Mark Henry has joined the many voices within the wrestling community who are paying tribute to Hulk Hogan following his passing. Speaking on Busted Open After Dark, the WWE Hall of Famer offered a powerful and emotional reflection on Hogan’s legacy, calling for fans to celebrate the immense contributions he made to the industry rather than dwell on any negativity.

Henry opened by commending WWE and Triple H for the tribute that aired on SmackDown, praising the tone and execution of the segment. He then gave his own perspective on where Hogan stands in wrestling history, making it clear that the late icon’s place among the all-time greats is unquestionable.

“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.”

Addressing those who have highlighted the more controversial elements of Hogan’s life in the wake of his death, Henry made it clear that he would not take part in that. “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.”

Henry spoke at length about Hogan’s role in elevating professional wrestling into the mainstream and bringing global recognition to the industry. “He made the whole world know about the sport that particularly did not 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 is where you get the… it went from being ‘The Immortal’ Hulk Hogan to ‘Hollywood’ Hulk Hogan.”

“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.”

Henry also reflected on how Hogan personally inspired him during his athletic career, even before he ever stepped into a wrestling ring. “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.”

To close, Henry shared a moment of advice from Hogan himself, one that stuck with him through his career. “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 do not have any regrets, and I do not 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 is a little truth to it. So all of the people that you love watching and respecting… appreciate it for what it is.”