Mark Henry reacts to former WWE Intercontinental Champion seemingly retiring after crushing defeat

AEW backstage analyst Mark Henry has weighed in on Billy Gunn possibly bringing the curtain down on his in-ring career.

Last week on Collision, The Daddy A$$ left his boots in the middle of the ring on the back of his and The Acclaimed's crushing title loss to The House of Black. Billy Gunn ate Malakai Black's Black Mass finishing maneuver. In the aftermath, the Dutch star whispered something in his ear that instigated the WWE Hall of Famer to make a traditional sign of retirement.

Speaking on the Busted Open podcast, Mark Henry asserted that Gunn's emotions may have gotten the better of him:

"Billy is 58 years old. He don’t look 58, but there comes a time when you just can’t do it no more — not at the level that you feel like you should be at. Or the emotions may have gotten to him. I mean, he did lose. Did they lose because of him? Was there something where he felt like, ‘Sh**, if I was better, if I was younger,’ and then the emotion overwhelms you and you just make a knee-jerk reaction, maybe that’s it," Henry said.

Henry added that he had been in Billy's position before, where he felt like he had lost a step in the ring:

“We’ll find out, but I’ve been there before. It wasn’t about the losing. It was about how I saw the way I looked on screen. I’m like, ‘Damn. I lost a step.’ And when I see it, I know the fans see it. So that was it for me. I didn’t ever want to look like that again, and maybe [Billy] just saw himself slip.” [H/T - WrestlingInc]

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Mark Henry on if he'd come out of retirement in AEW

Mark Henry has yet to lace up his boots in All Elite Wrestling. He last wrestled at the Greatest Royal Rumble almost five years ago. The World Strongest Man has admitted that his in-ring days are over, but fans have been clamoring to see WWE Hall of Famer have one more match.

Henry recently revealed that he'd be open to the idea of a possible retirement match in AEW:

"You know what? I have to think about it, and I would have to start training and see how my body feels. I haven’t taken a bump in years. I’d be open to a conversation.”

Powerhouse Hobbs had previously expressed his desire to get in the ring with Mark Henry. It's no secret that a potential match against someone of Henry's stature would propel him to the main event spot and give him a much-needed rub.

What are your thoughts on Billy Gunn's possible retirement? Sound off in the comments section below.