Mark Henry Says He Didn’t Want To Be WWE Champion in 2013, Says His Body Couldn’t Do It

Mark Henry had a WWE title match with John Cena at Money in the Bank 2013, which was set up by his infamous fake retirement angle. However, Cena ended up winning the match. Some fans at the time weren’t happy, as they believed Henry’s work leading up to the match deserved a title win. However, Henry himself said that he couldn’t have handled a run a WWE champion and didn’t want to beat Cena.

During the latest episode of Busted Open Radio (via Fightful), he said: “I built that for a year. It was a calendar year of me going, ‘I think I’m done.’ When my contract came up, I actually told Vince, ‘I’m not re-signing.’ Then he did the ‘come into my office. Let me talk to you.’ He talked me into coming back and doing all that. People mad at WWE, guys, don’t be mad at WWE because I lost to John Cena. 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. When you’re the main event guy and you hold the title, every night, you’re going to do two walks, a promo, an in-ring, a main event style match, and then you go to the next town. You’re on every show, every brand. I couldn’t do it. I physically couldn’t do it. It was not their fault. It was the fact that, ‘No, I’m not doing it.’“