Mark Henry Talks Going From A Fan To WWE Superstar, Discovering Bianca Belair

WWE Hall of Famer and "The World's Strongest Man", Mark Henry, recently spoke with Wrestling Inc.'s own Nick Hausman about his journey through the world of professional wrestling. As Henry looked back on the exposition of his career, he mentioned how inexperienced he was prior to making his TV wrestling debut.

"It was pretty easy for me to react but I had no clue what the hell I was doing in [the ring]," Henry explained. "I was so dangerous, man. I was a bag of hammer and pliers. You'd get hurt."

Mark revealed that he had absolutely zero experience as a professional wrestler when Vince McMahon and his team started seeking him out in 1996.

"I had no experience whatsoever; I was just a fan, and Vince McMahon saw me mention that I was a fan and they came after me," Henry said. "I'm really glad they did."

Mark believes that athletes that want to succeed in pro wrestling, like himself, need to have an aura that can be rare to find. He used Bianca Belair as an example, and explained how he came to discover her talents after her time competing in CrossFit.

"It's more wrestlers have to be extroverts – you have to transcend whatever sport you're in," Henry noted. "Like Bianca Belair, I saw her in CrossFit. She wore bright colors, and tutus, and bows, and when she talked, she spoke with eloquence and excitement. And that's what a wrestler is. If you see those people and they're unbelievably athletic, it's tailor-made. Go get them. Say, 'Hey, you need to make the transition.'"

Belair was interviewed earlier this year by The Miami Herald, and during the interview, she explained what the transition was like going from organized sports to the squared circle.

"Growing up I played almost every sport in the book. I was in track, basketball, soccer, cheerleading, and CrossFit," Belair said. "Even though I feel like I have a great background that grounds me, I'm able to pick up all things very quickly. I'm coachable, but with that being said, wrestling is nothing like anything I've ever done before. It's a skill in its own. It's an art. It's a craft... I'm just so grateful to be surrounded by amazing coaches, amazing facility, and everything is provided for us. It basically just sets us up for success. It's been a great experience being here in NXT."

Henry's full interview with Wrestling Inc aired as part of a recent episode of our WINCLY podcast. It can be heard via the embedded audio player at the bottom of this post, or via the video player at the top of the post.

You can check out past episodes of the WINCLY here. Subscribe to Wrestling Inc. Audio on iTunes or Google Play. Listen to the show via Spotify here or through TuneIn here.