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The wrestling world finally believes in Joe Hendry – and he’s not ruling anything out, even a match with John Cena.
The TNA Wrestling star has gone from cult favourite to the man behind the most watched WWE video on X in the entirety of 2024 with 17.5 million views, meaning more fans on the social media platform have viewed his entrance on last week’s NXT show than The Undertaker’s return WrestleMania return, Cody Rhodes’ emotional win or the debut of the Wyatt Sicks.
Speaking just days after that fateful night, the Scottish wrestler exclusively told Metro.co.uk: ‘I was very honoured to hear the response I got from the fans.
‘Some some days, you just you’re just firing on all cylinder, and I just felt like I was having fun. I was happy to be there, I was happy to represent TNA and bring more eyes to it, and do it on that stage.
‘And to get that reaction and to debut in NXT, in the way that I did, with my own music, it was… you can watch the clip, you can literally see a man live his dream in real time.’
Joe – a former Commonwealth Games wrestler who was so close to signing a record deal with Sony Music earlier in his life – really is living the best of both worlds, after his entrance theme I Believe In Joe Hendry soared to number four in the Official Big Top 40 last month.
He released the track officially after it went viral on TikTok, capitalising on a surge of support which carried him to a position where he was the first male name on fans’ lips when it came to the new WWE crossover with TNA.
When Joe was just 15 years old, he missed a SmackDown show and was surprised by a phone call from John Cena, which changed his life and showed him how to treat your fans, and to ‘never give up’ on your goals.
Fast forward 11 years, and now ‘anything is possible’.
‘Jordynne Grace was in the Royal Rumble,’ he pointed out. ‘I’m inspired by that, when I see that nothing is off the table.
‘Are you going to tell me that it’s impossible, for me to face John Cena? You can’t tell me it’s impossible, because there would have been people that told me that last week was impossible.’
Joe is the first to say ‘there is an element of luck’ to his overnight success, which is actually decades in the making with plenty of intelligence and ‘timing’ helping everything fall into place.
While he’s delighted to be representing TNA, he thrived in the WWE environment last week, which came a decade after he made his Raw debut as Russian lawyer.
‘I was tasked with doing a promo on Raw in a foreign accent that I didn’t know how to do,’ he laughed, pointing out that last week, everything came ‘full circle’.
It was ‘an honour’ for Joe to get to grips with how WWE works, while being allowed to stay true to himself at the same time as learning from living legends.
‘To do my entrance with their creative vision,’ he smiled. ‘I really enjoyed collaborating with Shawn Michaels and Matt Bloom on that, I had a fantastic experience.
‘I have have only positive things to say about my experience at WWE and how TNA was treated.’
It all came together so fast for Joe, who even a week before had no clue he’d be appearing on NXT, but he made sure to take a moment to soak it in on the advice of Tommy Dreamer, who was by his side at the show.
Of his entrance, he added: ‘I didn’t understand the type of reaction that I was going to get. So I was very grateful to have that extra 20 seconds to just take it in and just say, you know, “I worked really hard for this.” ‘
Although Joe admitted he has ‘been offered many deals by many wrestling companies across the years’, he refused to divulge if WWE has been one of them – but he wouldn’t change anything about the journey he’s been on.
‘I didn’t become me and the wrestler I am until I got to TNA,’ he said. ‘Ultimately, while these collaborations are amazing, and I embrace them, and I think they’re great for both companies – I am contracted to TNA Wrestling.
‘And it is my job to represent that company as best as I can. And I chose to be in TNA Wrestling.’
Looking to the future, Joe promised TNA fans ‘one of the biggest events in this company’s history’ at Slammiversary next month, as everyone looks to capitalise on the ‘buzz’ and wave momentum they’re riding right now.
‘There are so few people who get the opportunity to live their dream,’ he pondered on a personal level going forward with TNA. ‘It would be selfish of me not to give absolutely every fiber of my being.’
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TNA Wrestling fans can tune into IMPACT weekly – as well as the company’s specials and historic content – via TNA+.
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