Mark Henry: Only Half Of WWE's Black Wrestlers Approve OF Hulk Hogan Return
"I’ve talked to guys that were like, ‘the hell with him.’"
Mark Henry recently spoke with TMZ about Hulk Hogan's WWE reprieve, and revealed that not all of his colleagues were entirely on board with the move:
No, no, it's 50/50. I've talked to guys that were like, "the hell with him." And then I had guys that were like, "if [Hogan] is willing to make a change, and try to help out [...] and be part of the answer rather than part of the problem, then it's all good.
The Hulkster has been allowed back following a three year exile from the company, after a private video leaked in which he was recorded spouting racist slurs. For his part, WWE Hall of Famer Henry welcomed Hogan's return, believing his past entreaties are in earnest:
I think it's good in a lot of ways, because there's always a learnable moment, a teachable moment [....] It also shows that in a time with so much racial divide with government and different things, different social groups, that there are some people that actually have an affinity and care, and want to redeem themselves. I hope he can do that [...]
Henry had previously told TMZ that to be brought back into the WWE fold, Hogan would have to personally apologise to every single black wrestler in the locker-room - something which he actually did over the weekend (albeit filmed, for 'posterity').
Henry went on:
I genuinely feel he wants to clear his name. He sees people that used to respect him, but they look at him different. It hurts, but he brought that on himself. He's trying his best to clear that up.
Could this not just be a case of Hogan being down on his luck and in need of some quick cash?
Some people are going to say he's missing those big checks, so he wants to rectify that situation - that's always going to be a factor. We always want to keep our buying power up, but I don't think that's the case with him.