Mark Henry is NOT WSM!

[Sybersnott]

Which is why they mix the events around in the WSM competition; the competitors don't have a chance to train for ALL of them, so you never know what event will pop up.

Roark.... that Number1 fan has to be kidding!  Paul Anderson strong in ANY lift??  Me thinks he doths on Paul too much!!!  

[Roark]

NumberOneFan was NOT kidding. Some fans are almost

religious in their zeal. The other part of that conversation

was that I told him that in any event involving grip strength

that Paul would suffer, and NumberOneFan responded,

"Oh, grip, that doesn't count". Just thought you guys on the

grip board would enjoy knowing you are wasting your time...

[Rick Browne]

I think Vince Mcmahon would have the say whether Henry would even be allowed to compete in the WSM. Vince owns Henry and his appointed name of "World`s Strongest Man". I listened to a radio interview that featured a guy from the WWF, named the Roc. His movie "the Scorpion King"  was recently released and is a huge success. He (Roc) said

that in order for him to do the movie with Mcmahon`s consent,(Mcmahon`s deal) Mcmahon had to be the executive producer of the movie! Did Mcmahon executive produce? no. Was Vince paid as an executive producer? yes .

Mcmahon is a genius in this regard. Maybe Mcmahon sees no financial gain allowing Henry to compete. Especially, if Henry does not fair well and is humiliated by the current list of WSM competitors. There goes Mcmahon`s marketing tool for Henry.

Or is it that Henry is too lazy to train for the WSM competition and says "Hey , I can make money doing a 10 minute show in the WWF ring, why bust my ass on the WSM circuit?" I guess we will never see it

[Guest woody36]

I read on another site that Henry has signed a 10 million

dollar contract with McMahon,set that against the top

prize in WSM of around 25 grand and you can see why he

isn't exactly pounding on Doug Edmunds door.

The Arnold classic just served a purpose,no more no less.

[Sybersnott]

If they PAID the winner of the WSM contest like they pay those WWF wrestlers, then you'd see Henry lining up to do it.

But they don't, and you won't see Henry at that event.  Once again.... it all comes down to bucks.

[Guest Harlan Jacobs]

He may be in line, But he would be out of breath before he got to the end .

[Roark]

Regarding grip and hand strength, although not 'certified',

Terry Todd asserts that Mark has closed a #3 with each

hand, upright and inverted. At the time Mark was not training

on grippers.

Mark pulled the Inch replica chest high.

And at the Todd-McLean Collection there is a thick-handled

(I would guess 4" diameter) barbell which another man known

for hand strength was able to only barely clear the floor with

(2 hands) but which Mark pulled up past his waist. I do not

know the weight of the bell.

Has any man who has won WSM, or any other national/international level strength contest, asserted himself

to be the strongest man in the world in ALL lifts or feats, or

just that he was the best on that contest day(s) for those

lifts at that time?

What if all the events at the Arnold Strongman Competition had been designed not for pure strength, as they were, but for cardiovascular endurance under load? Would we then be

saying the event was rigged unfairly to whoever won it?

[terminator]

Why is it that when OD Wilson (who I believe is a fair comparison to Mark Henry as far as body type and strength levels) came in second to JP Sigmarrson everybody clamored that the events favored JP because of speed and endurance?  Now everyone is saying exactly the opposite.  The title of World's Strongest will always be debated simply because there is no single athlete that can do everything better than everyone else.  I never said that Mark Henry was the World's Strongest Man, but I say don't discount him from the list of candidates.  

Realistically, in order to determine who is the "Strongest" all around, the items lifted should be random (everyone sees them for the first time at the same time), unbalanced, and from all angles.  I would guess that if one practiced the Conan's wheel all year long, that person would stand a pretty good chance of excelling at that event.  

Is anyone implying that the Arnold show was rigged so that Mark Henry would win?  Come on be serious, if McMahon rigged that he just would have hit all the other competitors over the head with a folding chair.  Henry had to perform on those days some pretty serious events.  For that contest he was better than the rest of those "World Class" strongmen.

[Guest]

Why dislike Mark Henry?

Because he's arrogant?  Do you also find Stone Cold cool?  Is

the Undertaker scary?

Because he's fat?  Well, he's no Bob Paris. . . Not that there's

anything wrong with that.

Because he's lazy?  Bull.  You can't lift what he lifts

without working harder than most of us can imagine.

He's a darn strong man.  That should be enough to earn

respect on a board like this.

[Guest woody36]

The fact is some people can't accept that Mr Henry is

indeed a worthy competitor for the title of WSM!

How many of the current crop of strongmen have been

drug tested close to 60 times, most of them random?.

Take away the drugs and get back to pure strength events,

and very few would keep up with Mr Henry!

[Sybersnott]

We ALL like Mark Henry VERY much.  It's just that title the WWF is calling him isn't true.  If they want to be closer to the truth, they should announce him as, "The Stongest Man in the WWF".  They have a competition called the WSM, and if Mark Henry entered THAT and won it - we wouldn't be having this discussion.

[Guest Harlan Jacobs]

It's not that I don't like Mark Henry at all. Ge may be a #### of a nice guy. The events at the Arnold where not events that make up todays strongman.Yes , Some of them where, but most where standing events. There where no cardio events at all.I don't know how many guys on the board have been in a strongman contest, but let me tell you , Cardio is a big part of it. I am not saying that Mark is not strong, not in the least bit. And I am not surprised at all that he can close the #3. I know Schoonveld closed it the first time it was handed to him. Samulson closed it.I have no doubt that Phister could,Also I bet that Odd Haughen could also.

       Since there is a contest that is called The Worlds Stronest Man,Aand since Mark has never won it , Or even been to it, I don't feel it's right to claim that title.

[Guest]

Just because one wins the WSM doesn't make him the world's

strongest man.  And just because another calls himself the

world's strongest man doesn't mean he is saying he won the

WSM.

As for cardio. . . Cardio?  World's Strongest Half-Miler?  Most

weight lifted by a Kenyan postal worker?  What competition

do you really want to see?

:p

[Roark]

Kenyan postal worker? He could deliver the goods.

Interesting points, raday. Before the WSM began, other

than the Highland Games, how many strength events involved

foot movement of more than a 'shift'?

Early contests demanded that heels remain together, or

at least be brought back together at the end of the lift,

and off the top of my memory, any lift could have been

performed within the space of a shot put circle.

In those days we had no problem acknowledging that the

world's strongest man was non-aerobic. Why do we now

have such a problem when those entering have all agreed to

the terms.

But, again, ignore the WWF's ramblings. That organization is

not known for pinning the truth to a situation.

[Guest Harlan Jacobs]

Raday, I not like watching track meets either. But that is what this contest has become. I am hearing through the grapevines that some promoters are working on changing that.