When Joe Hendry marched out to the ring on NXT for the 25-man battle royal to decide the number one contender for Trick Williams' NXT Championship, it felt like a very big deal. The promotion gave him microphone time – more than Top Dolla ever received on SmackDown, by his own admission – played his infamous intro and made him look like a legitimate star gracing the Performance Center with his presence.

… but then they beat him in roughly a minute, and while that was used to set up a fun digital exclusive video with Shawn Michaels, it translated poorly to the fans in Orlando and online, so much so that the crowd chanted, “This is bulls**t” for a solid few minutes while the match continued on.

What gives? Why did WWE do Hendry dirty? Did they not think he was a draw, or that the fun online moment wouldn't translate over a full match? Or did they instead think that he wasn't that popular and that fans at the PC may not have known who Hendry even was?

Well, considering the video of his debut is now WWE's most viewed piece of digital media since WrestleMania, it's safe to say the promotion simply can't waste the excitement surrounding the “Prestigious One,” as even though he isn't under contract with them, he might just be one of the most popular members of the WWE Universe, even if he's subletting space instead of being a permanent resident… at least for now.

Now granted, maybe this is all a short-term gain spurned on by a potent mix of online hype and novelty; when Kenta appeared on AEW Dynamite as the first-ever Forbidden Door appearance, it drew similar excitement from the IWC, and yet now he might not even earn a spot on the namesake Pay-Per-View because he isn't a big enough star. Still, for the time being, Hendry is incredibly over and fans want nothing more than to see him more in the WWE Universe, as multiple fan signs on SmackDown clearly denoted. If WWE is wise, they will give fans what they want and actually allow Hendry to win a few matches on the way to a bigger showcase match down the line, as in the end, the NXT-TNA crossover only works if both promotions are benefitting, which as of now, appears not to be the case.

Even Joe Hendry knows his appearance in NXT was special.

Speaking of Joe Hendry and his recent appearance on NXT, the “Prestigious One” stopped by Busted Open Radio to discuss his big moment and how it all came together. While Hendry noted that his entrance wasn't exactly how he does it in TNA, as they cut off “I believe in Joe Hendry” before it got to the guitar solo, in the end, the TNA signee was proud of the moment, and the fans liked it too, what with the video of his debut being among the most viewed WWE has produced this year.

“What's interesting about it is, it's not how we usually do the entrance. I was looking forward to experiencing the NXT production to see how they would want to do it. I started very similar to how (Chris) Jericho started with turning around. I'm there for a little longer. I hadn't really prepared for how long that would feel in real time. There was about 20 seconds where I was like, ‘I can take this in.' The comments, people said you could see the genuine moment I had with the crowd. That's me going, ‘Thanks guys. Thank you.' I feel the fans had my back that day. I go stand out there before I turn around, and I heard gasps. If you watch the video, you can see the camera shake. For that to be WWE's most liked video since WrestleMania. To be able to do that representing TNA is unbelievable. I have not processed it yet,” Joe Hendry said on Busted Open Radio via Fightful.

“One of the advantages of it happening so quickly is that I didn't have time to overthink that aspect of it. This has absolutely exceeded all expectations in all ways. I started to think ‘this could be a moment' when there were people who work at the PC [WWE Performance Center] and other stars at the PC, a lot of them were talking about my song. A couple of the producers were saying they expected a big reaction. I started to get the rumbling that more people knew the song and my act that I realized. I still didn't think it would get that over. It doesn't feel real. It's total validation.”

Sometimes, viral moments happen in WWE that the promotion didn't count on. Sometimes, a performer like Bryan Danielson will come along and force Creative to change their plans considerably – even when they really don't want to – while other times, they lean into a serendipitous moment right from the jump and decide to roll with it until the wheels fall off. While only time will tell how this Hendry run turns out, it's safe to say WWE should lean into it instead of fighting against their own crowd; a crowd that really believes in what the “Prestigious One” brings to the table.