Mark Henry Changes Tune on Hulk Hogan After His Passing Despite Past Criticism

Mark Henry seems to have changed his tune when it comes to Hulk Hogan following the Hulkster’s passing.

While speaking on Busted Open After Dark, Mark Henry believes Hogan’s place in wrestling history is guaranteed. He talked about the often-debated idea of a wrestling “Mount Rushmore.” While opinions might be different, Henry said Hogan is always one of the names people include, right alongside Ric Flair. To him, Hogan’s spot is locked in and should always be respected.

“His place on Mount Rushmore, I think, is concrete,” Henry said. “We’ve always talked about the Mount Rushmore of pro wrestling, and it’s debatable, but what I’m gathering is there’s always Hogan on it, and there’s always Ric Flair on it. It’s choice, it’s what your preference is, what you like. But I’ve never heard somebody say, ‘Oh yeah, my Mount Rushmore,’ and Hogan wasn’t on it.”

Henry also addressed how some people have focused on negative moments from Hogan’s past since his death. He made it clear that he doesn’t think that’s the right thing to do, especially when honoring someone’s life. Instead, he said fans should remember all the positive things Hogan gave to wrestling, especially how he helped make the sport bigger and better.

“I felt like some of the people out there have this bias, or they want to delve into the negativity of Hogan’s life,” Henry said. “Not going to do it, guys. Not on a night of celebration of his life and what he gave to the sport. Had nothing to do with any of the foolishness and backstory lines. Hogan gave probably the most important thing that any wrestler can give to our sport and to our business. He made it better.”

The World’s Strongest Man also shared some personal stories about how much Hulk Hogan influenced him growing up. He remembered watching the cartoon show Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling and copying Hogan’s famous hand-to-the-ear pose to hype up a crowd.

Henry said he even used it during Olympic trials as a way to connect with the audience. For Henry, this showed how much Hogan had taught people about how to perform and entertain and how many wrestlers followed that example.

“When I competed in the Olympic Games and the Olympic trials, me standing on one leg, me waving to the crowd and putting my hand behind my ear, where did that come from?” Henry asked. “That was Hogan 101, to get the crowd to react to you. And nobody did that before him, but hundreds of people did that after him. And that’s the mark of somebody that I feel like is a great beacon and a great stalwart for our industry.”

This is actually incredibly ironic considering the fact that Mark Henry has always been critical of Hulk Hogan due to Hogan’s racist remarks and made it clear Hogan should have been remorseful of his actions.

Even during a DJ gig earlier this year, he blasted Hulk Hogan’s music while fans continued to boo the Hulkster and Mark Henry made it clear Hulk Hogan had brought that on himself.

Some fans might be surprised by what Mark Henry said or think it goes against things he said before. But others may see it as a reminder that people’s legacies are not always simple. Regardless, Henry clearly feels differently about Hogan now and that’s not going to change anytime soon.

Do you think Mark Henry’s tribute to Hulk Hogan was a sincere reflection or a softened stance for the sake of legacy? Sound off in the comments.