The 2018 WWE Hall of Fame Class is complete, and they may have saved the best for last. Long time veteran Mark Henry was announced last week as the latest entrant this year’s class. With over 20 years in the game all for the WWF/E the World’s Strongest Man is definitely deserving of this honor.
Mark Henry’s accomplishments as a powerlifter are in a class of their own. He competed and Olympic games in 1992 and 1996. Henry is the 1995 WDFPF World Champion and also won Gold, Silver and Bronze medals at the 1995 Pan Am Games. In the world of professional wrestling there are a lot of gimmicks but for Mark the World’s Strongest Man is the real thing. He has some of the biggest lifts on record in drug tested competitions.
In 1996 he brought all that power to world of sports entertainment. Henry was signed to big contract as it was the heat of the Monday Night Wars. Henry made his debut on PPV against Jerry “The King” Lawler. Still green in the business Henry had a lot of ups and downs in first few years having to learn the pro wrestling craft on the biggest stage possible.
In career with hit and miss gimmicks, combined with major injuries Henry has survived the grind of the WWE. The early part of Mark’s career was defined his time in The Nation of Domination. Rolling D-Low Brown, The Godfather and The Rock, he received major notoriety. From there he moved on to the weird yet widely popular Sexual Chocolate gimmick. In 2000 he was sent down to OVW to get trained and in better conditioning. Henry was trained backwards starting on PPV and then learning the craft.
Henry’s career really begins to take off around 2004. He began to focus on being the World Champion and found himself in various feuds chasing the World Heavyweight Championship on the SmackDown Brand. The World’s Strongest Man found himself in conflicts with The Undertaker and Kurt Angle during this time. In 2008 Henry got his first taste of major gold winning the ECW Title. He won the belt in triple threat match that featured The Big Show and Kane.
While in ECW, Henry got the opportunity to learn under the legendary Tony Atlas. The biggest breakthrough of the Strong Man’s career came in 2011 when he defeated Randy Orton at Night of Champions to become the World Heavyweight Champion. Mark Henry was a dangerous man with the big gold belt. Henry also put a lot stars on the shelf over the next few years. His dominating style and strength started to become too much for opponents and Henry dubbed his “Hall of Pain”. Long gone was the smiling friendly days of Sexual Chocolate.
The World’s Strongest Man now spends most of his time backstage working as a producer. He also is an incredible ambassador for the WWE and wrestling business. In 2012 he was inducted in the International Sports Hall of Fame. He will now take his place with sports entertainment royalty.
Written By
Keith B. Holt
Follow on Twitter Keith’s Twitter
Share this:
