What WWE Nickname Did Mark Henry Turn Down?
The 'World's Strongest Man' was having none of it, and Vince McMahon agreed...
Mark Henry once shot down suggestions from WWE that he start referring to himself as the 'Silverback'.
Henry told Vlad TV that he was incensed when he found out what creative were planning, and he immediately sought out Vince McMahon for a chat. The 'World's Strongest Man' said, "You will not refer to this black man as a 'Silverback' - I am not a primate".
McMahon, sensing Mark's frustrations and knowing the racial sh*t storm calling his star a gorilla on TV would cause, agreed that the 'Silverback' nickname had to go. He told Henry to have a word with the creative team and tell them he wasn't doing it.
Henry had Vince's blessing.
This embarrassing episode wasn't the first time Mark had to fight against racism in the company. In 2008, stories popped up about Michael Hayes making racist comments about Henry at the WrestleMania XXIV after-party.
That issue has since been settled, but Henry is clearly still unhappy that someone in WWE creative believed he'd be willing to go along with the 'Silverback' moniker. Thankfully, McMahon said "it's killed" when Mark aired his grievances.