Mark Henry Has Message For AEW Haters
Latest AEW signee Mark Henry appeared on his other job, Busted Open Radio, ahead of his appearance tonight on Friday Night Dynamite. And Henry had a specific message for one group of fans; the AEW haters.
"We have to address the haters," Henry said. "I love the fans. I love the people that really care and that are positive and are willing to accept what they get from pro wrestling. But then again we have the haters. They are there and they are in full force. I keeping hearing this 'wow, the WWE is invading AEW. First they had Big Show, then they had Christian and now they have Mark Henry. And they're going to bring in more WWE guys and they're going to put those guys in front of the AEW guys.' Whoever came up with that mentality is a moron. Like guys, cut it out.
"The reason you bring in those guys is AEW is a new company. You bring in people that have experience. If you have Corporate America, let's just say we're Corporate America. We're making tire irons, random somethings, we're making spatulas. Are you going to let a guy who's been making spatulas for three years be the boss, or are you going to bring in somebody who's been making spatulas for twenty five years? I've tried every form of metal you can use to make a spatula. I've tried every form of plastic. We've done carbon fiber, we've done rubber. You've got to know what you're doing to make the best product. So you haters out there, think about that message today."
Henry began to talk about some of what he wants to do with AEW. He believes the promotion has already succeeded, and his goal is to fine tune the promotion in certain areas to make it even better.
"AEW is not broken," Henry said. "If it's not broke, what's the saying? Don't fix it. They're successful already. Our job now, and I say our because I work for them, is to fine tune. All you musicians out there, you know when your guitar is off. You know when the keys and the piano are a little bit lax and you need to get everything tightened and tuned. That's what AEW needs. They're successful already. They have winners; Kenny Omega, the Bucks, Cody, Sammy Guevara. And I go far to say, 'you know who the kids like? They like Jungle Boy. They like Fuego (Del Sol).' People that are not super on top. Fuego is not super on top, but the kids love him.
"And you know what I think should be done? That you accentuate what the kids like because that's ultimately going to be your major fan base. Because the kids can say 'mom, can you get me tickets to AEW? Can you buy the PPV on TV?' That's what's going to happen. But on the flip side of the coin, the older people, the younger people call us boomers, we accept news and we support things in different ways than the young people. If it's rebellious the kids love it. If it's anarchy, if it's against the grain, if it's not my mama's thing, the kids love it. But let me tell you how adults consume news. We still like newspapers, we still like to read books guys. We watch the six o'clock news, we watch the afternoon news, we watch the five o'clock news. We listen to that kind of radio, The Drive is what they call it in a lot of cities. That's where I'm going to go. I'm gonna go to the news where old people go, and I'm gonna say 'hey guys. Have y'all heard about AEW? Have you heard about it? Great product. Supported heavily by the kids, the young people, the demo that's in the twenties.'"
Henry also reiterated his desire to help AEW reach out into the communities to grab new fans, while also saying he will always be around to help anyone who needs advice. He then closed with a message to any doubters.
"We're going to help out the communities that we go to," Henry said. "We're going to Miami, we're going to Austin, the Cedar Park Center. We're going to touch the news and let people know we're going to support the Boys and Girls Club, we're going to support Make-A-Wish, we're going to support all the charities. That's where you get adults, you make people care. Adults have to care, and they want to see people doing work in the communities that they live in. And that's where I want to go.
"I'm trying to get everybody. So if you're not a fan of AEW, we're going to fine tune it. There's going to be some stuff, it's not going to change. AEW is not going to change, I like it the way it is. I just, my whole thought process is to fine tune it. And I'm not going to ask or tell anybody 'hey, this is what you're doing.' No, that's not me. If you want my help, I'm right here. Come ask for my attention and I will give it to you and help you as best I can. That's what you're supposed to do, but in our business we have this mentality of 'I'm your boss. You're going to do what I tell you to do.' That's not my philosophy, not mine whatsoever. So haters, start tuning into AEW. I'm gonna show you something."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Busted Open Radio and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription