WWE icon predicts 19-year-old son will be ‘the next Kurt Angle’

WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry has high hopes for his son Jacob as he embarks on his own wrestling career.

The World’s Strongest Man, who will be part of the For The Love of Wrestling convention at the BEC in Manchester on February 15 and 16, is proud to see his boy looking to follow in his footsteps after signing a deal with WWE.

Mark, 53, exclusively told Metro: ‘I think he could be really, really good, not just because he’s my son or because he’s a big guy, but because he’s brilliant and understands wrestling like I’ve taught him.

‘He understands wrestling at a level that a lot of people that are wrestling there today don’t know.’

Current WWE Champion Cody Rhodes recently said Jacob, 19, could be the next Brock Lesnar, and while Mark agrees, the former weightlifter thinks comparisons to Kurt Angle are also apt after the former Olympian took pro wrestling by storm in the late 1990s.

‘He’s going to get his opportunity, but he’s 19. When I was 19, I got thrown to the wolves. I had to face a lot of things that I shouldn’t had to face. He’s not going to be that way,’ he explained.

‘I’m not going to allow him to be thrown to the wolves. He’ll be well versed and well respected when he comes in and when he decides to wrestle, people will go, “Whoa, man”.

‘For a young guy, I want him to be like Kurt Angle was when Kurt came in, Kurt was excellent from the jump. That’s what I that’s what I want for Jacob.’

Despite Jacob having a former World Heavyweight Champion as his father and mentor, Mark knows his son will have to make strides on his own too.

‘I think he’s going to forge his own [path],’ he added. ‘I’m going to be standing right there every move he makes to make sure that every step he takes is forward.’

Mark is no slouch as a scout and guide, having helped the likes of Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, Braun Strowman and more find their way to the bright lights of WWE.

‘Everybody that I really have put my time into have become world champion,’ he said. ‘Not everybody can say that, because I know how to get the best out of them.

‘And when they’re not doing well, I’m able to call them and go, “What is going on? Why don’t you try this?” And the people that I consult with, they listen to me, they know I know what I’m talking about.’

He even had a hand in WWE signing Daniel Bryan, who went on to become one of the best underdog stories in the company’s history.

Mark recalled: ‘Daniel Bryan was a great wrestler on the independence, yeah, and I saw him and was like, “Why is this guy not in major mainstream wrestling?”

‘I sought him out to get him a shot, yeah, and I was able to help him become who he became. A lot of people don’t know that.’

As Bryan Danielson, the American Dragon loved working in the UK, and Mark is no different.

‘Any time we were at the O2, it was like WrestleMania,’ he said of his time performing over here. ‘That was my time to go out there and and make an impression on a group of people that don’t get to see me in person a lot.’

One match at the iconic London venue that stands out was a 2012 bout against CM Punk for the WWE Championship, when the duo were allowed to let loose in the ring.

‘It was so good that they just kept adding more time. And that’s a compliment to the two people that were in the ring,’ he said. ‘But it was also a trust factor that they realised that, “Wow, these two guys can go, just let them go”. I always took a lot of pride in that match.’

Mark has a deeper connection to the UK too, and being back on these shoes for FTLOW will be a special moment.

‘I don’t think a lot of people know, but I actually lived in Crawley. When I was a young guy learning the strongman game, there was a couple that lived there that were a strongman and a strongwoman,’ he said,

‘I went train with them for a while. I’ve been coming to London since the late 90s with WWE. So I grew to have a lot of friends there, and in Manchester and Wales.

‘Being around the UK a lot, it just drove me to having all of those relationships. So, I always look forward to coming back.’

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