It is safe to say that one of the biggest stars in TNA Wrestling is the current World Heavyweight Champion, Joe Hendry. Before capturing the top prize in the Nashville-based promotion, Hendry’s top moment was making his debut on WWE television. It was on an episode of NXT.
Recently, while speaking to Chris Van Vliet on his Insight podcast, Joe Hendry reflected on his NXT debut. It was on an episode of NXT TV in a Battle Royal to determine the number one contender for the NXT World Championship.
“The timing is crazy. So I got on the plane to Orlando, and yes, I had the appearance the next day. Obviously, you have a dream outcome for how you want it to go, but I could never have expected the response that it got, and I have a theory as to why it got the response that it did. So it actually became WWE’s most watched video on X, it was 21-22 million views, something like that. It was an insane amount. It was the most-watched video. I think the reason is because of this.
“So in TNA, my music will play for a certain amount of time, and then I’ll walk to the ring. Whenever I see signs, I’ll point. I’ll get up. I’ll do my hand waving, I’ll get in. I’ll do the spin around and hold. In NXT they wanted to try this thing where they load you in and it’s the same. So you’re there right at the start. Is what I did for Mania as well, right? So it’s ‘Say his name and he appears, I believe in Joe Hendry’, and then you do the spin around.”
Joe Hendry on how the timing for his entrance is different in NXT when compared to TNA
“Now the timing is slightly different. So, usually I know exactly what I’m going to do at each point. I had not figured in that I would have an additional 30 seconds that I didn’t know what to do with. So I actually just reacted organically. I was just looking around. I was like, damn, all this work that I put in over the years, it was just such a validating moment. I was just looking around, and it was very real. I think it’s that real moment that people could feel. I see it in the comments, and I think when wrestling has those moments of you’re creating something, but you have those really organic moments. I think when the two come together that people really like that.”
Joe Hendry is set to make history once again as he will be defending his TNA World Heavyweight Championship at NXT Battleground against Trick Williams.
What was your reaction when Joe Hendry made his NXT debut?
