Mark Henry Done With AEW
'World's Strongest Man' seemingly finishing up with AEW after three-year run.
Mark Henry appears to be on the verge of exiting All Elite Wrestling.
Per the 'World's Strongest Man' himself, Henry will leave AEW when his contract expires on Tuesday, 28 May. Henry called his time with the Tony Khan-helmed promotion a "great experience", expressing gratitude to the organisation and its ownership, all while confirming he won't be renewing his deal.
Said Henry on Busted Open Radio (h/t Fightful):
"My contract with AEW is set to expire tomorrow, the 28th. I wanted to address that matter. Tony Khan said at the press conference that he was very happy and proud of what we did together and I feel the exact same way. I appreciate everything that happened at AEW with Tony Khan and the Khan family. I had a great experience and I do feel like it's time for me to take more time to handle TheMarkHenry.com and the Remarkable brand and focus that attention on what my next steps are, and I'm not going to be renewing my deal."
Henry, who has been with AEW since May 2021, claimed the decision was "mutual." He stated too that his experience in the Jacksonville-based promotion was "nothing but positive", even if there were a few things that he didn't have a chance to finish:
"It's a mutual thing. If I can't dedicate 100 per cent of myself, then it's only fair for both parties to end the relationship on a positive note. Like I said, it's been nothing but positive. I've done my best to help as many people as I could. There are still some things that I wanted to help with that I didn't get to finish, but those people have my phone number and anytime that they need to call me, I'm available for them. I am not leaving pro wrestling. What I'm saying is that I'm going to take some time to work on some projects and I'm going to come back again in full force because that's what I do."
AEW brought Henry in at Double or Nothing 2021, with the former WWE star joining as a broadcaster, coach, and talent scout. He had originally served as a commentator on Rampage at the show's inception. Henry also worked as part of the Dark: Elevation commentary team for much of the YouTube series' run, though he left that position in August 2022.
Henry, 52, had joined AEW from WWE, where he is a Hall of Fame member and former World Heavyweight Champion. He has continued his media career throughout his AEW run, including his regular gig on Busted Open.
Fightful Select had reported on Henry's expiring contract on 20 May. During his pre-Double or Nothing 2024 media call, Tony Khan was complimentary towards Henry - whom he called a great wrestler, personality, and philanthropist - but didn't address the Fightful story directly when asked.
While Henry's backstage contributions are impossible to judge without being there, the veteran's diminished usage on AEW television means his impending departure sadly doesn't come as a surprise. Moving out of the Rampage booth and onto Dark: Elevation after just five shows, he hadn't been used in a regular commentary role in close to two years, though he was still used to let you know what it was time for the [Rampage] main event.
A WWE departee in 2021, Henry told Chris Van Vliet two years later that he'd left the market-leading promotion because they wouldn't give him an office job:
"But from a business standpoint, I wanted a position in the office because I didn't want to wrestle anymore, and they wouldn't hire me. I didn't have experience on the corporate side, or the business side, or the executive side, or however you want to phrase it... I was not given that opportunity."
WWE's current ownership, Endeavor, appears to be subtracting behind-the-scenes staff members rather than adding them currently. Nonetheless, Henry has presumably accumulated a degree of experience in AEW.