10 Times WWE Got Buyer's Remorse
8. Mark Henry
Watching and enjoying WWE's presentation of Mark Henry long before he finally found himself in his 'Hall Of Pain' prime but long after he'd signed a mammoth 10-year deal borders on conspiring with a criminal.
In 1996, an Olympic Weightlifter and World's Strongest Man regular was offered a handsome figure to enter an industry he was brand new to. It wasn't the fault of the athlete that the industry failed to to nurture those promising - yet peripheral - gifts.
Injuries plagued Henry's earliest tenure as a flag-waving babyface, but his inability (and occasional indifference) to improving resulted in one of the most obvious hatchet campaigns in company history.
Ironically, Henry's talents went misunderstood for years as a result. He got the 'Sexual Chocolate' gimmick over in spite of the material he was provided. Romancer of a hesitant Chyna, a fossilising Mae Young and his own sister, Henry made Vince McMahon's funny actually funny, carving out a corner of the Attitude Era for himself in the process.
Such absurdities made the transition back to wrestling monster a challenging one, but by 2006, he was such a welcome veteran presence that the deal McMahon couldn't wait to terminate ended up gleefully extended.