WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry thinks TNA hasn’t benefited enough from its partnership with WWE.
Since 2024, WWE and TNA Wrestling have collaborated, and they officially announced their multi-year partnership in January 2025. However, wrestlers from both companies had already been appearing on each other’s shows throughout 2024.
The partnership reached a major moment at WWE WrestleMania 41 when TNA World Champion Joe Hendry faced Randy Orton. Hendry lost to Orton in just a few minutes. While this appearance on WWE’s biggest show of the year was a huge opportunity for TNA, Mark Henry believes it didn’t provide the expected benefit for the company.
On Busted Open Radio, Mark Henry expressed that TNA needs to gain more from its partnership with WWE. “I think that TNA needs to get more and I think that can happen,” Henry said. “You see a match with Moose and Oba Femi, it’s going to be Oba Femi. You see a match with Joe Hendry, he’s the only one that’s getting the love. It’s got to go back and forth, ‘you win one, I win one, let’s have the rubber match.’” [H/T: Wrestling Inc]
Joe Hendry, who was attacked by Trick Williams at TNA Rebellions, appeared on NXT this week to call out Williams. However, instead of facing Williams, Hendry was attacked by Darkstate.
TNA World Champion Joe Hendry Discusses Facing Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Joe Hendry recently shared details about his match with Randy Orton at WrestleMania, explaining when he first learned about the opportunity. “I found out about a week before. I had to sit on this for a week!”
“So I was in the airport and I got a text from Triple H, saying, ‘Can you talk?’ And I was [going to be] at WWE World. I was scheduled to be there to be signing things. I thought maybe something to the effect of they got the Slammys, or it might be doing a promo at WWE World. So I’m kinda expecting that’s what the call is going to be.
“And Triple H says, ‘Listen, I’m sure you’re aware that Randy needs an opponent.’ And yeah, that threw me off completely. I was in a state of shock, but I just knew there was a job to be done. I knew in my mind when I approach these things, I just want to bring as much value as possible. And I want this to be the best moment that we can possibly make it.
“And I’m so proud of what we did out there. That shot of the spin around into the RKO is now being made into a trading card. I think it was a really fun moment for the fans. Walking to the ring in front of 60,000 people was a huge moment for me. And what an honor to share the ring with Randy Orton. I just wrestled Randy Orton at WrestleMania. What is going on?”
Read More: Joe Hendry Details The ‘Military Operation’ To Keep Him Hidden Before Wrestlemania Match With Randy Orton
