Joe Hendry Talks TNA Rebellion, Randy Orton and What's Next

JOE HENDRY is one of the hottest stars in professional wrestling today – and he’s making history in the process. A featured WrestleMania match. A sold-out WWE T-shirt. A WWE Topps trading card. All while holding the TNA World Championship. No one has ever done that before. Joe Hendry keeps doing the unthinkable and he says he’s only just getting started.

“This is full steam ahead. We’re gonna do phenomenal business for TNA Wrestling. Rebellion is gonna be incredible,” he promised during TNA Wrestling's Press Pass call ahead of TNA Rebellion. “My job as champion is now to continue to bring as many eyeballs to TNA Wrestling as possible, and we’re excited for the future.”

In the ’90s, a generation of wannabe British grapplers were inspired to follow their wrestling dreams after watching Davey Boy Smith conquer America. The next generation will grow up believing anything is possible after seeing Joe Hendry become a global phenomenon. Clips of his match with Randy Orton in Las Vegas topped 30 million views in a matter of days.

Wrestling Life Online was in attendance as Joe Hendry addressed the media head of his next TNA World Championship defence, a three-way match against Frankie Kazarian and Ethan Page. When WL put it to Hendry that he’s now an inspiration and a role model for the next wave of UK stars, he was taken aback.

“I’ve never actually thought of that – but that is insane,” Hendry said. “I’m just having a think about that, that is wild.”

Reflecting on his success, he made it clear that he hasn’t done it alone.

“I’m incredibly grateful, and I have to reiterate, it takes an army of people to put me in this position – this is not an individual effort. The platform of TNA Wrestling, my amazing colleagues at TNA who have brought me up to this level.

“I’ve got people around me who are helping me get better every single day. None of this happens without my colleagues, without management, without the amazing crew that they have, and without the amazing fans.

“I’m fortunate to be the person that’s doing these things, but I’ve got to take a moment to shout out my colleagues who are helping put me in this position.”

When asked what advice he would offer to young wrestlers hoping to follow in his footsteps, Hendry had a clear – and surprising – message. He warned that focusing solely on wrestling isn’t always the best route for long-term success.

“My advice is to embrace your other interests as well as professional wrestling, especially if you are young. Leon Slater is 1/1, he’s in a unique situation where he is just unbelievably talented. Not everybody is gonna be able to emulate that.

“A lot of other people – like myself included – you will have to look to your other interests and things that make you unique. So, for example, for me it was the music. If I just focused on wrestling, I wouldn’t have had that to elevate me to the next level.

“I also got my black belt in Judo, I won some championships in amateur wrestling as well. That gave me different elements to what I was doing – and life experience as well.

“So I would say, don’t neglect your other interests. Obviously, there comes a time when you have to have singular focus, but don’t shy away from your other talents. That would be my advice.

“My other piece of advice would be that wrestling didn’t really kick off for me until I earned a decent amount of money outside of wrestling. I was a full-time wrestler for a long time, it was extremely stressful, and you just get to an age where you’re like, ‘Nah, enough’s enough.’

“Develop a high-value skill that pays you a decent amount of money per hour. So come rain or shine with your professional wrestling, you know your bills are gonna be paid. What that means is you can make long-term decisions in professional wrestling instead of, ‘OK, I’m gonna ignore this really hot promotion to go and do this money gig, because rent needs to be paid.’”

Looking to the present, Hendry expressed his sincere thanks to both WWE and TNA as he straddles starring roles in both promotions.

“I’ve got phenomenal respect for everyone at WWE for the way that I’ve been treated and the opportunities that I've been given, and I don’t take anything for granted,” Hendry said. “I also want to give high credit to TNA management as well for making this such a great process.

“We created a situation on Sunday where TNA won, WWE won, myself and Randy won with the moment we had, and the fans won as well. Moving forward, I feel like we’re doing phenomenal business for both companies.

“It’s very surreal. It’s surreal to go on WWE.com and struggle to buy one of my T-shirts.”

Image credit: WWE

And as for the future? Hendry made it clear that his priority is making history with TNA.

“You wouldn’t believe how many WWE wrestlers tell me how excited they are about TNA Wrestling. Now we’re gonna head into Rebellion with all the buzz and hype in the world, so I’m extremely happy.

“This title reign is about big business for TNA Wrestling. That’s what we’re gonna do now. We’re gonna take everything that just happened at WrestleMania and we’re gonna get more people through the door than ever before. TNA has been on a historic run, and we’re gonna do everything that we can do to continue that. TNA is one of the hottest entities in our business and we’re gonna keep it coming.”

Joe Hendry isn’t just a highly accomplished wrestler with world-class charisma and a gift for creating viral moments. He’s thoughtful, articulate, and a true ambassador for TNA and professional wrestling. With his devastating combination of brains, brawn, and belief, he has everything it takes to become one of British wrestling’s all-time greats.

At Wrestling Life, we believe in Joe Hendry.

To see Joe Hendry defend his title at Rebellion, use the promo code SAYHISNAME for one month free of TNA+: https://watch.tnawrestling.com/signup

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lee Herbert is the author of the forthcoming book Rampage — a heartfelt tribute to the glory days of the WWF’s first UK boom. Packed with moments, merch, and memories, it explores how a golden era of American wrestling turned a generation of British kids into lifelong fans. Lee’s writing is a celebration of everything that’s great about professional wrestling.

REAL TALK FROM REAL TALENT

Wrestling Life with Ben Veal shines the spotlight brightly and positively on those who shaped wrestling's past, drive its present and influence its future. Widely available, the show features honest, open and inspiring conversations with many of the sport's biggest names, including Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam, Mick Foley, Lilian Garcia, Candice Michelle, Buff Bagwell, Doug Williams, Eric Bischoff and many more. The show is presented by award-winning journalist and content creator Ben Veal, co-author of Marc Mero's autobiography, Badd To Good: The Inspiring Story of a Wrestling Wildman.

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