Mark Henry to Retire Within 18 months

Full article from The West Australian

Wrestling heavyweight Mark Henry is used to talking his way out of a fight.

At 178 kilograms and a recognisable hardman, the WWE's strongest man regularly attracts punters picking for a scrap.

"It happened today walking down the street, it happens every day," Henry tells AAP in Sydney.

"I always joke that I've talked more people out of arse whippings than I've given them, and it's generally true."

You get a sense that Henry could chat his way through any situation. Previously an Olympian weightlifter, the Texan hulk has been wrestling for the past 15 years and is now something of an ambassador for the sport.

Nicknamed 'Sexual Chocolate' he's softly spoken and carries a light handshake for a big guy. Only when you get close to criticising the industry he loves - and pays him - does a menacing voice awaken, which you don't want to mess with.

Henry denies strongly, yet rationally, any suggestion that wrestling encourages violence, revealing a one-man mission to change the perception of a sport that was tainted by the suicide-murder of wrestler Chris Benoit's family in 2007.

He cites hospital visits where children suffering cerebral palsy or autism have reacted to him like no other, including one case where a young boy who'd been forced to drink Draino by 'friends' and hadn't spoken for three years rasped his name.

"That's what we do, and for all the people who look at us as being big guys in tight clothes and idiots or neanderthals don't know our business," Henry says.

"It's not magic, there's no smoke and mirrors, it's just blood, sweat, equity - and the more you put in the better it is."

A relative veteran at 39, Henry says he will bow out within the next 18 months to leave at the top of his game despite having "a good three years left in me".

He's fought wrestling icons such as The Undertaker, teamed up with The Rock, and will next turn his combative attentions towards helping America's less fortunate children when he retires.

In conjunction with WWE, he hopes to encourage the 80 wrestlers under franchise to focus on community projects in their respective cities, promoting anything from mentor schemes to raising the job opportunities within the industry behind the camera.

"Kids can't all be wrestlers but they need to know there are jobs and there are a lot of things they can do in the industry."

Henry believes the future of wrestling depends on its good guys sending out the right messages to protect against the barrage of bad press and criticism it receives.

He's working to educate the next generation of wrestlers coming through the ranks to carry the torch for an industry that has suffered scandals involving steroid and drug abuse.

"There's going to come a time when I'm not going to be here and I hope others have the restraint when somebody tries to talk to them sideways to be able to intellectually interject without saying 'hey man I'll punch you in the face, which sometimes I want to do because people disrespect me," he jokes.

Named the `world's strongest man' after his success in strongman competitions in 2002, Henry's unique body size and persona have allowed him a clear identity and run at fame.

But others haven't and won't be so lucky and have struggled to develop a profile in a sport far more competitive than its scripted fighting sequences suggest.

Henry claims few wrestlers are friends behind the scenes - something he hopes to work on to bring the sport forward.

"There's a lot of animosity about stupid stuff like a girl in a bar 10 years ago," Henry explains.

"Also, some guys are so similar that one will get a shot over the other and that can leave a festering sore throughout someone's career."

At the end of the day though, ego still drives wrestling and if a contender doesn't believe in himself he'll get nowhere. Henry compares the sport with the film Braveheart.

"If you win the crowd you win your freedom, it's about surviving and winning and doing honest work to feed your family."

Mark Henry will appear in Wrestlemania, which broadcasts on MAIN EVENT on April 4. He'll be back for a WWE tour of Australian and New Zealand in July.
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Reaction?

Will you miss him?

The only part of Mark that I'll miss is his days as a member of the Nation; and his heel run in 2006 on SD!

I like Henry, it will be sad to see him go. Although not a complete surprise.

I think its a real shame that in 15 years he has only ever held 2 championships. And neither are active titles anymore. One of the most underused performers WWE has ever had.

Yeah. I thought he would get a Tag Title run when he teamed wit MVP, but that came to nothing.

THANK YOU GOD!!!! GO !!! GET OUT!!! SHOO!!!!

It's been to DAMN LONG!! He bored me from the get go....i wanted him gone like 5 years ago!!!

Won't miss you, have a nice life...don't let the door hit you on your ass on your way out!!

Why not retire now? What a waste of space!