When Joe Hendry made his surprising main roster debut at the 2025 Royal Rumble, it got fans excited to see the TNA star wrestle some of the biggest stars in the WWE Universe, from John Cena, to CM Punk, and beyond.

Unfortunately for Hendry, his dream of sharing the ring with Cena didn't come true, as he was eliminated by Reigns just a few minutes into his run in the ring, and didn't last long enough to throw hands with “The Champ,” but that didn't stop the TNA Champion from striking up a conversation with his hero backstage.

Discussing what that moment was like in an interview with Aeriel Helwani, Hendry revealed that he approached Cena about working a match together and received a very surprising response from the 16-time World Champion.

“In the same way that I believed I would be in the Rumble, I’m happy to say it, I hand on heart believe that I will wrestle John Cena this year. 100%. There’s not any doubt. I had the opportunity to tell John Cena that as well. We had a long conversation. It was awesome. He is the greatest, and I’ll share some of it, I won’t share it all, but basically what he did say was that fortune favors the bold. And what he made clear is that if I want that match to happen, it’s on my shoulders, I’ve got to make it happen. I’ve got to generate the interest to make it happen – and it was almost like a challenge,” Hendry said via WrestleTalk.

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“Aside from that, he gave me some great advice, and with all the chaos of the Rumble going on, John Cena sat down with me, and we had a long, meaningful conversation. He could have used that time to think about what he was doing. He instead invested the time to talk to me. So I think he sees something in me, but I have to prove myself now. I have to put myself in a position where me vs John Cena is one of the most compelling match-ups in professional wrestling. I feel like I can.”

Whoa, could Hendry actually get that deal done? Would he be able to draw enough hype online to get Cena to make his first, and likely last, trip to the Impact Zone for a shot at the TNA Championship? Or would WWE, even with this new partnership with the promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett, never let that happen, as they want to keep Cena's appearances special and only for the WWE Universe?

While only time will tell, Hendry now has an avenue to get his dream match in before Cena retires for good; all he has to do is get enough fans online to demand it for Paul “Triple H” Levesque to make it happen. Fortunately for TNA, if fans can believe in anyone to get the deal done, it's probably Joe Hendry, as that's basically his whole thing.