Mark Henry has seen a lot in his professional wrestling career.

He's seen stars come and go, watched his own profile go from faction member to World Heavyweight Champion to elder statesman of the industry, and now happily finds himself a member of AEW, where he wears a number of hats from producer to confidant, and even commentator when the opportunity presents itself.

So naturally, when Adam Copeland joined his fellow WWE Hall of Famer in AEW after an incredible run as Edge on RAW and SmackDown, you'd best believe the “World's Strongest Man” would have an opinion on the move; an opinion he was willing to share with Booker T as part of a special appearance on his Hall of Fame podcast.

“Man, that's huge, anytime you get a Hall of Fame caliber talent, and there's levels to it. You got Hall of Fame caliber wrestlers that were more in the assistance role, but when you get a guy that was the franchise, a guy [whose] name was on the top of the bill, even with other unbelievable names,” Mark Henry told Booker T via WrestleZone. “There was a time when Edge's name was at the top, and The Undertaker's name was next. So anytime you get a guy like that, I'm just saying right now, it's going to be more beneficial not for ratings but for the development of the people that he's going to be in the ring with.”

Is Henry on the money? Does Copeland bring almost as much, if not more to AEW as a creative mind who can help shepherd along the next generation of professional wrestling than the sort of main event-caliber performer who can headline shows and sell tickets? Eh, that depends on how big of a draw Tony Khan thought Copeland would be in 2023 after his second run in WWE was wrapped up with a tight little bow after one final match with Sheamus in front of his hometown on SmackDown. Still, the behind-the-scenes aspect of Copeland's signing is underrated by many fans and maybe shouldn't be, as no promotion can succeed if they can't cultivate future talent to replace aging stars, as plenty of upstarts from the past can clearly prove.

Mark Henry reveals the hidden value of MJF in AEW.

Speaking of the value main event-caliber performers can have behind the scenes, elsewhere in his conversation with Booker T, Mark Henry revealed the unseen value MJF brings to AEW, even if he doesn't like to advertise it.

That's right, despite his on-screen status as a loner with just one friend who doesn't seem to particularly like anyone else, in the back, the AEW World Champion is actually putting in time and work to make sure that everything goes well on Dynamite, Rampage, and Collision, going so far as to help other stars write promos if they aren't comfortable with that aspect of the game just yet as a quasi-producer.

“I think that he's polarizing enough that, every show, you already market the fact that MJf is gonna be there. For him not to be greedy, when he could be, he could say, ‘No, I don't want Adam Copeland, I don't want Bryan Danielson. I don't want Samoa Joe, I don't want a CM Punk.' I want the spotlight for myself,” Henry told Booker T via Fightful. “[That] means that he is a guy that wants the greater good, that wants to be successful, not by the means of ‘It's just me,' but successful by the means of the organization of the program that you're trying to build. He is brilliant beyond his years. You walk in the locker room, and he helps with production. He helps with helping write for people that can't do it for themselves. He goes and supports, and you see him going through what camera angles to take. He's 20-some years old. You don't find that very often. To have that understanding, I'm like where the hell did you get this from? Where'd you get that from? That's just him, he pays attention, and he understands that it's not just about him. If he wanted to take it, there's nobody there that could stop him.”

Whoa, for someone who loves to mention the “Bidding War of 2024” whenever prompted, it's becoming more and more clear with each passing anecdote that MJF actually really cares about AEW and making sure that the promotion does the best it possibly can not just to compete with WWE but to produce good shows that engage the audience on their own merit. Now that he's a babyface, maybe that should be celebrated more.