Mark Henry Clears the Air on Allegations of Being ‘Mad and Bitter’ About AEW Run

Mark Henry’s debut at the AEW Double Or Nothing pay-per-view in 2021 made fans excited for what he could accomplish in the company, but they were ultimately disappointed. Henry eventually left AEW as well and he has now addressed allegations that he was angry and bitter about his AEW run.

The World’s Strongest Man previously confirmed he would not be re-signing with Tony Khan’s company and since then, he made a shocking appearance at MLW’s Battle Riot VI event and then on the August 12th edition of Monday Night RAW.

While speaking with Donnie DaSilva and Jimmy Korderas on their Huge Pop podcast, Mark Henry talked about his experience with AEW from 2021 to 2024 and addressed allegations about being ‘mad and bitter’ regarding his time with the company.

Henry began by reflecting on his role in AEW, noting that he felt his position was more about gaining name recognition and visibility rather than actively contributing to creative processes. Henry felt he lacked the tools to influence AEW’s direction and expressed frustration about not being able to make a significant impact, comparing it to a situation where if he were in charge, employees would be expected to follow his directives without resistance.

“Tightening the screws requires you to be able to break your tool kit out. No (AEW did not give me a screwdriver to work with). So, there was a point where I realized that I wasn’t there to tighten the screws. I was there for name recognition and visibility, and that’s a horrible place to feel if you’re a creative and there’s people that do a good job that I like, they’re thinking and their thought processes. But even them, they don’t get to do all the things that they wanna do. Because it’s not their action figures being played with. So you have to do what you’re told. If I own a company, you best believe you better do what I ask you to do or you won’t work for me. So I get it. Go and get your check and go home. Do what you’re asked to do, handle your creative and you make a suggestion, don’t get the boo-boo face when you get told no.”

Henry compared AEW’s structure to WWE under Triple H. He pointed out that Triple H, while in charge, often relies on input from others and adapts suggestions if they prove effective. This contrasts with Tony Khan’s approach at AEW, where final decisions rest solely with him. Henry noted that while suggestions are welcomed, they are not always implemented if they do not align with Khan’s vision.

Henry also criticized the timing and pressure of AEW’s production process. He preferred having rehearsals earlier in the day rather than dealing with last-minute changes, which he believed could negatively impact performance. He noted that some people do not perform well under pressure, which can affect the overall quality of shows.

Regarding AEW’s ratings, Henry attributed the decline to some talent mentally checking out and not caring about their roles, leading to a lack of genuine competition in matches. He cited the competitive nature of past matches involving CM Punk, MJF, and Cody Rhodes as examples of effective competition that seemed to be missing from current programming.

”Nah, that’s what you said (Henry responded when the co-host said Henry was insinuating there’s a maturity issue in AEW). Yeah, you’re wrong because it’s Tony’s company and Tony gets to do whatever he wants to do… You can make all the suggestions in the world. But if he don’t wanna do that, he’s not gonna do that. The same thing with Triple H running WWE. He’s the boss. But the difference is Triple H leans on the fact that he has brilliant minds around him and he’ll go, you know what? I think it would go better this way but we gonna do it your way to see, and when it works, ‘Aye man, good job. That was a good call. That’s a good call.’ When he messes up, ‘Uh, we should’ve did it my way,’ or, ‘I’m gonna let somebody else get a shot next time, at making a call.’ You’re still handing the pie different directions. You gotta do things on a timely manner too. I like rehearsal at noon, 1 o’clock. I don’t want to be under the gun at 3 o’clock, 4 o’clock to put a show together. Because now people are pressing and they’re, ‘Ah.’ Some people, they don’t thrive well under pressure. So, there’s a lot of things that can be fixed. But you look at the ratings, that’s not good, and that’s a byproduct of the fact that there’s some people that have already mentally checked out. They took their ball and they went home.

They surrendered. ‘Hey, whatever you wanna do. Ah, I don’t care,’ and when you get the, ‘I don’t care. I’ll do whatever you tell me to do,’ it’s not good. You can’t win. Now, there’s no contest. Pro wrestling is based on the fact that it’s art imitating life. We’re imitating competition. We’re putting on a show. But we want you to feel a competition is going on. Tell me when the last time you saw competition. I’ll tell you. The last time you saw a competition was CM Punk and MJF, and before that, it was Cody Rhodes and Dustin (Rhodes), brother versus brother. Those were the competition. The competitive nature in the matches, and you can name two or three matches that are in that vein. But, they don’t stand above those two matches, and you have the people that were in those matches, and I don’t know. I don’t wanna come across — I’m not whining and I’m not complaining. I’m stating the facts. If people wasn’t worried about losing they jobs, or getting fired or not getting paid, they would be like, yeah, you right.”

Henry defended his decision to join AEW, stating that he joined to gain executive experience and help the company grow and dismissed claims that he was bitter about his time in AEW. He claimed to have consistently tried to assist and improve the talent, receiving positive feedback for his efforts. He acknowledged that while there were some issues with discipline during his tenure, he felt that AEW’s current approach to discipline was lacking compared to when he was there.

”But right now, everybody gonna be like, nah, Mark Henry just mad and bitter. I’m not mad and bitter. I took a pay cut to go work at AEW. Don’t get it twisted. I went there because I wanted to get experience being an executive and I wanted to help that company flourish and help those people that were over there be better than they were and you ask the talent, did Mark Henry try to help you? Hell yes. All the time. He would come and tell me this and I would try it and they would come and, ‘Man! That was good! Thank you.’ That’s what I was working for. I was working for those high fives from guys and girls coming back and then there’s some bad apples and the bad apples have to be disciplined. Oh, they’re disciplining people now. But nobody wasn’t getting suspended or disciplined when I was there. I don’t remember.” 

Mark Henry also confirmed that AEW had no plans for him to wrestle in the company. Nevertheless, The World’s Strongest Man will have mixed feelings about his time in AEW as he simply wanted to help the company grow, more than anything else.

Do you believe Mark Henry deserved better in AEW? Let us know in the comments section below!