Mark Henry joined WWE in 1996 after representing the United States twice at the Olympic Games in weightlifting. According to former WWE wrestler Lou Marconi, Henry was not always pleasant to be around during his early days in the wrestling business.
Marconi is arguably best known for his appearances in WWE as an enhancement talent in the 1990s. He faced several high-profile names during that time, including Faarooq, Steve Austin, and Test.
On the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast, Marconi recalled how he was once looking at a match card backstage when Henry disrespected him:
"Mark Henry walked by me and threw his shoulder into me. I took a step back and I looked at him, I was like, 'F**k you.' He just stopped and he turned around. I said, 'Before you take another step, I know how to wrestle and you don't.' That's what I said to him. And he just kept walking." [26:56 – 27:13]
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Henry spent 25 years in WWE before leaving the company in 2021. The former World Heavyweight Champion now works for AEW as a behind-the-scenes coach.
Backstage reaction to the Mark Henry incident
Lou Marconi would have had no problem with a friend jokingly pushing him. However, he felt as though Mark Henry looked down on him simply because he was booked to lose matches.
The 50-year-old added that the moment with Henry might have earned him respect backstage:
"Some other people saw it," Marconi continued. "I'm like, '[Can you] believe that motherf****r?' They were kinda like, 'Hey, I stood up for myself.' That was me standing up for myself. Nobody said a word to me after that, like, 'Yeah, okay, he stood up for himself, that was it, and he wasn't gonna take his s**t.'" [27:15 – 27:32]
In the same interview, Marconi explained why Stone Cold Steve Austin was forced to apologize to him after their match.
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Please credit the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.