Prior to his professional wrestling career, he worked as a musician and uses his past experience in his professional wrestling work. In addition to various otherindependent promotions, Hendry is known for his appearances in his native Scotland withInsane Championship Wrestling (ICW) from 2013 to 2019. He also performed inRing of Honor. He first appeared in Impact Wrestling (renamed TNA in 2024) in 2018 before returning to the company in September 2022. Hendry first made some brief non-wrestling appearances for WWE in 2014 before returning in 2024 on NXT through a working partnership between TNA and WWE. On 1 February 2025, Hendry became the first TNA World Champion to enter the Royal Rumble. He entered at number 15, and lasted 3 minutes and 57 seconds before being eliminated byRoman Reigns.
Hendry initially trained to become a professional wrestler withDamian Mackle,Mikey Whiplash,Robbie Brookside, andMarty Jones at the Source Wrestling School.[1] His first Canadian tour was with SMASH Wrestling.[1] He has also worked for Pro Wrestling Ulster.[3]
Insane Championship Wrestling (2013–2019)
In 2013, Hendry began regularly appearing forInsane Championship Wrestling (ICW), and was first introduced as a member of James R. Kennedy's stable, the Kennedy Administration. He entered into a rivalry withBig Damo, before feuding with fellow Kennedy Administration memberKenny Williams. Williams won the ICW Zero-G Championship during this time, and Hendry faced him several times for the title but was unable to win it. On 6 April 2015, Hendry unsuccessfully challenged[4]Drew Galloway for theICW World Heavyweight Championship at Pro Wrestling Ulster event[5] in which theEVOLVE andDGUSAOpen the Freedom Gate titles were also on the line.[6]
Hendry later formed tag team the Local Fire with Davey Boy. Together, they entered the ICW Tag Team Title Tournament (held to crown new champions once Polo Promotions left the company after winning the belts) and beat Mike Bird andWild Boar in the finals at Shug's Hoose Party 3 on 31 July 2016 to win the vacant ICW Tag Team Championships.[7] They lost the titles on 11 September 2016 to Polo Promotions in a ladder match.[8]
On 16 June 2019, Hendry defeated Andy Wild atICW I Ain't Yer Pal, Dickface!.[9]On 27 July 2019, Hendry was forced to leave ICW after losing toLeyton Buzzard in a singles match at Night 1 of Shug's Hoose Party 6. This led to him signing withRing of Honor just days later.
Hendry earned his way back into title contention with victories over Dalton Castle, Kenny Williams, Timothy Thatcher and former champion Girvan.[13][14]
On 6 October 2019, Hendry defeatedJoe Coffey for the Y Division Championship. Holding the title for a record-setting 1,280 days, Hendry retained against Coffey, Theo Doros, Andy Wild,BT Gunn and Gene Munny before Munny defeated him in a rematch on 8 April 2023.[15]
On 3 June 2023, Hendry returned to Discovery Wrestling to successfully defend his Impact Digital Media Championship againstJack Morris.[16]
New Generation Wrestling (2015–2018)
Hendry made his debut forNew Generation Wrestling (NGW) in 2015, losing a match toNathan Cruz before forming Team Scotland with fellow ICW wrestlers Davey Blaze,Lionheart and Kid Fite. Team Scotland often antagonised NGW ChampionNathan Cruz and eventually challenged Cruz to face them in an eight-man tag team match with Cruz's title on the line with the stipulation that if Cruz or any of his teammates were pinned, he would lose the title. Cruz retained his title in the eight-man tag team match in November 2015.[17] Hendry, Lionheart and Kid Fite next appeared for NGW in May 2016, all three answering the NGW Tag Team Championship Open Challenge set by The UK's Biggest Tag Team (Stixx and Colossus Kennedy). After Hendry used the belt as a weapon, the trio became the new tag team champions.[18] The official name for the team was later confirmed to be Insane Fight Club.
WhatCulture Pro Wrestling / Defiant Wrestling (2016–2018)
Hendry then began working forWhatCulture Pro Wrestling (WCPW).[19] The first few weeks Hendry started a feud withJoseph Conners when, on 3 September, at WCPW Stacked Hendry was involved in a fatal four way for the WCPW Championship, in which, he was betrayed by Conners, who won the title. He faced Conners two times for the WCPW Title, but was defeated twice. After two defeats by the then WCPW Champion Drew Galloway, Hendry turnedheel. On 6 March, at Exit Wounds, Hendry,Joe Coffey,Travis Banks, andB. T. Gunn formed The Prestige, a stable claiming something was wrong with professional wrestling and they were going to fix it. At the Mexican qualifier for the WCPW Pro Wrestling World Cup, Hendry defeated Martin Kirby by referee stoppage, becoming the WCPW Champion. On 2 October 2017, at WCPW Refuse to Lose '17, Hendry defended his championship againstWill Ospreay. During the match,Marty Scurll cashed in his 'Magnificent Seven' briefcase (which he won earlier in the night from Hendry's stablemate El Ligero) to make the match a triple threat. Scurll then won the championship by submitting Hendry with the crossface chickenwing. Hendry then started a feud with fellow stablemate Travis Banks, causing the exodus of Joe Coffey and BT Gunn from The Prestige.
Ring of Honor (2016)
In 2016, Hendry made a few appearances for the American promotionRing of Honor during the promotion's tour of the United Kingdom titledReach for the Sky. He competed on both nights of the tour, losing both of his matches againstDonovan Dijak andJay White on November 18 and November 19 respectively.[20][21]
World of Sport Wrestling (2018–2019)
Hendry executing aDDT against Eric Cairnie at a PWA event in 2018
Between 10 and 12 May 2018, Hendry was part of the television tapings for the reboot ofWorld of Sport Wrestling. On the 28 July episode ofWOS Wrestling (taped 10 May), Hendry partnered Martin Kirby in the WOS Tag Team Championship first match against Iestyn Rees andKip Sabian. However, Kirby walked away from Hendry during the match, allowing him to be beaten down by Rees and Sabian.[22] The two men traded wins over each other; Kirby on the 11 August episode (taped 10 May) in a singles match,[23] and Hendry on the 1 September episode (taped 11 May) in a submission match.[24]
Hendry was also involved in title challenges for the WOS Championship. On the 4 August episode (taped 10 May), he interrupted a segment with the then-current champion,Rampage. ExecutiveStu Bennett gave him a title shot soon afterwards, but Hendry was defeated by Rampage.[25] On the 18 August episode (taped 11 May), he wrestled in a number one contender three-way match, alongside Justin Sysum andNathan Cruz, which Sysum won.[26]
From January to February 2019, Hendry was part of the World of Sport Wrestling UK tour, where he was largely used in tag matches. He was successful in all of them, teaming withBT Gunn four times andGrado once.[27]
Impact Wrestling (2018–2019)
On 25 May 2018,Impact Wrestling announced through Twitter that Hendry would be part of the 1 and 2 June television tapings for the promotion fromWindsor, Ontario,Canada.[28] Hendry made his debut for the company on the 5 July episode ofImpact!, as a surprise toGrado by his girlfriendKatarina.[29] On the 12 July episode, the trio got involved in a feud withEli Drake, who insinuated to Grado that Hendry was trying to make Katarina his girlfriend.[30] On the 17 July episode, Hendry defeated Drake in his first match for the company.[31] On the 26 July episode, in a backstage segment, Drake gave the trio a gift which Grado unwrapped; it was a framed photograph of Hendry and Katarina together. Insulted by this action, Hendry and Katarina took the photograph away to dipose of it.[32] On the 2 August episode, Hendry teamed with Grado in a tag team match with Drake,Trevor Lee andCaleb Konley. Lee and Konley took Hendry out of the match before the bell rung, which led to Grado being outnumbered and losing the match, and Hendry being tended to by Katarina on the outside, furthering the love triangle storyline.[33] On the 9 August episode, in a backstage segment, the trio were arguing over the events of the previous week. Katarina questioned Grado over why he could not beat Drake on his own, because Hendry did, and Hendry told Grado that he would beat Drake again to end the feud.[34] However, on the 16 August episode, Grado attempted to help Hendry as the referee was being distracted by Lee. Drake took control and pushed Hendry into Grado, knocking him off the apron and then winning the match with a roll up.[35] On the 6 September episode, Hendry teamed with Grado in a tag team match against theDesi Hit Squad (Gursinder Singh andRohit Raju), in a losing effort. Following the match, Katarina turned heel, berating Grado and splitting up with him, before proclaiming her love for Hendry. Katarina made out with Hendry, but Hendry rebuffed her, instead siding with Grado. Hendry then called her the embarrassment in the situation, not Grado, so Katarina slapped him and walked away.[36] On the 27 September episode held inMexico City,Mexico, Katarina approached Hendry and Grado in a backstage segment, and introducedMurder Clown to them, who would wrestle Hendry the following week.[37] On the 4 October episode, Hendry was defeated by Murder Clown, which ended up being his final televised match for Impact Wrestling.[38]
On 15 February 2019, Hendry thanked Impact Wrestling for giving him a platform to appear on their program, but announced that he was no longer signed to appear for the company.[39]
Return to ROH (2018–2022)
In 2018, Hendry's return to ROH was announced asSilas Young's challenger for theROH World Television Championship at the Honor United event on 24 May, which took place inEdinburgh.[40] Hendry failed to win the title.[41] Hendry would then compete for ROH during the Honor Re-United event, where he competed in a few matches, most notably participating in the International Cup on 16 August, where he lost toHangman Page in the opening round.[42] He competed in a four-way match on 18 August, that was won byMarty Scurll,[43] and then lost toJonathan Gresham in singles competition on 19 August.
On 8 August 2019, it was announced that Hendry was afree agent no longer, and had now signed a contract with ROH.[44] Hendry made his first appearance as a full-time member of the ROH roster by interruptingDalton Castle during a promo at Saturday Night at Center Stage on 24 August.[45] Hendry would then show up as Castle's partner, the following night at Honor For All, where the two defeated Shinobi Shadow Squad (Cheeseburger andEli Isom).[46] Hendry subsequently formed a tag team with Castle while also competing in singles matches at the same time. AtGlory By Honor XVII, Hendry participated in a battle royal to determine the #1 contender for theROH World Championship, but was eliminated by the eventual winnerSilas Young.[47] Hendry unsuccessfully challengedShane Taylor for the World Television Championship on the first night of Honor United on 25 October.[48] The following night, on 26 October, Hendry rebounded from his loss by defeating former World ChampionMatt Taven after Castle's entrance theme distracted Taven.[49]
Joe Hendry at the Ring Of Honor dojo in 2020
Hendry continued to team with Castle throughout the fall of 2019 and early 2020, competing in various matches, before ROH went on hiatus due to the outbreak of theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[50][51][52][53][54][55] Hendry returned to ROH on 12 January 2021 by participating in an eight-man tag team match, which his team won.
Hendry would then challenge his former tag team partner Dalton Castle for the World Television Championship in a four corners survival match atFinal Battle, also involvingRhett Titus and Silas Young.[56] Titus won the title.[57] FollowingTony Khan's purchase of ROH, Hendry wrestled atSupercard of Honor XV, losing to Castle.[58]
Return to Impact/Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2022–present)
Longest-reigning Digital Media Champion (2022–2023)
On 15 September 2022 episode ofImpact!, a vignette aired that Hendry was coming to Impact Wrestling, with the company announcing on Twitter that he had signed with the promotion.[59] On 7 October, atBound for Glory, he made his in-ring return by participating in theCall Your Shot Gauntlet, being eliminated byMoose.[60]
On 22 October 2022, Hendry won his first title in Impact Wrestling by defeatingBrian Myers for theImpact Digital Media Championship,[61] which aired on the November 10 episode ofImpact!.[62] He would soon begin feuding with Moose over the title after Moose mentioned Hendry's name onImpact!, leading to a match between the two for Digital Media Championship atHard To Kill on 13 January 2023,[63] which Hendry won to retain the title.[64] After retaining the title againstMatt Cardona on the 9 February episode ofImpact!,[65] Hendry continued his rivalry with Moose, leading to aDot Combat match between the two for the Digital Media Championship atNo Surrender,[66] where Hendry retained again to end the feud.[67] Hendry would then surpass Cardona to become the longest reigning Digital Media Champion and began feuding with former champion Brian Myers,[68] defeating him to retain the title atSacrifice.[69]
AtRebellion, Hendry teamed withDirty Dango andSantino Marella to defeatThe Design (Deaner,Angels,Callihan, andKon) in ahandicap match, after Callihan turned on Design by attacking Deaner.[70] Following the event, Marella was attacked, and Hendry and Dango decided to investigate who attacked Marella. On the May 18 episode ofImpact!, Hendry revealed that Dango was Marella's assailant and Dango would soon lay out Hendry while proclaiming "case closed."[71][72] This led to Hendry defending the Digital Media Championship against Dango atUnder Siege. Hendry won by disqualification after Dango hit a low blow right in front of the referee.[73] On 9 June atAgainst All Odds, Hendry successfully defended the title against Dango in a rematch to end the rivalry.[74] On 15 July atSlammiversary, Hendry lost the title toKenny King, ending his reign at 266 days.[75]
On 9 September atImpact! 1000, Hendry and his tag team partnerYuya Uemura participated in the 20-manFeast or Fired match. Hendry told Uemura to grab briefcase number 4, which contained the pink slip, and Uemura was fired from Impact Wrestling.[76][77] YouTuber Simon Miller reviewedImpact! 1000 onWhatCulture Wrestling's YouTube channel where he blamed Hendry for Uemura's firing.[78] This led to Hendry and Miller attacking each other during the recording ofJoe Hendry's Food Fight for Impact Wrestling's YouTube channel. On 20 October, Impact Wrestling confirmed that Hendry would face Miller atTurning Point, which Hendry won.[79][80] On October 26, during the UK Invasion Tour, Hendry participated in the Glasgow Cup, defeatingRich Swann in the semifinal andFrankie Kazarian in the final to win the tournament.[81]
Rise in popularity and TNA World Champion (2024–present)
Hendry in 2024
AtHard To Kill on 13 January 2024, Hendry interrupted the debut ofA. J. Francis by playing a music video that mocked Francis and it culminated in Francis attacking Hendry with the assistance ofDJ Whoo Kid. As a result, Hendry began feuding with Francis, who cost him a Digital Media Championship match againstCrazzy Steve atSacrifice. Hendry eventually faced Francis in a match on the 14 March episode ofImpact!, which Hendry lost afterRich Swann betrayed him by hitting him with a steel chair and joined forces with Francis. It led to a match between Hendry and Swann atRebellion, which Hendry lost due to interference by Francis andShawne Merriman. Hendry went viral on social media with his theme tune, "I Believe In Joe Hendry", being released as a single. It peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart and number 6 on the UK Singles Sales Charts on 3 May 2024.[82][83][84] The song peaked at number 4 on theOfficial Big Top 40 Charts.[85] On July 5 episode ofiMPACT!, Hendry defeatedJake Something to earn the final spot in thesix-way elimination match for theTNA World Championship atSlammiversary, which Hendry failed to win afterJosh Alexander turned on him by hitting him with a low blow and eliminated Hendry.Nic Nemeth went on to win the match.[86][87] As a result, Hendry began feuding with Alexander, defeating him via submission atVictory Road.[88]
On the 26 September episode ofImpact!, Hendry defeated Frankie Kazarian to become the #1 contender for the TNA World Championship atBound for Glory.[89] At the event on 26 October, Hendry failed to beat Nic Nemeth for the title after interference byJohn Layfield.[90] Hendry protested over the loss and demanded a rematch but Director of Authority Santino Marella told him that he had to work his way up the card to earn another title shot. Hendry began his title pursuit by beating Nemeth's brotherRyan Nemeth on the November 14 episode ofImpact!. AtTurning Point, Hendry won asix-way Turkey Bowl match by pinning Brian Myers, forcing him to wear the turkey suit. AtFinal Resolution, Hendry defeated Josh Alexander,Mike Santana andSteve Maclin in a four-way match to become the #1 contender for the TNA World Championship, earning a title rematch against Nic Nemeth atGenesis. At Genesis, Hendry defeated Nemeth to become the new TNA World Champion.
WWE (2014, 2024–present)
In 2014, Hendry appeared as a Russian diplomat on the 10 November episode ofRaw alongsideRusev andLana. He also appeared multiple times as one ofAdam Rose's Rosebuds.[1][91][92]
On 18 June 2024, Hendry made his WWE in-ring debut onNXT as one of TNA's representatives in a 25-manbattle royal to determine the number one contender for theNXT Championship, where he was immediately eliminated by Frankie Kazarian.[93] On the 9 July episode ofNXT, Hendry appeared asTrick Williams' tag team partner after Williams' original tag team partnerJe'Von Evans was taken out earlier that night to defeat NXT ChampionEthan Page andShawn Spears.[94] At Week 1 ofNXT: The Great American Bash on 30 July, Hendry held his first live concert in WWE.Gallus (Joe Coffey,Mark Coffey andWolfgang), who had taken issue with Hendry's NXT appearances, attacked Hendry halfway through his concert and a match between Hendry and Joe Coffey was made official for the following week where Hendry emerged victorious.[95][96] On the 20 August episode ofNXT, Hendry defeatedPete Dunne andWes Lee in atriple threat match for an NXT Championship match against Page atNXT No Mercy.[97] At the event on 1 September, Hendry failed to win the title from Page.[98]
On 1 February 2025, Hendry made hisRoyal Rumble debut, entering as the 15th entrant where he was eliminated byRoman Reigns.[99]
Professional wrestling style and persona
Hendry has been a musician for 10 years, and was the lead singer for a band namedLost in Audio (they were close to signing a deal withSony Music),[1][100][101] and has incorporated his prior career into his professional wrestling work.[1] Hendry writes and performs his own entrance music and videos.[1] As a face, Hendry was known for flamboyant ring entrances, usually parodying a famous song to mock his opponent. Examples of this include:Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" used during his feud with former manager James R. Kennedy, theEastEnders theme tune to mockSha Samuels, andLimp Bizkit's "Rollin'" to mockWolfgang.[102] InInsane Championship Wrestling, he was known as the"Local Hero", referring to a section ofKerrang! named "Local Heroes" that Hendry had appeared in, as to make fun of his "lack of musical success".[103]
Following a heel turn in March 2017, where Hendry was the leader of WCPW stable The Prestige, he became known as"The Prestigious One". Although the stable disbanded in early 2018, Hendry has continued to refer to himself by the moniker, stating that "it's me with the volume turned up",[100] and also in a BBC interview when training for the2018 Commonwealth Games.[104]
Amateur wrestling career
A black belt in Judo,[105] Hendry transitioned to amateur freestyle wrestling in 2014 at the relatively late age of 26. Hendry would capture the British Senior National Championship in freestyle wrestling in 2017, and was subsequently selected for membership on Team Scotland at the2018 Commonwealth Games.[106][107][108] Hendry went out of competition in the Round of 16, losing toAustralia'sNicolaas Verreynne. Following the Commonwealth Games, Hendry would go on to win the British Senior National Championship in Greco-Roman wrestling in 2018.
^Kreikenbohm, Philip (6 April 2015)."PWU Super Show 6".CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database.Archived from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved1 March 2023.
^TNA Wrestling Staff (13 September 2024)."TNA Victory Road 2024 Results". TNA Wrestling.Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved14 September 2024.
^Kreikenbohm, Philip (10 October 2019)."Y Division Championship Title Reigns".CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database.Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved3 February 2023.
^Cite error: The named referenceTurkey2012 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).
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