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In the lead-up to his not-so-secret return to NXT to become a legitimate player on Shawn Michaels' brand, Joe Hendry made headlines by declaring that he wanted a shot at John Cena before he hangs up his jorts for good.
Now granted, this was before the leader of CeNation announced that he was going on a massive 30-40+ date retirement tour in 2025, let alone his own cameo at the end of NXT Heatwave, but still, despite being signed to TNA, Hendry saw a natural kinship between himself and the 16-time world champion and believed that a program together could be mutually beneficial for both men at their current spots in their careers.
Well, while only time will tell if that actual match ends up on the books, even if it doesn't, Hendry shouldn't worry too much, as in the opinion of TNA World Champion Moose on the WhatCulture podcast, he has everything it takes to become the next Cena in a wrestling landscape that could use a new “Doctor of Thuganomics.”
“Yeah, I believe in Joe Hendry. I think Joe Hendry is on the cusp of being the next John Cena. I know he has worked his a** off. His story and his journey show you that hard work pays off,” Moose explained via Fightful. “A lot of people don't know the work that Joe Hendry put in, and all the questions he asked, him cornering some of the older guys in the locker room, asking them questions on how to be better and how to get better. I'm just happy that all those questions, all that hard work, and everything he's done to get to the position he's in is actually paying off.”
With Hendry set to wrestle Moose for the TNA World Champion at Slammiversary, his next appearance on NXT could be with a shiny new belt around his waist, which, in turn, could create some very interesting opportunities for himself against “All Ego” Ethan Page, Shawn Spears, and even Trick Williams, should one of the tag team partners decide to turn on the other. And if not? Well, there are still 18 months before Cena officially calls it a career, so who knows, maybe Hendry's contract will expire, and he'll end up in WWE full-time just in time to challenge WWE's GOAT.
Joe Hendry's hard work is paying off
While Slammiversary could mark Joe Hendry's big coming out party in professional wrestling, marking the first time he's held a major promotion's World Championship since he was the DDT Iron Man Heavy Metal Champion all the way back in 2017, for the “Prestigious One” his overnight success feels like the culmination of years and years of hard work, with he explained to Fightful in a career-spanning interview.
“It has been unreal. What I’ve tried to do, this is what I say to people, I’ve learned to love pro wrestling in front of 50 people, so this is all amazing and a bonus. I’ve learned to love pro wrestling at every level, which took away a lot of the pressure for me,” Joe Hendry told Fightful.
“Before, I think I needed to reach certain benchmarks in order to be happy or satisfied with myself or career, but starting to do it for the love of doing it, and from an audience perspective, instead of going, ‘What can the business give me?’ Going, ‘What’s the best and most entertaining thing we can do here? How can we give the fans the most value?’ I’ve been really focused on that. A lot of these opportunities have been happening as a byproduct of the hard work and focus. It’s become a lifestyle and a focus, and all these cool things are a byproduct of that, rather than wishing individual things to happen. I’m in a really good place and there are some amazing things happening. I’m very lucky.”
From his time in ICW in Scotland, where he antagonized Drew McIntyre, to his underrated run in Ring of Honor before Tony Khan purchased the company, to his pre-viral success in Impact, where he was making smaller waves alongside AJ Francis as the Impact Digital Media Champion, Hendry isn't some overnight success who got lucky on social media for his catchy theme song, but instead a 36-year-old journeyman with over a decade of experience in the trenches. If this is how he gets over and becomes a top star in professional wrestling, well, it's safe to say Hendry had put in the groundwork to make his lucky break into something with much longer legs.
