Mark Henry is flying with All Elite Wrestling now.
Mark Henry was a guest on Sports Guys Talking Wrestling and went into detail about his WWE departure and new role with All Elite Wrestling. In regards to Vince McMahon’s reaction to him signing with AEW, Henry said he was understanding of the situation and proud of him for making a tough call as he did.
“I’ve been with WWE for a very long time, for 25 years and there were multiple reactions. The reaction of Vince, when I told him was ‘man, I’d hate to lose you, I don’t wanna lose you but I know you’re gonna be great over there. You’ve done so much and I don’t ever wanna feel like I’m holding you back.’ and I said that I’d like to have done it there but I’ve already made up my mind to leave now and he was like ‘brother, go for it, man, you can do it.’ He was proud of me for making the move and having the balls to say you know what, I’m gonna bet on myself because I’ve never had a safety net in my life. Every step that I’ve ever taken has been on the high wire. It was either fly or fail and I’ve had a lot of success. I’ve flown many, many times,” Henry said, “now I’m gonna be flying for AEW.”
Henry described his role in AEW as being a “Swiss Army knife” and that he plans on scouting and helping AEW find their way in the business since they’re still only two years into their existence.
“I’m playing the Swiss army knife role and that’s one of the things I’m gonna be doing (scouting indy talent). I’m gonna be the sounding board for creative and sitting in, talking to Tony and figure out what’s gonna work and what’s not gonna work and what’s worth a try. It’s a lot that’s going on, community involvement and that’s something that’s foreign to them. They’re pretty much a new company finding their way,” Henry said. “They’ve found a way to get young people and I’m gonna find a way for them to get the old people too.”
On Tuesday, AEW confirmed Henry signed a multi-year contract that will see him serve as a member of both the broadcast and talent development teams. Although he was only announced as having an on-air role, Henry was asked if he’d ever wrestle in AEW.
“Definitely. If I’m going to do a match, I’m gonna do a match with AEW,” Henry stated. “Whether it’s the first one, the second one or however many I got left in me, definitely I’m gonna be there.”
Henry will make his first official appearance as a member of the AEW roster this week on a special Friday edition of Dynamite.
