Mark Henry: Contributing in and out of the ring

Mark Henry deserves recognition for his time as an in ring competitor and his contributions outside of the ring as a recruiter.

Professional wrestling is filled with a number of athletes with memorable gimmicks. While there are numerous examples of men and women that fall into that category, there’s a special place for “The World’s Strongest Man,” Mark Henry. As the former champion winds down his in-ring career, it’s clear that he’s going to have a place in the WWE Hall of Fame and is also deserving of a special slot as a prominent African American in the industry.

Debuting nearly 22 years ago, Henry came into professional wrestling with a legitimate stake as being one of the strongest men on the planet. He’s a former Arnold Strongman Classic winner, along with multiple victories across the weightlifting circuit including the U.S. National Weightlifting Championship, the American Open, and an appearance at two Summer Olympic Games.

But he will probably be most recognized and remembered for his time in the WWE. Things didn’t get off to a good start, as Henry was sent down to OVW at one point to get his conditioning and in-ring abilities up to main roster snuff. But on his return in 2005, Henry would become one of the best big men that the organization had on its roster. This would culminate into two runs as the champion, once for ECW in 2008 and the other as the World Heavyweight Champion in 2011.

Everything about Henry screamed the monster heel gimmick that is loved in professional wrestling. Yes, he could do the comedy acts such as his “Sexual Chocolate” character, but his time putting people into the “Hall of Pain” produced some of Henry’s best work. The memorable moments of suplexing the Big Show off the top rope, standing on top of the steel cage on Raw, and the infamous “retirement” angle with John Cena are all highlights of the later run of Henry’s career. But not only was he producing in the ring, but he was helping the men and women charged to carry the torch after his time was done. As a talent recruiter, he’s now working with the next generation of WWE athletes.

“I’d been a huge fan of his for a long time and had met him a couple of times through my strongman endeavor over the years,” Braun Strowman said in a recent WWE article. “To have him approach me and offer me a tryout with WWE was a dream come true.”

WWE NXT prospect, Bianca Belair had a similar stance.

“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,” Belair said

. “Having him behind me pushes me to be the best I can be.”

That is what makes Henry’s run in the WWE so important. Henry was a competitor that many questioned whether or not he would transition to the squared circle. He struggled at first, but the end result was well more than a success. While Henry never received the huge push as the main WWE Champion, which would have made him the only African American to earn that title, he still deserves accolades for his contributions to the industry. In fact, those contributions will continue well after his official retirement.

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“Every time I see Apollo, Braun or Bianca, Baron Corbin and other people I’ve helped foster, I gush,” Henry said. “It gives a validation to my eye. I love it. There’s nothing like it.”