Mark Henry has been busy in his retirement, taking his talents in the ring to the masses and helping teach other superstars how to be the best wrestlers they can be.
Speaking to CBS Sports‘ Shakiel Mahouri recently, Mark Henry broke down his coaching style and spoke about the current state of big men in the world of All Elite Wrestling. In regards to coaching, Henry said that he lets trainees fail because it teaches them a valuable lesson.
“A seasoned producer, a seasoned writer, a seasoned agent or a coach can say to any athlete that they work with, ‘I’ve done this 150, 200 times. You’ve never done it before once. So why don’t you just take my advice and see if it works?’ And 90 percent or 99 percent of the time, the athlete will say, ‘Let’s go.’
“Then there’s that tiny, tiny, small spot where somebody will go against the grain and you say, ‘Okay, let’s do it your way.’ That’s my philosophy. I want you to be able to show me that you can succeed. But if you fail, I’m going to tell you, ‘Now, are we ready to listen?’ Some people fuss and fight. The talent tends to rebel against that. I don’t do that. I’m gonna let you fail. Same as my kids. I let them fail because it means more when you pick them up. When they see that you know what you’re talking about. The lesson for today, kids, it’s okay to fail as long as you get your ass up.”
Mark Henry also spoke about AEW having several notable big men on the roster, explaining that he loves working with them, pointing out that Satnam Singh in particular has been excelling so far.
“The proof is in the pudding. Wardlow is doing his thing. I know that Will Hobbs, Brody King, Lance Archer and Satnam Singh are hard workers. That’s the underlying trait of a wrestler where you can’t get enough. You’re always looking at videos and old-school wrestling matches. Those people are the ones that make it because it’s not just that they’re a fan of it or that they like it, but they can see the end of the tunnel already. It’s far away but they can see it. They can see the million-dollar houses and exotic cars and vacations in the Caymans. They can see all of the luxuries, but they also see Mount Rushmore and they desire to be on it.
“Those are people that I like to work with because it’s really not working at that point. It’s just opening the door for them to come in. Satnam Singh is one of those guys. He just can’t get enough. It’s like to the point where I see him walk up and I go, ‘Oh shit, here goes an hour.’ I know he’s going to want to pick my brain for an hour. But that is why they hired me. To take care of all of those people that have that potential and the ones who don’t, push them to be more like the other guys.”
