WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry paid a heartfelt tribute to the late Hulk Hogan on Busted Open After Dark. The “World’s Strongest Man” detailed Hogan’s immeasurable impact on the wrestling business, his concrete place on the Mount Rushmore of wrestling, and why fans should celebrate his life and contributions rather than focus on negativity.
Henry began by praising the tribute that WWE and Triple H put together for Hogan on SmackDown. He then shared his own assessment of Hogan’s place in the hierarchy of wrestling legends, stating that his spot at the very top is undeniable and should be respected.
A Concrete Place on Mount Rushmore
“His place on Mount Rushmore, I think, is concrete,” Henry stated. “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.”
He also addressed those who have focused on the more controversial aspects of Hogan’s life in the wake of his passing, making it clear that he believes the focus should be on Hogan’s positive contributions to the industry. “I felt like some of the people out there have this bias, or they they want to delve into the negativity of Hogan’s life,” he 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.”
Taking Wrestling to Hollywood
Henry emphasized that Hogan’s greatest contribution was taking professional wrestling to a level of mainstream recognition that it had never seen before, making him a true global phenomenon. “He made the whole world know about the sport that particularly didn’t even watch wrestling,” he explained. “They was like, ‘Who is this Hulk Hogan guy?’ He went in, he started doing movies and TV shows, and that was an element that… had been done. Andre did The Princess Bride, Roddy Piper had his film… but Hogan was the one that took it to Hollywood. That’s where you get the… it went from being ‘The Immortal’ Hulk Hogan to ‘Hollywood’ Hulk Hogan.”
He continued, detailing Hogan’s mainstream crossover success. “Hogan went to Los Angeles, as you saw in the videos. He did all the shows, you know, from Johnny Carson to Jay Leno to you name it. He did all the shows,” Henry said. “And he was a very frequent guest on those shows, promoting pro wrestling shows, his own personal TV shows. I mean, he did it all, and from the video games, and, man, the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling cartoon was, I mean, I remember being a little kid sitting on the floor, not wanting to clean my room or do anything until I watched that cartoon, and Hogan was the star of that cartoon.”
An Inspiration to All
Henry also shared personal anecdotes of how Hogan influenced him as a young athlete, from watching the cartoon to emulating Hogan’s signature hand-to-the-ear pose during his own athletic career. “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.”
He concluded by sharing a story about Hogan’s advice regarding the physical toll of his signature leg drop, a move Henry also used. “He even told me at one point… ‘Man, if you can find something else to do, you might want to do it, because I had both my hips replaced during those leg drops.’ And of course, I never did. I kept doing them,” Henry recalled. “And you know, I don’t have any regrets, and I don’t think Hogan had any regrets as it relates to pro wrestling… When you abuse your body, guys, the way that we abuse our body in this industry… you always hear that term, ‘Man, boy, that knocked years off my life.’ Like, there’s a little truth to it. So all of the people that you love watching and respecting… appreciate it for what it is.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Busted Open Radio with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
