10 Wrestlers Whose WWE Careers Were Derailed By John Cena
7. Mark Henry
One of WWE’s longest-serving employees, Mark Henry struggled his way to the top, but struck gold with 2011’s “Hall of Pain” gimmick. He finally pinned Randy Orton at Night of Champions, becoming World Heavyweight Champion for the first time in his 15-year WWE career, and would hold onto it for a credible three-month reign.
As had become the norm for him, injuries plagued Henry’s post-championship career, and after losing to Sheamus at Extreme Rules 2013, Henry teased his retirement. He appeared on the June 17th episode of Monday Night Raw, announcing his retirement in one of the most emotionally-impactful speeches in recent memory, but it was all a ruse.
Henry turned around, flattened John Cena with a World’s Strongest Slam, and challenged the then-WWE Champion for “the only title he’d never held”.
Things didn’t quite go to plan, though. Cena defeated Henry by submission, completely undoing all the momentum built from Henry’s retirement speech and subsequent feud, and effectively killing Mark Henry’s WWE relevancy.