How Mark Henry reacted to AJ Styles' fake WWE retirement speech (Exclusive)

Modified Jul 08, 2024 15:31 GMT

AJ Styles and Cody Rhodes (left); Mark Henry (right) [Image Credit: wwe.com]

Mark Henry famously pretended to retire on the June 17, 2013, episode of WWE RAW before attacking John Cena. In an exclusive interview, The World's Strongest Man provided his take on AJ Styles recently pulling the same trick on Cody Rhodes.

On the May 31, 2024, episode of SmackDown, Styles gave an emotional speech about his career before claiming he is retiring. The Phenomenal One then assaulted Rhodes to set up an Undisputed WWE Championship match at Clash at the Castle.

Speaking to Sportskeeda Wrestling Senior Editor Bill Apter, Henry made it clear he enjoyed how Styles paid tribute to his iconic fake retirement:

"I tell you what, watching it live, I was like, 'Wait a minute, I see what's going on,' and I was very proud that they did it like that and how it happened and the posturing and everything." [9:47 – 10:08]

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Watch the video above to hear Henry's opinion on whether the segment should have been used to turn Rhodes heel.

Why Mark Henry liked AJ Styles' retirement speech

The SmackDown segment reminded Mark Henry of spoof comedy movies such as Airplane!, The Naked Gun, and Police Academy.

The WWE Hall of Famer was also pleased to see how his initial response to AJ Styles' speech gained a lot of traction online:

"Those movies, they make you laugh and they also make you think, 'Wow, they paid a lot of attention and they respected what came before them enough to plagiarize it a little, but also to give it new life,' and I thought that they gave it new life more than anything. I was very proud of them and it got a lot of attention. I made a simple comment, 'Good job, AJ,' and it got a million views," Henry continued. [10:40 – 11:19]

Cody Rhodes went on to defeat Styles in an "I Quit" Match at Clash at the Castle on June 15. The 28-minute bout kicked off the show and ended with the handcuffed Styles quitting after Rhodes threatened to hit him with the steel steps.

What did you make of the AJ Styles-Cody Rhodes segment? Hit the discuss button and let us know.

Find out more information about Mark Henry's Be ReMarkable Brand and the Strong Kids program via themarkhenry.com.

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