Samantha Irvin and current WWE champions pay tribute to legend following AEW exit

Samantha Irvin and two current champions in WWE have paid tribute to a legend following his recent departure from All Elite Wrestling. The Stamford-based promotion is getting set for Clash at the Castle tomorrow night in Glasgow, Scotland.

Mark Henry wrapped up his tenure in All Elite Wrestling last month. The legend has been credited with helping to discover Bianca Belair, ring announcer Samantha Irvin, and Jade Cargill.

Irvin took to social media today to pay tribute to the WWE Hall of Famer. She shared a photo with Women's Tag Team Champions Belair and Cargill and nicknamed the trio, "Mark Henry's Angels" as seen in her post below.

Samantha Irvin is engaged to RAW star Ricochet in real life. The former Intercontinental Champion was brutally attacked by Bron Breakker this past Monday night.

Breakker hit a Powerslam on the 35-year-old through the windscreen of a car in the parking lot, and the veteran had to be carried away in an ambulance. Samantha Irvin got in the ambulance as well and exited the arena with her fiancé.

---

Samantha Irvin credits WWE legend Mark Henry for discovering her

WWE star Samantha Irvin has recently praised Mark Henry for helping her along in her career.

Speaking on Chris Van Vliet's Insight podcast last year, Irvin credited the 53-year-old for discovering her back in the day. She noted that her journey with the promotion started during the pandemic due to a chance interaction with Mark Henry on the social media platform, X (formerly known as Twitter).

Chris Van Vliet noted that Mark Henry had found so much talent over the years and that it was unbelievable. Samantha Irvin agreed and shared some more details about her conversations with the former champion who encouraged her to join the wrestling business.

"Yes, he just started tweeting me and was like, 'You should be in wrestling. Have you ever thought of WWE? WWE is calling.' And I was like, I slid in his DMs. I said sir, yes, what can I do? He said you'd have to do like a tryout, like a real physical tryout. That is what he was able to do and I was like, I'm not an athlete, I've never stepped foot in a ring, never played a sport, nothing. But I was like, if that is what I have to do, I'll go there and do it," said Irvin. [From 00:22 - 00:54]

You can check out her comments in the video below:

Ricochet's contract reportedly expires next month. Only time will tell if the RAW star will return to the promotion or find an opportunity elsewhere in the months ahead.