Mark Henry Opens Up About Decision To Leave WWE

AEW’s Mark Henry has opened up about his decision to leave WWE, discussing his relationships with individuals backstage in the company.

Henry conducts a variety of roles under the AEW banner. Speaking on Talk is Jericho, Henry expressed his desire to become an executive, following his WWE tenure.

Explaining that he knew when his door had been closed, Henry said:

“I want to be an executive. I know enough about this business and every facet of it. There were people that were in jobs in talent development, people in jobs in talent relations, and people in jobs that were in corporate that I knew the business better than them, and I had a way of fostering relationships. That’s been the number one thing that I’ve been able to accomplish in my life more than anything else is I foster good relationships with people.

“People realize I’m not a screw up. I’m going to do stuff that is going to be well thought out and is going to benefit kids because that’s where my heart is. I want kids to have experiences. The WWE was not at a place where they wanted to hire me for that. I asked. I wrote it up.

“I spent months putting together a two year plan of events. I was like, ‘What else can I do?’ I called and said, ‘I’m going to start looking for work because I know what I can do well, and I don’t feel like I’m valued in that capacity.’

“When I got the no, it didn’t come from Vince or Brad Blum, it came from Johnny, who is an employee. It’s not his place to tell me no. If the dude has got delegated to somebody that is not their job to tell me, then it’s over. You have to know when the door has been closed.”

Wanting to bring community awareness to AEW, Henry noted:

“In September, we’re going to New York to Arthur Ashe Stadium. New York is in my stomping grounds. I have a place in Harlem. I love the community activism and involvement that we’re going to do in New York. It’s going to make people pay attention to AEW because the relationships that I talk about fostering are with big companies, Fortune 500 companies. I know guys that are running things.

“They are the movers and the shakers. When I was with WWE, I did stuff for them without getting paid to do it. I’m fostering these relationships like, ‘Oh yea, we’re coming here. You should bring your family and meet the guys.’ All of a sudden, there’s a relationship, a business relationship that got fostered.

“I never got an ‘atta boy’, ‘thanks for bringing them in’, or anything. That’s all I wanted. I just wanted to be respected and honored for what I brought to the table.”

Henry previously stated that he believes AEW needs to establish more relationships with the media and the wider community.

On the upcoming episode of Raw, Bobby Lashley will defend the WWE Championship against Randy Orton. This match was reportedly moved forward as a reaction to the impressive AEW Dynamite rating.

Transcription via WrestlingNews.co. 

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• executive
• Mark Henry
• AEW
• wwe

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