TMZ Sports caught up with WWE legend Mark Henry on Thursday, while he was promoting Busted Open on SiriusXM.
“The World’s Strongest Man” was asked if Kofi Kingston becoming the WWE Champion was significant, and he talked about how that has potentially inspired a young generation of black professional wrestlers.
“15 years from now there might be another 2 or 3 black wrestlers that come into the industry, and they were inspired by Kofi Kingston,” Henry says.
“It’s a powerful thing to have representation, and it’s also a powerful thing to be able to see somebody that looks like you, and have them tell you first hand the struggle and what it took for them to get there.”
TMZ Sports asked Henry if WWE has a diversity problem, and he said no. He pointed to the company having a lot of turnover as the biggest issue and said he has seen improvement in diversity.
“When I came into wrestling there were 3 people, 3 black people in the company. There is growth. There is a future for the African-American in pro wrestling, and ya know, I want to be a part of that as much as I can.”
Kofi Kingston defeated Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35 to become the first African-born WWE Champion, and only the second black WWE Champion.
