Mark Henry talks about his WWE debut, recent storylines and MVP

“The World Strongest Man” touched on a number of topics, ranging from his debut, to recent storylines, and a road trip story involving former WWE superstar MVP. Here are highlights from Henry’s interview, where he was still selling the injury angle from Brock Lesnar.

His WWE debut in Philly against Jerry Lawler:

It was probably the most scared I’d ever been. I didn’t really understand that world as a performer, only as a fan. At one point, I remember throwing Jerry Lawler so hard that he didn’t touch either rope. He just went straight through and hit the barricade. I was too new and green to realize the pressure.

Who he learned from coming up in the industry:

I grew up learning from guys like Ron Simmons and Owen Hart. They were like mentors to me, so I was able to embrace what they taught me and I think I did alright.

His injuries, including the time when the rope broke in developmental:

I tried to do stuff I shouldn’t be doing and that was one of the reasons I got hurt. I tore my quad and that was brutal. I was lucky I held onto the rope. If I hadn’t held the rope, I probably would have taken a backwards fall and lawn darted myself. That would have been the worst thing that could have happened. The first thing they teach you is to grab that top rope, when you hit them. It’ll save your life, it saved mine. I went through four months of pain.

Which WWE Superstars are the strongest:

Antonio Cesaro is beyond naturally strong. He trains hard, but he’s got that strength you don’t expect him to have. But above him it would have to be [John] Cena, Brock [Lesnar], Big E [Langston], Ryback. The true measure of strength is through a squat and deadlift. Cena and Big E are well above everyone else.

The John Cena “retirement” promo and his thought process behind it and how did he bring himself to tears:

I’m a performer at heart and want to have the best performance. You just find a place in your mind where there’s a trigger and you can go from being happy to emotional in a heartbeat if you’re there and I was mentally there.

I had so many people call about that. Arsenio Hall, Big Show and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin [reached out].

What did Stone Cold Steve Austin say about it?

Austin said he smelled a rat. I was like, ‘If you smelled a rat, it’s in your house.’ Nobody saw that coming. He was like, ‘I’ve been around too long kid. I could smell a rat in a woodpile.’

Watch the video -