Say his name, and he appears. After spending weeks as one of the most viral performers in the entirety of professional wrestling, Joe Hendry, who is currently under contract with TNA, made his shocking debut in NXT, answering Cody Rhodes' call the week before to take part in a Battle Royal match to become the new number one contender for Trick Williams' NXT Championship.
On paper, the decision to bring the “Prestigious One” over to NXT for a low-risk opportunity made all the sense in the world, as it allowed WWE to garner headlines without actually having to commit time to a long-term storyline and if it went well, WWE could circle back to TNA managment with a more expansive offer to book him for more matches into the future.
Appearing as the penultimate addition to the match directly before his fellow Impact alumni “All Ego” Ethan Page, Hendry's chart-topping theme song sent shockwaves through the PC, with fans singing along to the famous ditty before clamming up for an impromptu promo, where he laid out his plans for the evening: beat 24 other wrestlers, including fellow TNA wrestler Frankie Kazarian, become the number one contender, and then bring the NXT Championship back to the Impact Zone.
A sound strategy, right? Well, apparently, the rest of the performers in the math didn't feel the same way, as, after the bell officially sounded, seemingly every member of the match charged the “Prestigious One” beating down on him with extreme prejudice before he was ultimately eliminated after a minute in the match, give or take a few seconds.
Did the crowd like this booking all from HBK, Ava, and company? No, they most certainly did not, as they began chanting “bulls**t” as Hendry slowly made his way back to the locker room, but hey, should anyone really be surprised? TNA has been taking Ls for this entire partnership with NXT and WWE, leaving their champions looking like a clear tier below WWE's developmental prospects and the IWC laughing at the lopsided version of a Forbidden Door. But hey, at least Kaz lasted about 20 minutes in the match before he was eliminated; that's… something, right?
Joe Hendry believes he will work with The Rock, John Cena one day.
Speaking of Joe Hendry's arrival in WWE, while he didn't necessarily script it in his appearance on the Gabby AF podcast, he did comment on the partnership, letting it be known that he would really like to work with The Rock one day, as they are both wrestlers who know their ways around an acoustic guitar.
“I can't tell you why, this sounds crazy, I want you to save this clip because the fact that NXT is working with TNA, the fact that being a TNA talent and having the possibility to think about all of these matches and situations,” Joe Hendry told Gabby AF via Fightful. “I'm gonna say a few crazy things right here, because I just believe it to be true. If you go online, you will find a promo of me in 2017 calling out The Rock. For whatever reason, I just believe in my heart that one day, I will stand and face The Rock in a professional wrestling ring. I don't know why, I just think it's gonna happen one day.”
Whoa, Hendry versus The Rock, that sounds like a good time, right? Well, wait, it gets even better, as later in the interview, the “Prestigious One” admitted that there's another name he'd like to work with in the future should the opportunity present itself. The only problem? You might not be able to see him.
“I really like to watch a lot of in-depth wrestling interviews. I watched Cody Rhodes on Ariel Helwani, I watched John Cena on Chris Van Vliet. Now that I'm in the position that I'm in, I hear little nuggets of information that wouldn't have meant as much to me before, but now I understand. John Cena said that the reason there's so many stars in professional wrestling right now is because the field is wide open, and when he said that, it just triggered something in me because it is. The field is wide open,” Hendry noted.
“Then I started to think about putting a strategy together for my social media. When I was 15, I was not able to go to a professional wrestling match for whatever reason but my friend did. He went to the VIP and I got a call from his mobile. I'm 15 years old, and I pick up the phone and I hear, ‘Yo, it's your boy John Cena.' John Cena talked to me on the phone for ten minutes. We talked about his career, and I told him, ‘I think you're gonna win the title at WrestleMania,' and he did. I think there something full circle that could happen with John Cena, I don't know, I think we're gonna cross paths. Those are a few names that I'll throw out.”
When Hendry's contract comes to an end in the not-too-distant future, it's safe to say he should be in incredible demand from every wrestling company in the world, as he brings a certain virality to his act that makes him a very high-upside addition to any roster. If that happens in WWE and he becomes the next LA Knight-esque older prospect who runs through the developmental system, who knows, maybe one or even both of his dream matches could be in the cards before they retire.