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WWE HOF Recalls Telling Vince McMahon About His Plan to Beat WWE Ratings by Joining AEW: ‘Kick Your A**’
WWE Hall of Famer recalls challenging Vince McMahon that WWE would lose to AEW in ratings once he joins the Tony Khan-owned company.
Say what you will about Vince McMahon, but WWE would not be the global juggernaut it is today if it wasn’t for him. After acquiring the company from his father, McMahon started eliminating the Stanford-based promotion’s threats.
WWE faced stiff competition from other wrestling promotions like WCW and TNA, but McMahon's promotion consistently prevailed. At present, WWE’s biggest rival is the Jacksonville-based company, AEW.
The Tony Khan-owned company has been home to many ex-WWE stars and wrestling legends. WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry recently recounted challenging Vince McMahon to help raise AEW's rating so that it defeats WWE while he was jumping ship in 2021.
Mark Henry throws a bold challenge at Vince McMahon
After retiring from in-ring competition in 2018, Mark Henry didn’t seem very happy in WWE, as he wasn’t given an executive role. The former World Champion then decided to move to Tony Khan’s All Elite Wrestling. However, before he joined AEW, he told then-WWE chairman Vince McMahon about his plans to help AEW surpass WWE in ratings. Off-topic, Vince McMahon once beat Mark Henry at his own game.
While speaking on a recent edition of the Busted Open podcast, Mark Henry stated that the conversation he had with McMahon exemplified a valuable lesson for people to understand the evolving nature of relationships in business.
He stated on the Busted Open podcast: “I told Vince, I said, ‘Hey, man, I’m gonna over there and try to make that place better, and kick your ass in the ratings.’ (laughs) And Vince is like, ‘I know you are.’ And it wasn’t like there was an argument or fussing or fighting. We ended on good terms, and I thought that was a lesson that a lot of people need to learn. Everything has seasons.”
Ultimately, Henry made his AEW debut in 2021. The WWE Hall of Famer joined AEW as a coach and commentator. However, his stint at AEW didn’t have a major impact, leading to his exit in 2024.
After recently parting ways with AEW, Mark Henry revealed that he decided against extending his deal due to not being able to commit fully to the promotion. Despite having had a pleasant experience at AEW, Henry is currently more focused on achieving personal endeavors before making a comeback in a wrestling promotion.
Also Read: Mark Henry Reveals Why He Turned Down Vince McMahon’s Pitch to Beat John Cena for the WWE Title
Nonetheless, Mark Henry’s career is currently being remembered prominently due to the recently released A&E documentary about his life and career in WWE.
Does Mark Henry intend to return to WWE?
Later, during the same edition of the Busted Open podcast, Bully Ray asked Mark Henry if he intended to join WWE again, given that the company had released a documentary on his life and career.
Henry stated that he is open to making his comeback to WWE. Moreover, he also revealed that he had many questions for the producers of his documentary, as they missed adding a few more stories in the final cut, which Henry thought would be included.
Anyway, it will be interesting to see Mark Henry return to WWE in a backstage role in the future.
