Mark Henry's Ultimatum

by Jack Windham
May 6, 2008

After the incident with Michael Hayes, Mark Henry has apparently given Vince McMahon an ultimatum.

Mark Henry's Ultimatum

A couple of weeks ago, Mark Henry was in involved in an incident with Smackdown head writer.

Michael Hayes used a racial slur against the World's Strongest Man during Wrestlemania 24 weekend.

Mark Henry was quite disturbed by the incident, so he filed an official complaint with Vince McMahon.

The complaint cause Michael Hayes to be suspended and Smackdown to continue without its head writer.

Well, sources are now reporting that Mark Henry has specifically threatened to leave the company if WWE does not fire Michael Hayes.

A Rock and...

Michael Hayes has been suspended since Wrestlemania 24 weekend.

Casual fans probably didn't even notice that he was gone. Hardcore wrestling fans noticed because everything outside of the main event was kept simple.

A lot of midcard wrestlers were left without feuds. The few that were placed into feuds were placed into generic feuds without intriguing storylines behind them.

Losing Michael Hayes hurts quite a bit because there aren't that many qualified replacements available.

Even though he's serving a suspension, Michaell Hayes is basically still working for the company from home.

WWE needs him. They know they need. He knows that as well.

Michael Hayes has been getting away with his behavior for several years now because the company needs him.

...a Hard Place

If WWE stands firm and decides to keep Michael Hayes on board, then they run the risk of alienating Mark Henry.

Losing Mark Henry doesn't hurt the company at all from a wrestling standpoint. It's what can happen outside of the arena that worries WWE.

Mark Henry could very well file a lawsuit against WWE if the company doesn't comply with his wishes.

Financially, a lawsuit from Mark Henry won't hurt WWE too badly. However, the negative publicity that will come with it is what scares WWE.

There's also the chance that WWE could simply choose to throw a large sum of money towards Mark Henry by settling the issue outside of court.

Then again, Mark Henry has already stolen 10 years worth of salary from WWE in what many considered one of the biggest mistakes that Vince McMahon has ever made.

Closing Thoughts

WWE has a tough choice to make. Either way they choose, it's going to be a bad choice.