Mark Henry has much respect for John Cena.
On July 6, 16-time world champion John Cena announced his impending retirement from professional wrestling. Before he officially hangs up his boots, though, Cena promised fans a 12-month retirement tour, spanning from January until December 2025. While speaking with TV Insider, Cena’s former rival Mark Henry revealed his thoughts on this recent development.
“I think it’s awesome. I’m so happy for [John Cena],” Henry said. “I think that now he’ll be able to be appreciated the way that he should be appreciated. People wanted John Cena to turn heel. John Cena and Ricky Steamboat, lifetime babyfaces. That’s who they are. That is what they were designed to be. They stuck to their guns. The New Day, too.”
“Embrace it, love it, don’t call it goody two shoes. The people that boo John Cena and wished violence upon him back then, you all need a whooping. He should be revered,” Henry added.
11 years before Cena, Mark Henry made a retirement announcement of his own in his now famous salmon-colored jacket. As an emotional Henry looked to embrace John Cena in the ring, however, he instead nailed him with a World’s Strongest Slam, and proclaimed that he had “a lot left in the tank.” Henry’s in-ring career continued on for another five years, with his last match taking place in the 2018 WWE Greatest Royal Rumble.
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