Between Ted Arcidi, Bill Kazmaier and Brakkus, "strongmen" have had a fairly ignominious history in professional wrestling. Thus, when Vince McMahon and the WWF signed Mark Henry in 1996 to a ten-year contract reportedly paying him a base salary of one million dollars per year, it can be assumed that this was likely to not end well. However, now 18 years into a career that has seen Henry become a multiple-time World Heavyweight Champion, the "World's Strongest Man" has become the "World's Wisest Long-Term Investment." If Mark Henry wanted to quit professional wrestling forever at any point prior to 2005, it would have been absolutely understandable. Yes, his character was in the Nation of Domination and a successful tag team combination with D-Lo Brown. However, as well, he impregnated Mae Young with what turned out to be a rubber hand and had a sex addiction that involved romantic dalliances with transvestites. Yes, professional wrestling is oftentimes prone to being a ridiculous industry, but these moments stretched even pro wrestling's bounds of absurdity. As well, in 2000-2001 Henry was re-assigned from the main roster to WWE developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling to work on his in-ring conditioning and skills. From high-priced signee to developmental project in just under four years, Henry's ECW and World Heavyweight Championship wins between 2008-2011 showcased a level of improvement that likely will never be matched in WWE history. And of course, there's the matter of inducting his opponents into the "Hall of Pain" (so great) and that World's Strongest Slam he delivered to John Cena instead of retiring on Raw (even greater).
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
