'World's strongest man' Mark Henry talks about his retirement fiasco, his WWE career, and more

Mark Henry

WWE superstar and former World Heavyweight champion Mark Henry talks about his fake retirement speech, taking a pay cut, and his WWE career in this recent interview.

His fake retirement speech:

“Well, I mean, I’m a constant entertainer. It’s something that I thought of four years ago, five years ago when I signed my contract. ‘At the end of this contract, I’m going to retire, and I’m going to have everybody ready for me to retire, and then I’ll get ‘em just the way I want to.’ It’s funny, [this] five-year plan. The only thing that can come to mind is Hannibal in The A-Team: “I love it when a plan comes together.”

Taking a pay cut when he re-signed with WWE:

“I took a 50 percent pay cut when I signed that last deal five years ago because I was looked at as being a middle-of-the-road performer. During that time, John Cena made millions, and that’s what I want. I mean, Money in the Bank is not just the name of the pay-per-view, it’s a chance for me to get my will to where I want it so when the time does come for me to officially retire, I won’t have to worry about nothing.”

His WWE career:

“Everybody that’s had the road be smooth and perfect with a steady incline, I’d like to meet ‘em. I don’t think it’s ever been done. There’s highs and lows in life, and there’s highs and lows in sports entertainment. It’s a credit to me that I’ve been around 17 years, so I’ve had a long time to have highs and lows. Obviously, I’ve done something right.”