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More than 60,000 fans filled Allegiant Stadium on the second night of WrestleMania 41, with the buzz from night one still in the air and the anticipation that anything could happen at the highly anticipated WWE event of the year.
WWE star Randy Orton was gliding around the ring, waiting for his opponent. It could have been anyone since the former champion found himself without an opponent. But this night in Las Vegas was something special. Not only for Orton making his 20th appearance at WrestleMania, but for the man who walked through the curtain and onto the entrance ramp.
“Say his name and he appears.”
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Joe Hendry makes his entrance during WrestleMania 41 Sunday at Allegiant Stadium on April 20, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Craig Melvin/WWE via Getty Images)
Every professional wrestling fan in the house knew who was coming out. It could only be one person.
“I believe in Joe Hendry.”
The appearance of Hendry, then the Total Nonstop Action (TNA) World Champion, was an everlasting moment for the sport. This was the first time a superstar under contract with TNA appeared at WrestleMania. And it shows that a viral push from pro wrestling fans can go a long way.
“It was an incredible moment,” Hendry recalled to PK Press Club Digital. “I think it’s a moment that exceeds even your wildest dreams. There are times when you have to ask yourself, ‘Is this a dream? To go out at WrestleMania?’ I remember walking up, being backstage, seeing the vignette marking Randy Orton’s 20th anniversary at WrestleMania, and for me to be the opponent and the surprise opponent, it was such a perfect moment. And I’m so grateful.”
It was about seven months after his WrestleMania appearance that Hendry was no longer a TNA wrestler, but he was a WWE Superstar. He was brought into the NXT roster, already knowing the brand’s rising stars.
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Hendry quickly made a name for himself. The Scottish star may have lost the opportunity to get a title shot in the Iron Survivor Challenge at NXT Deadline, but he redeemed himself earlier this month.
The Scottish wrestler won a ladder match against Dion Lennox, Jackson Drake, Keanu Carver, Ricky Saints, Sean Legacy and Shiloh Hill to win the vacant NXT Championship.
Joe Hendry celebrates his victory during NXT at the WWE Performance Center on February 3, 2026 in Orlando, Florida. (Matt Pendleton/WWE via Getty Images)
“It means the world,” he said of being the NXT Champion. “It’s very humbling that with the number of talented people that work at the Performance Center and on NXT, I am the person who has the privilege of being the champion and representing the brand. It’s a surreal feeling, but it’s a responsibility that I take very seriously and want to take on for NXT.”
Hendry took the road less traveled to become a professional wrestler.
Inspired by WWE video games, Hendry told PK Press Club Digital that he became “totally obsessed” with the sport as he watched professional wrestlers from the Attitude Era and earlier compete. He focused on the other things that take professional wrestlers from backyard tweens to immortal icons like the ring, vignettes, entrance songs, etc.
Hendry won gold medals in freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling before his career really took off. He competed in Inane Championship Wrestling in Scotland before moving to Discovery Wrestling and New Generation Wrestling. He made appearances in Ring of Honor and World of Sport Wrestling before joining Impact Wrestling, which later reverted to its original name of TNA.
But when did Joe Hendry start believing in Joe Hendry?
“I remember when I got my black belt in judo, it was really the first thing I completed in my life,” he said. “I had started a lot of things and stopped them. And when I did that, I was like wow, I reached the goal. Then after that point, I realized that for a lot of people, the hardest part is that they get so close and just to cross the finish line, I think as human beings it’s something that we all find difficult, but sometimes you have to give yourself permission to win and go all the way.
“Luckily, that’s what I was able to do in the ladder match and become NXT champion.”
Joe Hendry during the Men’s Royal Rumble match during the WWE Royal Rumble at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 1, 2025. (Joe Camporeale/Imagn Images)
Hendry now sits atop the NXT roster as champion and the face of the brand. But he’s not the only Scot to do this on the WWE roster.
Drew McIntyre is the undisputed WWE Champion as he prepares to defend his title at WrestleMania 42.
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“It was Drew who told me that Scotland is 0.068% of the world’s population, but we have a much higher percentage of WWE titles. So I’m very proud to be someone who worked with Drew. The way people talk about the Undertaker in the locker room, that’s how we saw Drew McIntyre when we were in the independents. He was our Undertaker and so to see him now as the undisputed champion of the WWE and for me to be the NXT champion at the same time, it’s an incredible feeling. He challenged me when we worked together. He always made me better and brought out the best in me so I would be thrilled if our paths could cross again.
