| Henry O. Godwinn |
| Henry O. Godwinn Height: 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) Weight: 297 lb (135 kg) Real name: Mark Canterbury Hometown: West Virginia (billed from Arkansas) Pro debut: 1989 Finishing move: Slop Drop (Inverted DDT) Other aliases: Henry Orpheus Godwinn, Henry Godwinn, Shanghai Pierce, Hank, H.O.G., Mean Mark Career highlights: WWE World Tag Team Champion (2) (w/Phineas I. Godwinn) Trained by: George South, Italian Stallion Canterbury trained under George South and the Italian Stallion before debuting in 1989 under the ring name "Mean" Mark Canterbury. He quickly formed a tag team with Tex Slazenger known as the Texas Hangmen. In October 1992, the duo began wrestling for World Championship Wrestling, with Canterbury adopting the ring name Shanghai Pierce. They remained with the promotion until 1994. In the mid-1990s, Canterbury joined the World Wrestling Federation, where he was renamed Henry Orpheus Godwinn and given the gimmick of an Arkansan pig farmer who carried a bucket of "slop" to the ring, which he would throw upon his opponents. Canterbury was originally a heel, and assisted the Million Dollar Corporation on several occasions. However, when the leader of the Corporation, Ted DiBiase, was asked on an episode of WWF Action Zone whether or not Canterbury was a member of the Corporation, DiBiase instead insulted Canterbury. This inspired Canterbury to turn face by "slopping" DiBiase, and led to a brief feud between Canterbury and Corporation member Sid. Godwinn engaged in a feud with the aristocratic Hunter Hearst Helmsley. The feud culminated in December 1995 in an "Arkansas Hog Pen match" that was won by Helmsley. In 1996, Canterbury was joined by Slazenger, who had been renamed Phineas I. Godwinn. The duo were portrayed as being cousins and were collectively known as The Godwinns. Over the following two years, The Godwinns held the WWF World Tag Team Championship on two occasions and were managed by Cletus Godwinn, Hillbilly Jim and Sunny. In 1998, Canterbury entered the Brawl For All, a shoot-fighting tournament held by the WWF. He lost in the first round to Bradshaw. Later that year, the Godwinns dropped their pig farmer gimmicks and became "Southern Justice", the bodyguards of Tennessee Lee. In a match between Southern Justice and the Legion of Doom, Canterbury suffered a cracked C7 vertebra when the Legion of Doom botched a Doomsday Device. He was advised by doctors to rest for 15 weeks, but returned to the ring in less than eight weeks. Six months later, Canterbury herniated his C7 vertebra and pinched a spinal nerve, necessitating spinal fusion surgery. He evenutally left the WWF and retired. In September 2006, Canterbury wrestled several tryout matches with the World Wrestling Federation (renamed "World Wrestling Entertainment"). On September 15, 2006, WWE announced that he had been signed to a contract. |
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