With Wrestlemania just over the horizon in New Orleans, the WWE revealed the latest member of the 2018 Hall-of-Fame class will be Mark Henry.
USA Today reported the announcement on Monday,
After more than two decades in the wrestling business, former World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry is going into the WWE Hall of Fame as the final member of the Class of 2018.
Henry rose to prominence on an international level long before he ever stepped in a wrestling ring. A powerlifter from the small town of Silsbee, Texas, Henry dominated high school competitions before transitioning to Olympic weightlifting. Henry competed in the 1992 Olympics as a 21-year-old, and again in Atlanta in 1996.
Henry’s WWE career began with an embarrassing miscommunication. After revealing in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that he was a wrestling fan, Henry was eventually contacted by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, who wanted to bring Henry to WWE headquarters. Henry promptly hung up on his future boss, thinking he was the victim of a prank.
“I thought it was one of my buddies playing a joke on me and I hung up on him,” Henry said.
Henry got back in touch, though, and came to WWE full-time after his second Olympic appearance. Henry opened his WWE career with a feud against Jerry Lawler, but endured a rough transition to the wrestling business and had trouble fitting in.
Henry, and fellow 2018 inductees Goldberg, The Dudley Boyz, Hillbilly Jim, Ivory, Kid Rock and Jarrius “JJ” Robertson, will be honored during Wrestlemania weekend.
