Mark Henry believes that AEW renaming the World’s Strongest Slam has been done as a way to punish him.

“[Fans said that] AEW is mad that he [Henry] didn’t do what they wanted him to do, and they’re gonna punish him. Let me tell you this, AEW cannot punish me. There is nothing — I am bigger than AEW. There is nothing that they’ve done in the existence of their company that’s gonna make me feel like, ‘Oh, I need to bow down to that,'” he said.

Henry said that he respects several stars on the AEW roster, including The Young Bucks, Chris Jericho, Bryan Danielson, and Taz, but is seemingly upset with AEW management. A defiant Henry said that he did what was asked of him during his time in AEW, but he can no longer be told what to say and do.

“I respect the talents, but when a mandate comes that [says] ‘screw Mark Henry, we’re gonna do this,’ then that takes it out of the talent’s hands. You do what your boss tells you to do,” he said. “You don’t control my mouth. You don’t control my heart, my spirit.”

Henry, who spent three years with AEW, previously criticized the promotion’s creative team, describing it as a “circle jerk” in which only one person’s ideas were considered.