road to this moment:

“The Hall of Fame has gotten one right, and I don’t mean they’ve never gotten one right before but I’m saying this time the good guy wins. To a nicer guy, it couldn’t happen. Mark Henry is going in the WWE Hall of Fame and I am wholeheartedly behind that because I’ve known Mark since he showed up there for 22 years or whatever.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkTcgVFndRc

Former WWE/WCW/TNA star Sean Waltman recently spoke about various topics on the latest edition of his podcast, X-Pac12360.

During the podcast, he talked about SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan being cleared by WWE doctors to compete as an in-ring performer once again.

Bryan, who was forced to retire two years ago due to his history with concussions, has talked about wrestling again in the past. Whether that be in WWE or in another promotion.

Before the news came out, it was believed that he would be leaving WWE after his contract with the company expires in September of 2018.

“I’m just really really happy for him. All I could do was have a feel-good moment for Bryan. I totally can understand, because I deal with some of those issues. I know how scary that could be, just the prospect of what’s in store for the future and things like that. I just had to quit doing what I love doing and not on my own terms. And so I’m really happy that it turned out this way, instead of Bryan having to leave WWE to do what he wants to to be happy… Trust me, I don’t think they just ran and just jumped right into the deep end of the pool right away.

That’s just what we saw… Actually, it’s exactly the right time. Not a moment too late and not a moment too soon because they had to make really really sure and have a lot of different opinions on this, you know? And people can selfishly want to see him back in the ring and in a match but let’s make sure he can do it and not cause any permanent damage.”

It was announced earlier this week by the WWE that former WWE World Champion Mark Henry would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame alongside Goldberg, Ivory, Jeff Jarrett, The Dudley Boyz, and HillBilly Jim in the class.

WWE holds their 2018 Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday, April 6th in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Smoothie King Center and will air on WWE’s streaming service, WWE Network.

“There were so many people that were congratulating Mark on Twitter and I didn’t neglect to.  I purposely avoided it so people didn’t bring up me dressing up in blackface like Mark… Not that I’m afraid. I just didn’t want to insert that into the Hall of Fame conversation. He was fine with it but I’m not fine with it now. That’s all. And there was nothing bad meant by it but the things I know now I’m a little embarrassed by it.”

You can listen to the full podcast here. 

Former WWE World Champion Mark Henry spoke with USA Today to talk about his WWE Hall of Fame induction, which was made official by the sports entertainment company on Monday afternoon. 

WWE holds their 2018 Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday, April 6th in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Smoothie King Center and will air on WWE’s streaming service, WWE Network.

Bill Goldberg will headline the class. Henry joins Ivory, Jeff Jarrett, The Dudley Boyz, and HillBilly Jim in the class.

“It was a little while back. I was in Los Angeles with the powers that be… it was just an overwhelming feeling, you know? My face got hot. A couple of tears fell, and you felt like, instantly, all of the pain and torment that you put your body through, the sacrifices that you made – they were worth it. It paid it all off.”

“Well the first conversation I had, I thought it was one of my buddies playing a joke on me and I hung up on him. And my manager at the time called me back and said ‘hey, I just had Vince McMahon call you and he said you hung up!’ And I was like ‘that was Vince McMahon for real!?’ I felt so dumb. Here he is, one of the most influential people in the wrestling industry calls you and you hang up on him thinking it was a joke. Eventually I called back and I said ‘hey, I hope you understand, I thought it was somebody playing a joke on me.’ And he said ‘don’t worry about it, I’m glad I could get you back on the phone.’ He was like ‘I want you to come to Connecticut and see how we do things up here.’ I said ‘am I going to get to meet The Undertaker?’ You know, I was such a fan, I just wanted to meet everybody. That was really my primary thing for going down there because I wanted to see the stars. I wanted to see the superstars.”

Henry has been with the company since 1996 after being named “The World’s Strongest Man.” He was just 24-years of age when he decided to get into the pro wrestling business. During his time with the company, he held three championships. The WWE World Heavyweight Title, ECW Title, and European Title. 

If you recall, Henry hinted that he would be wrapping up his career as an in-ring performer in WWE when the WWE Network aired an episode of “Table For 3” last year.

The episode featured Henry and WWE Hall of Famers Ron Simmons and The Godfather. During the show, Henry dropped a bombshell by revealing a bit of information regarding what’s to come in his WWE career.

The longtime Superstar officially announced that his 21-year in-ring career is coming to an end. He will transition from being a WWE Superstar to a WWE employee to help all of the up-and-coming male and female talent develop and become successful in the company.

“You know what, I saw a match – and I always study my matches. I always see what I did wrong, what I could do better. I was watching and there were things that I did that weren’t up to the standard that I thought they should have been. And a lot of that… I think some of it was age, some of it was the fact that I had some pre-existing injuries that I really couldn’t do all the things that I could do. And I didn’t want the fans to remember me being injured and being a shell of my former self.

I want people, when they remember me, to think of the Hall of Pain, when I was catching guys, 275 pounds. Picking up Big Show, close to 500 pounds, over my head and driving him through a table. And picking up Kane, 320 pounds and slamming him through tables. And jumping off the top rope to the ring and jumping out of the ring to the floor and splashing Kurt Angle. I wanted people to remember me at my greatest. Around 2015, I started to see my skills diminish. It happens to everybody. Father Time is undefeated. He is gonna win every time, and I saw him catching me.”

Update: WWE has confirmed that Mark Henry is bringing the Hall of Pain to the Hall of Fame. Mark Henry joins Bill Goldberg, The Dudley Boyz, Ivory, Jeff Jarrett, Hillbilly Jim, Kid Rock and Warrior Award recipient Jarrius “JJ” Robertson as part of the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018.

The 2018 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Friday, April 6th, during WrestleMania 34 Week in New Orleans.

Original Story: 

While WWE no longer publishes a monthly magazine in the United States, the company continues to release an issue hyping WrestleMania on an annual basis. Some fans managed to get ahold of this year’s issue for WrestleMania 34, which reveals a yet-to-be-announced 2018 WWE Hall of Fame inductee.

https://twitter.com/BaIIins/status/975088113516269568

The magazine reveals that Mark Henry will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year.

WWE conducted an interview with “The World’s Strongest Man” on joining the WWE Hall of Fame, as seen in the photo below.

https://twitter.com/selly6411/status/975394770850865152

Henry joins Goldberg, The Dudley Boyz, Ivory, Jeff Jarrett, Hillbilly Jim, musician Kid Rock and Warrior Award recipient Jarrius “JJ” Robertson among those being honored that night.

The 2018 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony takes place on Friday, April 6, in New Orleans at the Smoothie King Center during WrestleMania 34 Week.

• Bayley and Sasha Banks have backstage heat – details

– One-half of the NXT Tag Team Champions may have a problem working shows in Canada.

WWE advertised Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly for NXT’s recent four-event tour of Ontario, Canada (Feb. 22 through Feb. 25), but the duo did not appear at any of the events. The Undisputed ERA instead worked NXT shows in Florida over those days.

According to Dave Meltzer in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Fish, at least in the past, had problems entering Canada. However, he was told that the problem “was taken care of.”

Meltzer also notes that he can’t find a record of Fish working in Canada since 2014 for Ring of Honor.

– NXT announcer Percy Watson appeared on Thursday’s season premiere of the FX comedy-drama series Atlanta as a Georgia state cop.

https://twitter.com/justinenriquez_/status/969456463436394496

Big E made note of his appearance with this tweet.

.@WWEPercyWatson on #AtlantaFX couldn’t please me more.

— Ettore “Big E” Ewen (@WWEBigE) March 2, 2018

– Former NBA star Charles Oakley posted this photo of himself hanging out with Mark Henry in New York City, which includes a WWE-related caption.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BfwF7HfniIs/

• Where did NXT’s Jessie come from?

On a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, UFC announcer Joe Rogan and co-host Tony Hinchcliffe analyzed professional wrestling finishing moves. Rogan, an MMA purist, was very critical of the ‘fake’ wrestling moves and generally dismissive of the sports entertainment genre we all love.

• Video: Joe Rogan Breaks Down WWE Finishing Moves

WWE legend Mark Henry addressed Rogan’s comments on Busted Open Radio, which he hosts every Tuesday on Sirius XM. (Busted Open airs live weekday’s 9am-12pm EST.)

Henry calls Joe Rogan’s comments “ignorant” and disrespectful.

“Joe Rogan basically started with this caution to overly sensitive fans that, whenever you give a disclaimer, you’re basically saying ‘okay get ready here comes the trouble’. I look the biggest part of this whole thing is Joe Rogan is a announcer. You have to know your role. Our announcers wouldn’t dare say anything about a talent and I think that UFC may need to kind of tell him ‘look man you’re bringing the heat on us’ A lot our fans are UFC fans and there a lot of UFC fans that are wrestling fans and you’re disrespecting the fanbase. That’s that’s the number one thing.”

Henry continued, “The second thing is he used the word ridiculous as regards to Jimmy Superfly Snuka’s splash. Jimmy is not here with us no more and I took that really to heart as being Ultra disrespectful. I guarantee you there’s a lot of fans of wrestling that will look at him differently after seeing what he said and in all of the negativity that came from it. He is a comedian and he might put it on the fact ‘I’m a comedian I was trying to be funny’. Well you’re not a good comedian because it wasn’t funny.”

Mark and co-host Dave LaGreca also commented about how MMA fans and media members have a newly found bad habit of looking down at the entertainment aspect of Pro Wrestling. Henry says Joe Rogan has no right to criticize pro wrestlers, who are some of the best athletes in the world.

“Who the hell is he? Who the hell is he to come out and say ‘well, technically, that hold would never work’. You’re so smart and educated, but you’ve never been to the top and competed against men and women that have excelled to be the greatest in the world. You can’t go on the air and criticize people when you’ve never been there. You can’t criticize something that you know absolutely nothing about. I’m not going to come on any show and break down jiu-jitsu, even though I’ve trained jiu-jitsu.”

You can listen to the full segment here:

Braun Strowman, Baron Corbin, and Mark Henry all recently spoke with WWE.com to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Strowman described his first encounter with Henry and also revealed that Henry offered him a WWE tryout. “The Monster Among Men” had looked up to Henry in the strongman scene for quite some time:

“The first time was probably in 2012 at 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 endeavors over the years. To have him approach me and offer me a tryout with WWE was a dream come true. A lot if it was because I was really passionate about the strongman sport. I did a lot of things in a short amount of time that not many men were able to do.

“But I’ve always been a ham and a showman for crowds. I got to compete in front of a few thousand for strongman, so realizing that I could step over to WWE and have opportunities like I did at WrestleMania in Dallas to perform in front of 101,000 people — that was the big thing for me.”

Baron Corbin also discussed how Henry helped him in WWE during his early days with the company. Henry apparently saw something in Corbin and liked different aspects of his physique and ability inside the ring:

“He came in and thought I had something special. He told me I had a good look, the way I moved was good. He really helped mold me in those early days, which helped the evolution of who I am and what I do. When you have a guy of his caliber come to you and tell you they see something in you … if that doesn’t light a fire, nothing will.”

Henry himself commented on this and said he enjoys paying it forward and seeing his WWE recruits find success in their careers:

“I feel like I’m paying it forward. It feels good to be able to look at somebody and go, ‘Man, you’re me 22 years ago; you can do this!’ I find chunks of coal that have a glisten to them. They get to Orlando and [the WWE Performance Center coaches] start chipping away and chipping away. Next thing you know, ‘Mark, there’s a diamond under there. We’re going to polish it up.’ They do all that work.

“I appreciate the whole developmental process – coaching them, educating them and putting them out there to see if they can thrive. Every time I see Apollo, Braun or Bianca, Baron Corbin and other people I’ve helped foster, I gush. It gives a validation to my eye. I love it. There’s nothing like it.”

You can read Henry, Corbin, and Strowman’s full interviews on WWE.com by clicking here.