Mark Henry Says Final Match Will "Definitely" Happen In AEW
AEW's Mark Henry appeared on the Battleground Podcast to talk about his new role in AEW, as well as his potential in ring return. Henry confirmed, as he has before, that he will wrestle one more match in AEW. He also said, however, to not expect that match in the near distant future.
"It's definitely going to happen in AEW," Henry said. "It's not going to be any time soon I think. I want to be 100%. I'm still nursing injuries from four years ago. Wrestling business is a tough business, it's not for everybody. Being in my home state it would be cool to be able to do that, just not at this current time."
Currently Henry is preparing for his role as an analyst for AEW's upcoming Friday night show Rampage. He talked about wanting to compete at the highest level in the role with commentators both in AEW and WWE.
"That's what I've been doing lately," Henry said. "I'll be on a new show called Rampage on AEW and we're going to be on Friday. I want to be the best commentator there is. I want to compete with Jim Ross, I want to compete with Michael Cole, I want to compete with Pat McAfee. And we're going to have a good time doing it. I think the fans are going to come away from it seeing Mark Henry a little differently."
In addition to an in ring return and his announcing duties, Henry is also working as a coach and talent scout within AEW. When asked what he looks for when scouting talent, Henry brought up two factors.
"I want people that love pro wrestling," Henry said. "I mean that just live and die by it. Seventeen hours of wrestling a week is not enough for me. I'm on the air up to seven hours a week talking about wrestling. I talk wrestling with my kids. Wrestling is my life. I want somebody like that first. Second I want people that walk in the room and people are like 'oh my god, who is that? I don't know who they are but wow. Oh man they're holding court. Let me walk over there and hear what they're saying.' I want people who dominate the room when they walk in. Those people are easy to train to be pro wrestlers."
Henry also talked about AEW's string of hot shows recently and why fans are showing up. In promoting the July 21 show in Garland, Texas, Henry said that going to Dynamite was a chance to be part of something that's growing, while also getting the entertainment fans are looking for.
"If you come to Garland, I promise you you will get your money's worth," Henry said. "These AEW shows, they're not selling out for no reason. They're selling out because people know they're getting quality entertainment, that they're going to be part of something that could be the number one company in the world one day. Don't you want to be a part of something that grows? Don't you want to be part of something that has fire and flame to it? AEW is where it's at."
Later Henry was asked about AEW potentially doing something similar to WrestleMania week for one of their big shows. Henry not only said AEW was looking to do that, he confirmed that it's already in the plans for All Out weekend.
"That is definitely going to happen. It's already in the works," Henry said. "We will be in Chicago September 1 through the 5th. And that's going to be our, quote unquote, WrestleMania week. There's going to be softball games against people in the community, fan-fest, autograph signings, wrestlers doing every podcast you can imagine. There'll be some symposiums with talent, as well as myself trying to break down why we do what we do and when we're going to do it. And then you get a big blowout show on September 5."
You can watch the full interview below.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Battleground Podcast and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription