One of my boys asked "Why do they call him the worlds strongest man, is he really?". I said he did some record, once, but it's probably WWE hype, lets check on Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Henry
Chuffin 'eck!!
This is just a sample from the link above, notice SINCE 1996 is mentioned a few times. 19 years he's held these records. Also DRUG FREE
Combined lifting records
official weightlifting total + official powerlifting total = Combined Supertotal:
400.0 kg + 1060.0 kg = 1460.0 kg / 881.8 lbs + 2336.9 lbs = 3218.7 lbs raw with wraps
→ current all-time highest combined weightlifting/powerlifting total in history (since 1996*)
5 official weightlifting&powerlifting lifts combined – the snatch + the clean&jerk and the squat + bench press + deadlift = Five-Lift-Combined-Total:
180.0 kg + 220.0 kg + 432.5 kg + 265.5 kg + 410.0 kg = 1508.0 kg / 396.8 lbs + 485.0 lbs + 953.5 lbs + 585.3 lbs + 903.9 lbs = 3324.5 lbs
→ current all-time highest 5 lift total in history (since 1996* both combined all-time records had previously been held by legendary powerlifter Jon Cole.
Holding these all-time records in the lifting sports makes Mark Henry arguably one of the Strongest Men in history. Having achieved this at the very young age of 24 while being lifetime drug-free makes it even more impressive. Many experts in the field, including Bill Kazmaier, Jan and Terry Todd, Dr. Robert M. Goldman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Muscle & Fitness magazine and Flex magazine, consider him to be "one of the Strongest Men that ever lived" or even "the most naturally gifted strongman in history".
When asked in September 2003, who the strongest man in the world is today [2003], Bill Kazmaier, considered by many to be the greatest strongman of all time, stated: "It would have to be Mark Henry.[...] I think he's one of the strongest men in the history of the world, without a doubt."
W! S! M!
Mark Henry.
posted on 30/9/15
You can make a very solid argument that he was one of WWE's biggest missed opportunities, especially during the PG era. He's up there with Kane in terms of potential the company never tapped into.
For my money, pre-Lesnar return, the only legit monster heel WWE had between 05-12. Should be pushing 6-7 world title reigns (plus at least one WWE Title reign) by now. The only thing that works against him is his disproportionate height, makes him look more chubby than strong on the surface, but nothing else was stopping this guy from becoming a serious player. When he talks about dominating his opponents, you believe it.
I fear his willingness to job might have been his undoing (like Kane) in his prime, but in this particular period of WWE where their old company men are being shown a level of respect to the point of alienating the fan base, I simply can't understand why Henry isn't being given the same courtesy - especially when he's the one guy in that bracket who fans would just about tolerate being shoved down their throats as the played out, monster heel?
I'll never have anything bad to say about Mark Henry. Always liked him
posted on 1/10/15
Apparently when they signed him in 1995, with zero wrestling experience, it was on a TEN YEAR contract
Agree they've wasted him, one 3 month title reign is ridiculous.
posted on 1/10/15
Still had one of the standout moments of the past few years, when he made his "retirement" speech
Usually you see those things coming but that shocked and amused me in equal measure
posted on 2/10/15
I must've missed that
posted on 2/10/15
comment by newWHISKYorder (U20092)
posted 1 hour, 18 minutes ago
I must've missed that
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https://youtu.be/gxm5c2XBcXo
posted on 2/10/15
Cheers, will watch tonight at home.
posted on 2/10/15
Still had one of the standout moments of the past few years, when he made his "retirement" speech
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I completely forgot about that. He's never been able to sustain a heel run since that promo, that's how effective it was.
If it wasn't for the sudden ascension of Bryan, that would've been his WWE Title run I'm sure. There was a bit of a "Cena wins we riot" atmosphere in the crowd for their match I remember
posted on 3/10/15
That retirement speech was awesome. He had me feeling properly sad, then I just felt like "aww you total unt"
posted on 6/10/15
Comment Deleted by Site Moderator
posted on 12/10/15
The retirement speech was indeed a launchpad for a quality title run, however the E seem very scared to push a guy who as mentioned had physical credentials outside of the E. From Ken Shamrock(IC title but hey back then it was THE springboard belt) to Kurt Angle to Brock Lesnar the E has always pushed legit bad asses to the top.
Some have alluded to the race relations of the E, given Shelton Benjamins lack of progress as well. However i honestly think its a case of as New Jack said " Hello my darling, hello my sweetheart" (basically calling him a c word ethnic epithet meaning Uncle Tom), and as much as the E didnt see him fit for a push, he was just happy to do what the boss wanted. Shame really because at one point he was the main heel in the company at a time when we needed one and were eventually served up with the mess that was Ryback and that dancing giant guy in a leotard and a pimp hat.