Who has the power to make John Cena cry? Mark Henry

One of the most unexpected moments in WWE came in 2013, during an episode of Raw, when Mark Henry walked into the ring to announce his retirement, only to shock everyone by body slamming John Cena moments later.

Years later, the former WWE superstar appeared on the AEW Unrestricted podcast and revealed that Cena’s emotional reaction at that time was completely genuine.

“It was real, that’s why it worked so well, because I truly wanted to retire and not wrestle and become more of an executive, and do more coaching, and training, and work in support, but they didn’t want me to do that.”  

Henry explained that although he actually wanted to retire, Vince McMahon had convinced him otherwise. But a fake storyline was prepared around it, and he prepared for it for months. So, although he knew he wasn't going to retire that day, he still came out in his famous salmon suit as if actually bidding farewell to his career.

Speaking about the iconic segment, Henry explained that Cena's reaction in the ring was genuine because he had no idea what would happen. According to Henry, only he knew the retirement speech was part of a setup.

“That retirement speech, it was over nine months of thought. Nine months of thought is why I came across so clear and so, ‘Wow, that was a thrill’. John didn’t know nothing. The only thing John knew was that at some point, I was going to pull him in. That’s all he knew. When John was on the apron crying, that was real,” Henry told the Busted Open podcast.

Henry shared that Cena became emotional after Henry talked about the WWE Championship belt. He recalled Cena attempting to give him the belt, but Henry refused as he felt he had not earned it. That exchange reportedly struck a nerve emotionally with Cena, which led to him becoming emotional.

So, according to plan, Henry delivered a heartfelt speech about his career, and just as an emotional and unsuspecting John Cena came forward, Henry famously body-slammed him with the World’s Strongest Slam and declared that he still had 'a lot left in the tank.'

But the story did not end there.

Mark Henry Lost the Money in the Bank to John Cena

The segment instantly became a talking point and led to the WWE Championship clash between Henry and Cena at WWE Money in the Bank. But when Cena defeated Henry, many fans were disappointed, as it was the “Super Cena” era, where he was on a streak of defeating all his opponents. So, audiences desperately wanted a new champion.

Now, after all this time, Henry revealed the real reason Cena defeated him.

Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Henry admitted that while fans think that the makers were behind the decision, it was actually his call.

“People mad at WWE, guys, don't be mad at WWE because I lost to John Cena,” Henry said. “The same way that I did not want to beat Taker at WrestleMania is the same way that I did not want to have to carry the strap and the pressure of that. Also, my body couldn't do it.”

Despite having the immense support of the fans, Henry admitted that he was 42 years old at that time and his body could not handle the demanding schedule that came with being WWE Champion.

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Written by

Ruwa Javed

Edited by

Ashvinkumar Patil