Kids - young men find it uncool to be a dad, I think. It's very cool to me... I love being at home with my kids.
— Mark Henry
Our fans - they wanna see you, so give the fans what they want.
If I am in it, I want to win it. I am not here to look pretty.
Eventually, you've got to go from being a talent to being a guy that makes talent.
It's humbling how my peers view me as not only one of the best Olympic power and weightlifters, but as an athlete.
I grew up learning from guys like Ron Simmons and Owen Hart. They were like mentors to me, so I was able to embrace what they taught me, and I think I did alright.
I want people, when they remember me, to think of the Hall of Pain, when I was catching guys, 275 pounds. Picking up Big Show, close to 500 pounds, over my head and driving him through a table.
You can't be a champion and look like a bum. You have to look, and be, the part. It's not just because it's required of your job, but is important to how you hold yourself.
Originally, nobody knew John Cena rapped. It was just something he did in the car. I told Bruce Prichard, and that's how the whole 'Thugonomics' run began.
I love the WWE, I love the company, but I have two kids, and they want me home. They want me to see their recitals and sporting events, and I want to see them grow and evolve.
Personally, I had no confines: there were no bounds, no boundaries that I felt when I got in the ring.
It was an unbelievable experience to be in the ring with Jerry Lawler, one of the biggest wrestlers of all time.
I was kind of sheltered. I grew up in Silsbee, Texas, a town of 3,000 people.
I'd like to be a tag titleholder, I'd like to be the WWE champion, but more than anything, I want to make guys leaders.
I'm more on the bigger side, so people don't think I have speed. I'm not the fastest guy, but I guarantee I'm not the slowest.
The Undertaker's theme isn't really a single, but in terms of eerie music, you can't beat it.
I've had matches go 38 minutes. To be able to move for 38 minutes and have somebody's life in your hands is a difficult thing.
Ribbing is a part of wrestling. That's the way they show a fondness for you - they play practical jokes on you. They put your wrestling gear in plastic bags and throw it in the shower. Just stupid stuff.
I'm a firm believer in not leaving people out to dry.
I always try to enjoy the moment.
Being 19 years old and making the Olympic team on my last lift. I went 6-for-6 and had a perfect Olympic trial. Making the team and being one of the youngest to ever go to the Olympics was pretty special.
The true measure of strength is through a squat and deadlift.
At one point, I remember throwing Jerry Lawler so hard that he didn't touch either rope. He just went straight through and hit the barricade.
I always see what I did wrong, what I could do better.
I love fashion. Actually, funny story, I used to give the 'Esquire Big Black Book' to young wrestlers when they would join the WWE, because they needed to know how to dress.
So many things come with your maturation process. I changed throughout my time with WWE from a kid in his 20s into a man.
I had a bunch of people who kinda looked out for me. You know, gave me the words of wisdom.
I enjoyed my time working with Mae Young; she was one of the coolest, most respected people that I ever met in the industry.
I've had five surgeries that could have ended most people's careers. But because of the fact that I'm resilient and have a lot of pride, I refused to let myself go out except on my terms. An injury is not going to take me out.
I was a big kid my whole life. I grew up among big people. My brother was a big kid. I didn't really feel like a big kid. Except for the teachers, who pretty much didn't want me to squish any of the other kids.
Nobody will ever top Owen Hart. Owen was like a brother to me. I loved him so much because he made me laugh harder than anyone's made me laugh in my life.
Wrestling isn't like ballet; it's not about practicing a routine. You need to focus. You need to concentrate. You need to know your craft.
Learn how to humble yourself, and be able to take advice and not feel like you know everything.
At one point in my life, I thought getting old was a bad thing. Then I realized that the prestige, the respect, and the honor that people hold you at for being able to do anything for 20 years is well worth it.
I want to be known as a great dad more than anything.
My kids are jaded, spoiled, entitled as hell.
Randy Orton is one of the people in the industry I respect the most. Not many people can be as smooth and polished in the ring as Randy is, and still be over with the fans, and he is one of the very best in the industry.
To know that you will be in the International Sports Hall of Fame and that people for hundreds of years will know who you are and what you did, it means everything.
Antonio Cesaro is beyond naturally strong. He trains hard, but he's got that strength you don't expect him to have.
Around 2015, I started to see my skills diminish. It happens to everybody. Father Time is undefeated. He is gonna win every time, and I saw him catching me.
I never in my career did appearances, like where you go and sign autographs, and you do the comic-cons and all of that stuff, because I wanted, when I stopped wrestling, to go and do that stuff and have it really mean something to somebody, that it hadn't been watered down.
Black culture - we dance and sing. We're entertainers. James Brown said it best: the things we are make people want to be like us.
People think our business is this completely fictional world of big guys in tight clothes with no brains. That's not the way it is; this is a psychology-driven business. You have to take people on an emotional ride without using words.
People say, 'Oh Mark, you're a big softie, and you burst into tears so easily.'
I remember being in a situation where everybody, as much as they loved seeing Jerry Lawler's gimmick, they loved to hate him. That's one of the things I learned early on, that if you're going to be in a situation where you're taking on a dominant competitor, you have to get to the point where you love to be hated, if that is what is required.
Leo Burke was an unbelievable trainer. Him and Tom Prichard. Tom Prichard was not a big guy. And I learned a lot from him.
I had vied for a championship; I had been involved in being a No. 1 contender, and having runs where I got close but I never got there. Being able to finally get there and be the guy to carry the load and carry it for a while, I felt like I arrived, and it validated my career.
Daniel Bryan is a good athlete, but he's a better entertainer.
Oh my God, if you're talking terrible theme songs, you have to mention Matt Hardy. I can't understand what they're even saying. There's a point in Matt Hardy's song where it sounds like they say 'I want to meet the cheese.' I'm always like, 'Meet the cheese?' Just goofy stuff.
I had the pleasure of learning how to wrestle long matches and use psychology.
