Mark Henry explains why he had doubts about Jade Cargill at first (Exclusive)

Mark Henry played an important role in the early stages of Jade Cargill's wrestling career. In an exclusive interview, the WWE Hall of Famer revealed why he once had reservations about her passion for the industry.

Cargill had a background in basketball, modeling, and psychology before deciding to become a wrestler in 2018. Unsure where to begin, the 32-year-old contacted Henry through a mutual friend to ask for his advice.

Henry has helped several wrestlers into the business, including Bianca Belair and Braun Strowman. Speaking to Sportskeeda Wrestling Senior Editor Bill Apter, The World's Strongest Man recalled how he did not know if Cargill was serious about wrestling:

"Jade is driven," Henry said. "She wanted to be somebody. She chose wrestling. Wrestling didn't choose her. She liked wrestling and she said, 'Everybody keeps telling me that you know how to get people in.' And I said, 'Yeah, if they're serious.' I was like, 'You're a pretty girl. I don't wanna invest a lot of time in you and you quit because you broke a nail.' She said, 'Oh, you got the wrong impression of me. I'm way tougher than that. If I say I wanna do something, I'm gonna stick it out.'" [0:46 – 1:26]

Henry told Jade Cargill to learn from veteran wrestling trainer Rip Rogers at Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). Many legendary in-ring competitors learned from Rogers before becoming big stars, including Batista, Brock Lesnar, John Cena, and Randy Orton.

"I said, 'Okay, well, my opinion would be for you to go to Louisville to Ohio Valley Wrestling or go and find Rip Rogers and have some training and then see how it is and how you like it, and then call me back.' And she said, 'Well, can you connect me?' and I was like, 'Yeah,' so I connected her with Rip Rogers and she went and did some training sessions with Rip and paid for them with her own money and invested in herself," Henry continued. [1:27 – 2:05]

Watch the video above to hear more from Henry about Cargill's WWE tag team partnership with Bianca Belair.

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Mark Henry reveals Rip Rogers' feedback about Jade Cargill

Between 2020 and 2023, Jade Cargill made her name as one of the biggest rising stars in AEW. After her contract expired, the former AEW TBS Champion signed a multi-year deal with WWE.

Mark Henry added that Rip Rogers tipped Cargill for major stardom years before she began turning heads in the wrestling business:

"Rip called me and said, 'Man, where did you find this?' and I was like, 'What do you mean?' He said, 'Man, I hit her as hard as I could hit a girl and she told me, that's all you got?' And I said, 'Well, s**t, all right.' He said, 'A year from now, she could be one of the best in the business,' and I was like, 'Come on, Rip, you ain't say that about me.' He said, 'Because you're a fat [expletive].' He's a piece of trash! I wanna beat him up! I love him too much to beat him up." [2:09 – 2:48]

Jade Cargill has been involved in a tag team storyline over the last few weeks. On August 2, she will team up with Bianca Belair to challenge Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship on SmackDown.

What have you made of Jade Cargill's wrestling career so far? Hit the discuss button and let us know.

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

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