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A popular WWE Superstar has revealed that Joe Hendry showing up at WrestleMania 41 was his idea. The Scotsman created history at the show by becoming the first TNA World Champion to wrestle on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
The 37-year-old made a surprise appearance, answering 14-time World Champion Randy Orton's open challenge on Night Two of WrestleMania 41. The Viper had issued the challenge after his original opponent, Kevin Owens, had to be pulled out of the show due to a neck injury. Hendry received a warm reception from the Las Vegas crowd but ended up losing the bout.
In a recent interview with Billboard, Randy Orton stated that facing Joe Hendry was his idea, and he kept pushing for it. The veteran noted that he talked everybody into it. Orton added that he was glad they went with Hendry.
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"So we put our heads together and it was actually my idea [for it to be] Joe Hendry. I kept pushing for it, and a couple people we’re unsure, but I was able to talk everybody into it. I’m really glad that they went with him," he said.
The Apex Predator noted that it was perfect and very different from anything else on the show. He stated that they were able to create a great moment with Hendry's surprising entry. Orton added that they had a lot of fun out there without having to do much.
"It was perfect. It was different from anything else on the card. It was a legitimate surprise, and we were able to keep it a surprise for the most part. We got that really cool, “Holy sh*t” moment when his music hit, and it was great. He was great. It was actually a stress-free fun Mania for me, because I didn’t have this crazy 30 minutes balls-to-the-walls match with all this high-risk sh*t. I had this cool little segment with Joe, and we didn’t have to do much to have fun out there. So I was really able to enjoy the week and just soak it all up," Orton added. [H/T: Billboard]
Joe Hendry faces another WWE loss following WrestleMania 41
After losing to Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41, Joe Hendry successfully defended his TNA World Championship in a triple-threat match against Frankie Kazarian and NXT star Ethan Page at the Rebellion pay-per-view.
However, Hendry did not have the same luck when he headed over to WWE's developmental brand. On the May 6 edition of NXT, the TNA star joined forces with Hank and Tank to compete with Darkstate in a six-man tag team match. The heel faction won the bout after interference from Trick Williams.
Joe Hendry has made a name for himself among wrestling fans in a very short period of time. It will be interesting to see if he permanently joins WWE in the future.
