During the 2013 Money in the Bank event, Mark Henry confronted John Cena for the WWE Championship, a narrative that came out of his infamous faux retirement. Henry made it clear, however, that Cena was destined to be the victor in that confrontation.
In the latest edition of the “Busted Open Radio” podcast, Henry elaborated about his career at that time and shared that becoming WWE Champion was not on his agenda. He would go on to make this statement:
“It took a full year to develop this saga. It was a period where I was almost sure of my retirement. Once my contract was due for renewal, I informed Vince that I wouldn’t be signing it. That lead to him calling me into his office for a discussion. He convinced me to stay for a little longer. I must clarify that the ire directed at WWE because of my loss to John Cena is misdirected. I didn’t want to defeat Taker at WrestleMania for the exact reasons why I didn’t want the responsibilities tied with being a WWE Champion. At that time, my body simply couldn’t match the demands of that position. Being a main-eventer meant enduring strenuous matches in different towns every night, which would essentially consist of two promos, in-ring matches, and main events. I had to be present at every show and brand, and truthfully, I wasn’t capable of it. It wasn’t WWE’s fault; it was a conscious choice I made because I wasn’t physically capable.”