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Joe Hendry was one of the hottest free agents in professional wrestling up until recently, but The Prestigious One certainly made an impact upon signing with Ring of Honor
Why was ROH the choice of the Commonwealth Games freestyle amateur wrestler?
Well, we caught up with Hendry at the perfect time, just a week out from Ring of Honor’s Honor United tour, to speak with the man himself and ask why ROH was the place to be for the 'Local Hero'.
With the tour kicking off in London where Hendry has a shot at winning the World Television Championship Match if he can defeat Shane Taylor, followed by matches against Silas Young in Bolton and Matt Taven in Newport, the Honor United Tour is not to be missed.
Let's start with a simple one. You were one of wrestling's hottest free agents before signing with Ring of Honor. Why did you decide to bring prestige to ROH and sign with the company?
I think that, for me, it's one of these things I just always wanted to go to Ring of Honor. It was as early as 2016 when I first did my UK tour with Ring of Honor and it was weird, the moment I knew that I wanted to be there 100% was when I was walking to the ring, I was on my way to face Donovan Dijak and I was looking at the barriers. That just had so much history and so much prestige, if you will, for me.
My gut was telling me, "This is where I need to be." What a lot of people don't know is, earlier in 2016, I actually flew myself over to a Ring of Honor tryout, so when I'm doing my podcast and I'm talking to my trainees, anyone wanting to get into wrestling, I'm trying to educate them that things don't always happen right away. You need to work away at things for years.
I flew myself over for a tryout in 2016, got my first shot on a UK tour in 2016 and, on that tour, I saw the Television Championship changing hands twice with Marty [Scurll] and Will [Ospreay], which leads directly to me the opportunity I have on the tour, which will get into later.
Then I had a match with Silas Young in Edinburgh for the Television Championship which, to this day, is probably one of the best matches I've had, in front of the hometown crowd. Then I did another tour at the end of last year and I had a match with Jonathan Gresham in London that, I think, is the thing that kind of pushed it over the edge for me.
Like you say, I was fortunate enough to have some options and, for me, I go where my gut tells me to go and I knew that Ring of Honor was the right place for me, and also it's the place for me that they allow me to be me.
The trust is there in terms of the entrances, the content I'm making and stuff like that. I've been allowed to show my creativity and all I have to do is show up with the video file. They allow me to keep my process exactly the way it is so I'm getting to be who I am creatively, but also I'm in matches...
You look at the roster, the roster is absolutely incredible and it's with matches that are pushing me technically every single time that I wrestle for Ring of Honor, so it makes me really feel that this is the place that gives you the best of both worlds to really push myself creatively and athletically as well.
NEXT: Honor United - as a signed ROH athlete!
COMING UP: A new World Television Champion?
Prior to signing with Ring of Honor this year, you mentioned that you'd previously wrestled for the company on their UK tours in 2016 and 2018. Now that you're signed, does it alleviate pressure or give you more freedom? How does it feel to be wrestling on Honor United as a full-fledgedOH wrestler?
You know, it's hard not to give a clichéd answer but I'm extremely excited - is the answer.
When I wasn't signed to the company, you never think you're going to jump straight into a World Television title shot, which is what I got again Silas Young and I really feel like I proved myself there but now, as a signed athlete, I'm looking at the history of that championship and it's myself as a Shane Taylor in London for the World Television Championship.
The thing that I love about Ring of Honor is anything can happen at any time, and like I say, on the tour in 2016, the World Television Championship was won by both Will Osprey and Marty Scurll, by two Brits on the British tour, and trust me, I am hoping to continue that tradition.
That is really what I've been working towards. When I first walked out in Ring of Honor, when I first came in, I had a T-shirt on, my merch says "World Champ" on it because I need to come in with that World Championship mentality, and it's in the title, it's a world title- the World Television title. This is really what I've been gearing towards and I really feel like this tour for me is going to be a huge benchmark and it's the culmination of a lot of hard work.
Like you say, when I wasn't satisfied with where I was in pro wrestling, it took a lot of balls to just go, you know what? I'm going to prove I am who I say I am, I'm going to start a brand-new sport in amateur wrestling, I'm going to be a two-time champion, Greco and Freestyle, and represent my country at the Commonwealth Games - so no one should write me off as an athlete just because I'm doing these crazy entrances and stuff like that.
You look at this tour and look at the quality of the match-ups that I've got on this tour - on the first night, it's myself vs Shane Taylor for the well, television title but not only that, I'm going to get a singles match with Matt Taven as well who has literally just lost the World Championship, one of the top guys in the company. Then I get to face Silas Young once again as well so those are three top-quality match-ups.
The reason need to come to this tour is because you're going to see not only the best professional wrestling in the world but if you're a fan of British wrestling, this is a company that is putting their money where their mouth is, they are investing in British talent, flying us over, doing what they need to do to get the best British talent and they are going to showcase that on this tour.
There's a lot of talk about British wrestling right now and the state it's in - this, that and the next thing - but Ring of Honor is putting its money where its mouth is and they are investing in it as well so you need to come down and support your British wrestlers.
NEXT: Does ROH mean a more serious Joe?
COMING UP: A new World Television Champion?
One of the biggest misconceptions about ROH I think is that it's a purely straight wrestling, all in-ring action, but - while bringing the legitimacy that you do as both an experienced amateur wrestler and someone who's faced Kurt Angle in the squared circle - you've also seemingly brought your vast musical and comedic talent to ROH, which makes you the whole package.
Is this something you think more people need to be more aware of ROH offering, and can you be the benchmark for them and bring more eyes to the product?
Put it this way, I see everything that I do, I create new challenges. When I reach a new goal, I create new goals.
I'm kind of old school in the sense that I'm one of these people that believes, if you're not trying to be the top talent in that company, you just need to get the hell out of it. I know a lot of people nowadays will find that offensive but, make no mistake about it, I'm here to be the World Champion, I'm here to be the top talent in the company and this is a journey, my journey into making that happen.
When I first come into companies, you see it all the time, everywhere I've wrestled, I've always started at the bottom, and scratched and clawed my way to the top. I've got this thing that I feel is rare in this business which is a desire to be at the absolute top, and I plan to work my way to the top of Ring of Honor.
But to carry on from what you're saying - listen, to all my opponents there are, just because I am more entertaining than you doesn't mean I can't bounce you off the canvas as well.
Like you said, The Prestigious One is the total package in professional wrestling, however, Ring of Honor I think has THE most underrated roster in the world.
You look at some of the talents we've got. You look at, for example, the team of Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham. You should have seen the match that Jonathan Gresham and Alex Shelley just had that the paper view. It was unbelievable.
Again, I'm looking at all the dream matches. I'm getting to face someone like Matt Taven who's been at the absolute top of the company. I'm going to find out what that's going to be like. Shane Taylor as well, World Television Champion. His strikes are... He hits harder than anybody else. I've felt his strikes before.
Me and him went the distance, to a 15-minute draw. That's why I have this title shot. I'm one of the few people he's not been able to beat so we'll finish that story in London. I recommend you come out there.
We've got someone on the roster called Josh Woods right now who is just an unbelievable national champion amateur wrestler who just wrestles differently from other people. We've got a fellow Briton Mark Haskins as well, who brings an intensity that you've never really seen before in someone of his size. He is a phenomenal athlete and one of the best wrestlers that Britain has produced.
Also, look at Villain Enterprises, you look at how over, for example, the team is but also even look at the ascension that PCO is making as well. We've got a phenomenal women's division that is continually growing.
The company, I think, is going to go from strength to strength over the next few years and I'm excited that I've joined at this time so we can continue to see the progression it's making.
The talent is there, the roster is absolutely unbelievable and you shouldn't pay attention to the Internet as well because I will tell you now, the crowds are growing, they are getting bigger and, every time I go over there, I'm seeing more passion, more intensity from the fans and I think that there's a momentum here.
Ring of Honor's going to go from strength to strength for the next few years. There's a reason I chose to be in this company.
NEXT: Joe Hendry reflects on his time in ICW and WCPW
COMING UP: A new World Television Champion?
Being from Glasgow, I think the first time I saw you in the ring was six years ago in Insane Championship Wrestling. What do you take most away from wrestling in ICW and companies like WCPW to the Joe Hendry we see now?
Well, here's the thing. What I will always credit ICW and Mark Dallas with, and WhatCulture, WCPW/Defiant with giving me was a platform... they gave me a chance.
At the start of your career, you're not hitting it at the park but at the start of my career, I was quite... I don't want to say lucky because I don't feel like I was lucky. I feel like I was in a training school... A handful of people, probably less, that were in there as often as I was. I've worked, scratched and clawed for absently everything I had.
What ICW and WhatCulture gave me was an opportunity and it's then down to the talent to take that opportunity and make the absolute most of it. Some talents have had opportunities that haven't used it but to me, I've never been comfortable. I've never been comfortable! The only time in my career I've ever felt comfortable was a point where I was on British wrestling and I was like, you know what? Things are going pretty well, things are going great - this, that and the next thing - and that mentality is dangerous because that's when you start to stagnate.
When you think things are fine and you're comfortable where you are, that is never going to work in pro wrestling. The only attitude that you can have is to aspire for more and to aspire to be better, and I've learned that as the key to success. I can be quite flamboyant or sometimes cocky or arrogant as a person but beneath it all, there is a humbleness about where I'm at and where I need to be.
I've learned you always have to have that student of the game mentality so, no matter what it is, whether it is in ring, whether it is in the promos, whether it is the entrances or even just every detail down to my wrestling gear or my physique, you have to approach everything like a student of the game. You have to be learning at all times, you need to have that hunger and desire for more. I think people always shy away from wanting to get to the top.
Just because I want to be the champion and the top talent in the company, that's not necessarily a bad thing for anybody else. In order for me to do that, I'm going to need to be delivering the best promos, the best matches. I need to work to that level so, hopefully, if everybody has that attitude of getting to the next level, that elevates everybody - so I encourage anyone who is in any promotion at any level or any point in your life just to aspire to be better than you were the day before.
It sounds very cliché but if you come at things from the perspective of a student, you are always adding to your repertoire. "How can I just be that little bit better?" Now the difference is, when you're in a company like Ring of Honor and your at this level, it's no longer about...
When you start, I don't want to say it's easy because it's hard but it's not a secret how to get ahead. If you get yourself in great shape, if you train more than anybody else, if you practice promos more than anybody else, good things are going to happen. When you get to the upper echelon, you still need to do that but it's not necessarily just those basics, we're now looking for those little margins, because really, what is the difference between - somebody I forgot to mention earlier, Jeff Cobb, unbelievable athlete. Who will be the champion between Jeff Cobb and Rush?
There was a fractional difference between Rush and Matt Taven. It's these little marginal gains that are going to be the thing that gets you ahead, so you really need to dig deep and really need to think how you're going to evolve your game and find these little marginal gains.
So, long-winded answer for you, but I'm grateful to ICW and WCPW for giving me these opportunities but, at the end of the day, the talent is the one that has to take what they are given and be the absolute best make the absolute best of it.
NEXT: A new World Television Champion?
Absolutely, and all that hard work could pay off on the very first night of the tour. You could be going into the rest of that tour as a champion. At Honor United, the first night in London, that's Shane Taylor for the World Television Championship, Matt Taven in Newport and Silas Young in Bolton...
Here's the thing. If you win a championship, that changes the dimensions of the matches after that because if I can make it happen in London, if I can beat Shane Taylor on UK soil and become... I guess I would become the first Scottish person to hold a championship in Ring of Honor - but if I can do that, look who I'm immediately having to defend the title against.
Then there will be new expectations for me. I will have to deliver on a new level and these opponents are going to be even hungrier to beat me - so, again, I'm going to have to raise my game even higher.
I have one final question. Let's assume you win the title on the first night and you keep it for the whole tour. You previously mentioned that you've come back to Ring of Honor as they have the most prestigious titles, the most prestigious former champions and, of course, you are The Prestigious One.
If you won that champion and were given the opportunity to defend it against any former ROH Champion, who would you choose?
Look, there's only one answer to that. If you've got to pick one, it's got to be Jay Lethal.
He is the franchise of Ring of Honor. When you think of Ring of Honor, you think of Jay Lethal.
He has won both those championships. I mean, in my mind, if you're the World Champion, you're the top talent, right? But it's always going to be a debate when you put up whoever is champion against Jay Lethal.
To me, he is at the very top of his game, the very top of this company and if you can get in there and you can deliver against Jay Lethal, you're making a statement that you're at the very top of this company. That's what I'm working towards.
Who knows what happens? You never know what happens in professional wrestling but that is the person to beat in my opinion.
That would be a dream match right there. Thank you...
Before you go, I will tell you one thing, this is what I'm going to be pushing for.
Now that I'm here, we need to get Ring of Honor back in Scotland!
I was devastated when we didn't have a Scottish date. We need to do that.
I'm working on it. I'm going to be pestering management.
We've got to get back in Scotland, we've got to get a Scottish Ring of Honor date.
I 100% agree with that. Ring of Honor needs to come back to Scotland. There's definitely an appetite. Thanks for joining me, and best of luck!
Thank you for having me!
You can follow Joe Hendry on Twitter here and Ring of Honor here.
Ring of Honor makes its much-anticipated return to the UK with three big shows at the end of this month. The Honor United Tour kicks off in London on October 25, before heading to Newport on October 26th and concluding in Bolton on October 27th.
Tickets are available for all three shows here.
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