Mark Henry, the World’s Strongest Man, is WWE’s latest inductee into the 2018 Hall of Fame class. On Monday, WWE.com officially announced the veteran pro wrestler, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and former world champion — who spent his entire wrestling career with WWE — would enter the Hall of Fame, likely finishing up this year’s class of inductees.
But the beans were spilled prematurely over the weekend, after someone got hold of an early copy of this year’s WrestleMania magazine, per Wrestling Inc.
Back in July, Henry acknowledged that his 21-year WWE career was coming to an end, and he would transition from an active wrestler into a behind-the-scenes role.
If you’re not familiar with Henry’s long and winding road to the Hall of Fame, he started by dominating the powerlifting scene, winning competitions in the United States. In 1996, he became the largest athlete ever to compete in the Olympics, and rode a wave of intense publicity heading into the games. Unfortunately, he suffered a back injury right before the Olympics began and finished in 14th place. He never ended up competing in another Olympics, largely because he was snapped up by WWE on a then-unheard-of 10-year contract.
Henry turned his attention to the WWE, although he would return to strongman competitions much later.. Henry joined the Nation of Domination months after joining the company, becoming the muscle for The Rock’s up-and-coming faction. He may be best remembered by Attitude Era fans for the “Sexual Chocolate” sex addict character, which included a relationship with Mae Young, the birth of a hand, and other … memorable moments.
But he will likely be most beloved and remembered by hardcore fans for two other high points later in his career. The first would be finally capturing the World Heavyweight Championship during his spectacular “Hall of Pain” stint, and the second would be his salmon suit fake retirement in 2013, arguably one of the best moments in recent WWE history.
Congratulations, Mark Henry, and all other members of the Hall of Fame, take precautions against getting your wigs split.
