Mark Henry Reveals Why He Declined Vince McMahon’s Idea to Beat John Cena for WWE Title

A top name in wrestling, Hall of Famer Mark Henry, recently revealed that he refused to take the WWE Title off John Cena after Vince McMahon pitched the idea to him and explained why he made that decision.

This revelation has sparked considerable discussion, especially following AJ Styles’ homage to Henry’s iconic 2013 segment where he faked his in-ring retirement. In that segment, Henry attacked Cena, revealing the retirement announcement was just a ruse. Styles recreated this moment by attacking Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes on the May 31st episode of SmackDown.

On the latest episode of Busted Open, Henry shared that Vince McMahon wanted him to take the WWE title from John Cena following his famous ‘retirement’ promo on RAW. However, Henry declined due to the intense pain he was experiencing and his inability to cope with the demands of being the company’s top titleholder. He was well aware of the grueling schedule that came with being WWE Champion and knew he couldn’t physically handle the pressure.

”When my contract came up I actually told Vince ‘Man I’m not re-signing.’ And then he did ‘Come on into my office Mark, let me talk to you.’ He talked me into coming back and doing it. Guys don’t be mad at WWE because I lost to John Cena. The same way I didn’t want to beat Taker at WrestleMania, is the same way I did not want to carry the strap and the pressure of that and my body couldn’t take it. When you the main event guy, every night you gonna do promo, in-ring, have a main event style match and then you gotta go to the next time and you gotta be on every show, every brand. So I physically could not do it, it was not their fault. I was like ‘No, I’m not doing it.’

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Mark Henry is no longer part of AEW as he chose not to sign a new contract with the company. Regardless, Mark Henry decided it was the best decision for him not to defeat John Cena and that is all that matters.

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