"I've been doing all this already for free" - WWE legend to Vince McMahon before joining AEW
WWE legend Mark Henry has opened up about the conversation he had with Vince McMahon prior to his exit from WWE. Henry wanted to take on more roles in the company, which was rejected by WWE's higher-ups.
Mark Henry discussed his exit from WWE and the conversation he had with Vince McMahon about the role he wanted in the company, on his latest appearance on Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette.
Henry stated that he was on a Legends deal, but wanted to be an employee of WWE. He revealed that he had a loan-out agreement for WWE to use his name and that he wanted to do more in the company.
"I've been wrestling for 25 years and I had the best people the whole time. I didn't come up on the indie scene, which is no disrespect to the indie scene, because I scout and watch the indie scene more than I do mainstream wrestling. And we (he and Vince McMahon) had the conversation and he said, 'Well, write it up. What do you want to do?' And I was like, 'I want to do educational programming, I want to do community involvement, I want to be on the writing staff, I want to be an agent.' He was like, 'Whoa, that's like five jobs.' I said, 'I've been doing all this already for free.' Nobody paid me. I did it, at least (for) the last 12 years. I had to brag on myself for the first time in my career and I never did that before," said the WWE Hall of Famer.
Henry revealed that John Laurinaitis called him to discuss the roles that he wanted to do, but the WWE legend had made up his mind about leaving WWE. The Hall of Famer knew that Laurinaitis calling him meant that he wasn't going to get what he had asked for.
Mark Henry on his relationship with Vince McMahon after his WWE exit
Henry spoke to Vince McMahon and told him that he would be leaving WWE. The WWE legend hoped that there would be no "negative feeling" between the two, and the WWE Chairman reassured him that there wouldn't be any.
“I told Vince, I was like, ‘Man, I hope you don’t have any ill will or negative feeling. He said, ‘Mark, I know you’re gonna be great at whatever you do. You approach things from a point of not wanting to fail, as opposed to wanting to have success, and those people always do good. I just can’t do it right now."
The WWE Hall of Famer will work as a commentator on AEW's upcoming show, Rampage, and has also promised to step into the ring for a match or two.
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