Mark Henry On CM Punk/Jack Perry: You Need Grace, Second Chances, But You Also Need Consequences

Mark Henry believes disciplining a top guy in All Elite Wrestling will send a loud and clear message to the locker room.

All Elite Wrestling’s Mark Henry discussed the recent issues between CM Punk and Jack Perry on today’s episode of Busted Open Radio. Henry believes as the company matures, the experience will follow.

“Maturity comes with experience,” Mark Henry said. “Look what we’re talking about. We’re talking about a company that’s still young. And my wife told me yesterday, she said, ‘Our kids are awesome, but they’re still kids, and they’re immature. And they need grace and guidance and a kick in the ass every now and then.’

“Tony has given him grace. He’s given them guidance. When is the kick in the ass coming? Sometimes you need it. I had it. Didn’t want it. Didn’t like it. I don’t know if it can be explained any better. Sometimes, you need forgiveness. You always need forgiveness.

“And you also need a second chance. You need grace. But ultimately, when you make mistakes, there has to be consequences for your mistakes. Otherwise, you’re going to do it again because there’s no consequence.”

Discipline Leads To Alignment

When Dave LaGreca commented that a lot of people out there are willing to take advantage of someone’s kindness and being a good person, such as Tony Khan, Henry said that it happens sometimes, and by punishing a top guy, you send a message to the entire locker room.

“They’ll manipulate you,” Mark Henry said. “And you’re thinking, you know what? I get along with this person. They cosign for my philosophies and my ideals. And they say, hey, man, I’m always here for you. Listen, whatever you need, brother. I’m here. And then they do all of that. And then they try to turn you against everybody else. That’s manipulation.

“And sometimes you got to be able to say, you know what, this is a business decision. I love you like a brother, but I can’t cosign for that. And this is what we’re going to do from here on out. And once everybody’s in alignment, and you know that, wow, even the number one friend can get disciplined, it’s an awesome thing. Then everybody can run from just the understanding that we’re working for the company. We’re working for the game, the business, whatever you want to call it.”

Owning Your Mistakes

Henry went on to state he believes that the only person in wrestling history who has faced what Tony Khan is going through is Vince McMahon himself.

“He’s done stuff that nobody’s ever done,” Mark Henry said. “I think the only person that probably has faced what Tony is facing is Vince. They may be the only two conglomerates, like big, big business that have faced those issues. And Vince got a 50-something-year jump.

“So I mean, you can’t compare the two because there were things that were ironed out already before Vince Jr. took it. Tony has to eat all of those mistakes. He’s got to make all those decisions on the fly. And he’s succeeding. Look at what he’s doing.”

While Henry was clear with his words, the reports of Punk and Perry’s suspension from All Elite Wrestling weren’t directly referenced in this conversation.