5 WWE retirements that were real and 5 that were part of a storyline

#4 Storyline: Mark Henry deceives the entire WWE Universe

Considered as one of the most unexpected moments in recent WWE history, Mark Henry's fake retirement segment had us all convinced that the World's Strongest Man was saying goodbye to the WWE Universe.

The segment happened in June 2013, before the Money in the Bank PPV. Mark Henry teased his retirement on social media earlier and came down to the ring that day in the now-infamous salmon suit, with an expression of gratitude on his face.

He went on to give an amazing speech on his career with WWE, thanking fans, and even broke down into tears. John Cena, who came out to the ring to congratulate him also played his role amazingly well and the two convinced everyone watching around the world that this was it for Mark Henry. The World's Strongest Man ended his speech by addressing hir daughter and saying "baby I'm coming home". The arena echoed with fans chanting his name and thanking him and the segment looked to end with him embracing the love and support of the WWE Universe.

For Black History Month, what is your favorite promo from a Black performer?I have to go with Mark Henry's "retirement" speech here. Forget the WWE Championship. Man should've won an Oscar for this performance. pic.twitter.com/L5SoYZbFUu

— Daily DDT (@FanSidedDDT) February 16, 2020

But then came the huge shocker as Henry went on to hug John Cena but instead put him down with a World's Strongest Slam, revealing the entire retirement angle to be a storyline. He went on to challenge Cena for the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank but was unsuccessful in winning it. Go ahead, watch the video, and see for yourself how Mark Henry trolled everyone that night!

Rey Mysterio has some stiff competition for fake retirement segment because Mark Henry set the bar fairly high in 2013. #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/R7zq3GlKQI

— Captain Ferg (@CaptainFerg) May 26, 2020