WWE legend Mark Henry recalls the time he and Brock Lesnar went head to head in a shoot wrestling match. Lesnar feared that he’d lose his job.
“The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry was a genuine strongman of WWE during his stint with the company. Henry has destroyed huge superstars in his path. However, there is one superstar that took Henry to the limit. Speaking with Bill Apter on Sportskeeda, Henry recalled the incident when he went head to head with “The Beast Incarnate” Brock Lesnar in a shoot wrestling match.
Back in 2002, a lot of wrestling hopefuls performed for the promotion called OVW. Ohio Valley Wrestling is now a talent development territory for the WWE. The era birthed major superstars like Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Shelton Benjamin, and then some.
Lesnar was introduced as “The Next Big Thing” in the WWE in 2002 making a riveting debut. His beastly size and strength made him look like a monster among men. Also, Lesnar had legitimate wrestling background which was a huge advantage over other guys.
To this day, Lesnar is known as the “modern-day Viking” decimating megastars in the WWE and UFC. Curious about Lesnar’s strength and athleticism, Henry threw him a challenge only to walk the well-trodden path of Lesnar’s destruction. Henry stated that his match with Lesnar put him on the shelf for over six to seven weeks.
“He shot from about six feet away and went to my ankle. And he put both hands behind my ankle, and his shoulder in my knee, and hyper extended my knee. And I was out for like, six to seven weeks. And I was just on the ground like,’Oh my God’, and he was like, ‘You’re hurt’ and I was like, ‘damn, I can’t move and he was like, he’s like, ‘they’re gonna fire me.’ I said ‘no, they not gonna fire you, they gonna fire me.’ But we got a laugh about it later on but during that time he’s like a very, very dangerous guy.” Said, Henry.
Following the incident, Lesnar was apprehensive about losing his job. Thankfully, Lesnar kept his job, and Mark learned of Lesnar’s feats of strength and dominance.
Also read: The Big Show lists out his top 3 strongest superstars in the WWE
A look back on Brock Lesnar’s dominant career
As a young boy who grew up on the farm, Brock is a man of few words. However, his new cowboy persona and mic skills have caught the fans off guard. Brock has proven that he is as good a wrestler as an entertainer. As a collegiate wrestler with a physique resembling a Viking, Lesnar got an early push in the WWE after his debut.
Under the guidance of Paul Heyman, Lesnar dethroned The Rock at Summerslam 2002, the same year he debuted as the WWE Champion. He was then the youngest WWE Champion having won the title at the age of 25.
Lesnar then collided with the likes of Triple H, The Undertaker, Shawn Micheals, Goldberg, and more. Lesnar eventually left the company in 2004 to pursue a career in football. With little luck, Lesnar left football and became an Ultimate Fighter at the UFC.
At UFC, Lesnar defeated legitimate fighters like Heath Herring, Frank Mir, Mark Hunt, and the legendary Randy Couture. He also suffered some losses at the hands of Cain Velasquez, Alaister Overeem, and Frank Mir. The loss to Frank Mir was his debut match in the UFC which was avenged in 2009.
After leaving his mark in the fight world, Lesnar returned to wrestling in 2012 and challenged superstars like John Cena, Triple H, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Drew McIntyre.The major accomplishment of his career was ending The Undertaker’s streak at WrestleMania 30.
His dominance is perpetual in the WWE to this day. Pound for Pound, Lesnar is the most, if not one of the most supreme athletes ever. He is currently booked to face the current Undisputed WWE Champion Roman Reigns at SummerSlam in a winner takes all last-man-standing match.
Will Lesnar’s reign of dominance continue? Or Will Roman reign supreme once again? Watch this space.
