Undertaker Applauds Mark Henry’s Pretend Retirement as ‘One of the Greatest In-Ring Promos Ever’

Mark Henry has made headlines recently due to the expiration of his AEW contract and a notable promo by AJ Styles, which echoed Henry’s memorable 2013 faux retirement speech that culminated in his surprise attack on John Cena.

During the “Six Feet Under” podcast, The Undertaker extolled Henry’s performance as one of the best in-ring promos ever delivered.

“It was one of the greatest in-ring promos ever,” The Undertaker remarked about Henry’s fake retirement, noting, “It was real but it was a swerve.”

During the podcast, The Undertaker also discussed the challenges of transitioning away from professional wrestling compared to other sports:

“It’s hard to say — whatever you do on those levels, you have passion and when that passion for something is gone, it’s gone. I think the one thing that wrestling unfortunately offers is a lesser version. I had my run with WWE and it gets to a point where I can’t perform at the level of WWE but I can go to Pikeville, Kentucky for some independent small time promotion and I can be the big fish in a very small barrel kind of thing and you end up going years and years living off of the equity that you built up where I don’t think in other major sports — there’s only the NFL. There’s only Major League Baseball. There’s only the NBA. There’s no track down where wrestling gives you a chance to still be something, just at a lesser version of it.“

“It’s good for some guys because wrestlers are notorious for not saving their money or used to be. It’s much better now…there’s programs now in place trying to teach guys how to do with their money so that they don’t end up at the end of their career and then figure out okay now I’m gonna have to go to some small armory and sell my 8×10’s. You end up doing things like — look at the movie, The Wrestler. That’s a prime example. That’s a prime example of somebody who was at the top and kind of worked his way back down and just didn’t know when to say when.”

Nate Boyer, a U.S. Army Green Beret, concurred with The Undertaker on the unique difficulties wrestlers face when transitioning out of the sport, given the personas they’ve developed. The Undertaker humorously remarked on his own gradual transition to a new public identity:

“We’re slowly conditioning them to the new version of The Undertaker. The Mark Calaway version of The Undertaker. It’s a slow process of trying to condition. They’re kind of starting to figure it out like the old hat and coat is gone and this is where we’re at now.”

The “Six Feet Under” podcast highlights the unique challenges that professional wrestlers face as they retire and move on from their careers in the ring. Through discussions with The Undertaker and guests like Nate Boyer, the podcast offers insights into the emotional and professional adjustments required after wrestling.

How do you feel about the challenges wrestlers like Mark Henry face when transitioning out of their in-ring careers, and what can the wrestling industry do to better support them during this phase? Share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below!