When news broke that Kevin Owens wasn't going to be able to wrestle Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41, it left fans with one question above all others: Who would wrestle “The Viper” at the “Showcase of the Immortals?”
After Nick Aldis officially announced a “Randy Orton Open Challenge” for Night 2 of WrestleMania 41, fans began to debate which Superstar should answer the call, be it an injured star like Ilja Dragunov, a returning Superstar like Rusev or Alister Black, or someone else entirely from the WWE ourve like Oba Femi.
And yet, in the end, the challenger in question wasn't employed by WWE at all but instead Joe Hendy, the TNA World Champion, who has appeared in a few WWE rings over the past few years but never anything on this level.
Taking the ring to big cheers and even bigger reactions from fans around the world on social media, the match more or less went how fans expected, with Hendry getting in a few spots but Orton making quick work of the TNA Champion, laying him out with an RKO for the pin, then another RKO after the match for good measure.
Was this a good showing for Hendy? No, not particularly, but it was a WrestleMania moment, the first time a TNA Champion had ever wrestled a match at the “Showcase of the Immortals” and a viral moment all the same, especially for the fans online who are all about this new era of a more inclusive WWE Universe. While only time will tell if WWE fans will see more of Hendry over the next few weeks, months, and beyond, considering how often he's been used by the promotion despite being a TNA contracted talent, it's clear someone in WWE, be that Paul “Triple H” Levesque, Shawn Michaels, or someone else, really likes what he brings to the table.
SAY HIS NAME
AND HE APPEARS
AT WRESTLEMANIA!
👏👏 pic.twitter.com/QVhx4qZxuU— WWE (@WWE) April 21, 2025