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WWE Hall of Fame News: Mark Henry Will Join 2018 Induction Class

By John Canton • Published 19th March 2018
TJR Wrestling

The WWE Hall of Fame will be adding one of the biggest WWE superstars ever as Mark Henry will join the 2018 induction class. The 2018 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony will take place on Friday, April 6 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

Henry has had a long career with WWE from when he signed in 1996 after impressing WWE officials as the “World’s Strongest Man.” Ever since then, he’s been a part of WWE, so it’s no surprise that his nearly 22 year run has led to him joining the WWE Hall of Fame. Henry is a one-time World Heavyweight Champion that won the title from Randy Orton on September 11, 2011.

Henry broke through early in his run as part of the Nation of Domination group, he was booked like a joke during some of his career (“Sexual Chocolate” was pretty funny, though) and at other times he was booked to lose a lot, but he managed to overcome that and become a main event caliber performer after 15 years in WWE. That’s impressive. The “Hall of Pain” gimmick really worked for him. Henry retired quietly within the last year, but serves as a talent scout and mentor for the company.

The news of Henry going into WWE’s Hall of Fame was broken by the USA Today. Henry offered up these comments on winning the World Heavyweight Title in 2011.

“All the air went out, if felt like a truck hit me. I was so emotionally invested and pushing myself to become the World Champion and be the best there was in the industry – and I had finally got there. I mean, it just took all the wind out of me. I was tired for a week just to recover from that one night.”

“Once you become champion…. It’s like Spider-Man, ‘with great power comes great responsibility.’ I had to live up to that standard, and it was hard at first. You’re on every appearance, you’re on every show, you’re doing media at 6:00 in the morning, you’re taking a private plane from one coast to the next to do ‘Good Morning America’ or whatever show that you’re on. A lot goes with being champion, and I enjoyed every single minute of it because I worked for that. I was able to do something that very few men have been able to do in this world. That’s saying a lot.”

Henry also talked about what the most fun part of the job is when you work for WWE.

“Traveling the world and meeting people…. I had presidents like Bill Clinton go ‘oh my God, you’re Mark Henry!’ That’s amazing, to be able to have that kind of influence in this world. To have presidents and foreign dignitaries and actors – I have so many friends now, people that have won Oscars and won Grammys. Real special stuff, and I would have never been around those people had it not been for pro wrestling.”

Here are the others that have already been announced for the 2018 Hall of Fame: Bill Goldberg, The Dudley Boyz, Ivory, Jeff Jarrett, Hillbilly Jim, Kid Rock and Warrior Award recipient Jarrius “JJ” Robertson. The final expected name to be announced is the late, great Bam Bam Bigelow.

A video package about Henry will likely air on Raw tonight. Here’s a clip of when he won the World Heavyweight Championship in 2011.

No word on if the hand baby he had with Mae Young will be at the ceremony.