WWE has seen many gimmicks take off with the fans, and a lot of questions have been asked along the way about how they came up with those ideas. Mark Henry is a WWE Hall of Famer, and he is worthy of that title. Funnily enough, he rose to popularity thanks to his Sexual Chocholate character.
Mark Henry says the Sexual Chocolate character didnt come from a writers meeting or a pitch from WWE creative. It was his idea, something he formed during a late-night car ride with DLo Brown after the Nation of Domination broke up.
As Mark Henry remembere as he spoke to Inside The Roles, both guys were trying to figure out what came next, because once that group ended, everyone involved had to prove they could survive on their own.
Mark Henry said that was the pressure of the Attitude Era. If you didnt stand out, you disappeared. Thats when he remembered Coming to America and realized he didnt want to force himself into a role that didnt fit. He wanted something fans would instantly get, something that let him be funny while still being himself.
DLo Brown apparently thought the name alone would get shot down. WWE in that era pushed boundaries, but even then, it sounded like something they wouldnt let make it on TV. Henry didnt take that as a warning, he took it as a challenge. He said he was going to tell Vince McMahon directly.
When Mark Henry approached Vince McMahon, the first response was basically no, because WWE had spent years building Henrys identity as a powerhouse. Vince saw him as intimidation, not comedy.
Then Mark Henry says Vince McMahon made it clear he wanted him to look tough, mean, and dominant, not like a character who would be flirting and cracking jokes.
Mark Henry wasnt pitching a joke that would fade after a week. He wanted to unlock a whole side of his personality that people hadnt seen. He asked Vince for one chance to prove it could work in front of a crowd, and if it didnt, hed drop it forever. That was the deal.
Vince McMahon agreed, and Mark Henry debuted the vibe that same night against Shawn Stasiak. Henry bodyslammed him, then stopped mid-match to flirt with a woman in the crowd like he was in his own world.
That moment didnt just get a laugh, it gave Vince a clear picture of what Henry meant: he could be huge, he could be strong, and he could still be funny without losing credibility.
Shawn Stasiak tried to interrupt, but then Mark Henry shoved him back in the ring, beat him, and then went right back to talking to the woman. It was the whole gimmick in one sequence: chaos, confidence, comedy, and zero fear about how it looked.
Backstage, Vince McMahons reaction sealed it. Mark Henry says Vince was laughing hard enough to basically approve the gimmick on the spot. Once Vince laughed, it wasnt just a funny idea, it was a character WWE could build around.
From there, the Sexual Chocolate character evolved into one of the strangest, most remembered stories in that era. If anything, it would have created a meme every week if that culture was around back then.
WWE leaned into it hard. It wasnt just Mark Henry flirting anymore, it turned into him being positioned as a guy who was irresistible to women, which led to segments with him surrounded by dates, being chased, and constantly getting pulled into storylines that were played for laughs.
The biggest part of that run, and the thing fans still bring up to this day, was the Mae Young storyline. Mae was already an established name from a different era of wrestling, and she became tied to Henry in a romance angle that ended with her getting pregnant, and eventually giving birth to a rubber hand.
Mark Henry says the wild part is that the core of it was simple. He wanted to show personality and be memorable. And it worked. He says even now, crowds still bring it up the second hes in front of them, like its a label that never came off.
We will have to see what happens next in Mark Henrys career. He was with AEW for a while, but he left the company to focus on his sons entrance into the pro wrestling world. Mark Henry has certainly done a lot in his career to help another generation out, including his son.
Mark Henry etched a large spot in the hearts of WWE fans all over the world with his outlandish gimmick. He is also seemingly happy about how things turned out, because he was able to prove that he had longevity in the business. Only time will tell if he inducts anyone else into the House of Pain down the line.
Whats your take on Mark Henrys career in pro wrestling? Which gimmick was your favorite? Let us know what you think in the comments section!
