Stone Cold’s chat with Mark Henry on the latest episode of WWE Network’s Broken Skull Sessions is a good watch.
There’s not much in the way of groundbreaking information, and I was very disappointed they didn’t cover Henry’s “retirement” promo. But the two Texans shot the $#!+ for 100 minutes, so they got in about as much as they could, I guess.
What you do get is two pros who love the business, but who came to it in very different ways and with different perspectives, talking about (most of) the World’s Strongest Man’s Hall of Fame career.
That included the 2000 angle where Henry’s on-screen girlfriend, 77 year old Mae Young, gave birth to their child... a plastic hand.
Austin plays the scene in its entirety, and watching Mark crack up about it - and Stone Cold crack up watching Mark crack up about it - is worth the $9.99 by itself. When Henry composes himself, Austin asks him to “take me in the room” when the segment was pitched to him.
“Bruce Prichard and Vince [McMahon pitched it to me]. And I’m asking Vince like, ‘Vince. Why a hand!?!?’
And he goes [impersonates Vince exhaling and looking around] ‘It was a hand!’ and just laughs this evil, hysterical laugh. And I still to this day Steve don’t get why a hand...”
Stone Cold doesn’t know why either, but they both agree it was a sign McMahon was fully on board with... whatever it was... because when Vince gets excited about something, he “pushes it to the moon.”
So why a hand? Because Vince popped himself with the idea, and thought it was hilarious other people didn’t get it.
Sounds about right.
Watch Mark Henry on Steve Austin’s The Broken Skull Sessions here.