Mark Henry Proud Of AEW Talent Development And Free Agent Signings, Calls Community Outreach ‘The Biggest Plus’ They Do

Mark Henry knows it was a huge year for All Elite Wrestling, but they are going to reach even higher in 2022.

Mark Henry recently spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard in conjunction with the 2021 “Best For The Business” series on behalf of All Elite Wrestling. “Best For The Business” is Wrestlezone’s look back at some of the most influential people, promotions and brands that changed the wrestling business in a positive way in the past year, and All Elite Wrestling was recognized for a number of reasons, including the way it has become a real free agent destination for names like CM Punk and Bryan Danielson, among many others. Asked what helped solidify things for talent, Henry said he believes talent can see all of the success under AEW so far, and incoming talent knows that they have a chance at growth and opportunity they might not have had elsewhere.

“I think the number one thing that they’re seeing is growth. They’re seeing that there is another place that you can go and practice your craft and prove you’re worthiness because there’s a lot of guys that have very minimal success with WWE based on size, based on look, based on preferences. There’s a lot of factors that make you desirable or undesirable to someone in any case but nonetheless, AEW’s produced another place where you can come and prove your worthiness,” Henry stated. “I think a lot of people want that opportunity to come and prove to themselves that just because WWE didn’t find [them] attractive, that [doesn’t mean they’re] not a beautiful talent.

“The next thing is AEW has a different style, not just in the ring and wrestling but entertainment-wise. There’s more of a focus on the individual getting themself over and being able to go out and do what they feel like is their best qualities and their best attributes,” Henry explained, “where you’re steered in other places to do what they would have you do or you would represent the company the way they’d have you do it and rather than have a say-so, an ownership and true partnership in the development. Also, the people are hungry and they have a thirst for knowledge. There’s some people that rise to the top and you can’t tell them nothing, that’s not allowed at AEW. Everybody, that’s old folks included — I learn something new every day from these young guys and girls and they get to learn from me. So, it’s an equal trade-off and I think that’s just a beautiful thing, and once you come in and feel that openness to ideas and an openness to a different way, it’s hard to leave.”

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AEW has training academies with direct ties (The Factory being one) but they are in a unique position that it has four weekly shows — AEW Dark, Dark: Elevation, Dynamite and Rampage — that create a “farm system” of sorts for talent to work their way up through the company. Mark Henry noted that AEW’s depth goes even beyond what most fans see on TNT or YouTube, pointing out that he and Shawn Dean do a lot of work to bridge the gap between the trainees and indie talent to getting them ready for the camera.

“There are some people that are still training and developing and learning the basics, not just the finer nuances of pro wrestling complexities that it takes to be CM Punk, MJF, Bryan Danielson. To be an Adam Page, it takes time and it’s very difficult to do that. Dark and Elevation gives people a chance to put into action what it is they’re learning at the schools and learning in doing the indie shows that they’re allowed to do. Like I was saying, Captain Shawn Dean does a good job because he’s the “boots on the ground” booker of indie talent and the people that are in the schools. And just because you look like you’re ready, it does not mean you are ready,” Mark Henry stated. “I’m the sounding board for him, and I could suggest by looking at film that this person needs that fixed and they’ll be fine, and that’s my role, is to assist with anything that needs help with the company.”

Charity work has also been a staple of what AEW does, as the company quickly established its community outreach program. AEW Community has already helped in many ways in the cities that AEW has hosted tapings in, including raising money for equal rights and after-school programs. Henry called it a beautiful thing to see everyone involved and noted that it’s not just limited to talent, and it’s one of the biggest things they can do with their platform.

“Thunder Rosa, there’s been a few charities, personal charities that she worked with, coming up from high school to now. [We said] ‘Hey let’s do it!’ Nobody gets turned away. Wounded Warrior Project, I’ve always loved anything to do with our military. The Special Olympics and other organizations like people with autism, the Starlight Starbrights, Kulture City, the world of acclimating people to be able to come to an AEW show and they have sensory issues, so anything and everything we’ve done,” Henry noted, “we’ve gone and spoken to after-school programs where it was just one guy that called and said, ‘Hey man, I have these 20 kids I work with.’

“We were in Indy recently and got this girls group where we teach these women how to be women, some of them never balanced a check book before, they never applied for anything outside of what they did with their parents, now they get to learn how to do stuff as individuals. That’s the biggest plus that we can do to a community,” Henry stated, “because we don’t just go in and take money from tickets and concessions and parking. We don’t just go in and take, we give on our way out so that when we come back, the people at our shows [remember what we’re about] and more people come. We want the people that come to our shows to have a good time, so we’re able to pull people out of the crowd and breezeways and say thank you for coming. It’s a novel concept, but it works.” 

“All of the stuff is not publicized,” Henry added. “We’re not doing it because we want a pat on the back, we’re doing it because it needs to be done. Somebody needs to do it and we’re in a lot of places enough that we can actually do it and get stuff done without people having to go through red tape. I’ve heard it at least ten times, ‘Why are you all doing this?’ Why not? You need the help, posted it and we saw it on social media, we read, we’re interested in stuff and we try to help out. It’s that easy.”

Mark Henry also spoke about his own transition to commentary with AEW, the Owen Hart Cup and his memories of Owen, finding consistency on TNT and the move to TBS in 2022 and more; check out our full video interview at the top of this post.

Read More: Best For The Business 2021: Pro Wrestling’s Most Influential People, Promotions and Brands