I believe in Joe Hendry.
Granted, I still don’t know much about Joe Hendry.
But what I do know is that I believe in him.
While I would consider myself a pretty hardcore pro wrestling fan — I subscribe to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and Fightful Select, in addition to having attended four Wrestlemanias, countless Raw, SmackDown and AEW shows, with an upcoming SummerSlam around the corner — it wasn’t until Tuesday’s episode of WWE NXT that I was first introduced to Hendry. With WWE having recently opened its doors to work with other promotions, Hendry — who stars in TNA Wrestling — debuted during a No. 1 contender’s battle royal, in which he was quickly eliminated in comedic fashion.
But while 20-year-old sensation Je’Von Evans won the match, it was Hendry who emerged as the breakout star thanks to his memorable entrance and the pop it received from the even more-hardcore-than-me NXT crowd.
I’ve watched that clip at least 20 times and I become more mesmerized each time. His charisma oozes off the screen. His connection with the audience — which he’s never appeared in front of before — is palpable. And he even has a memorable theme song, which has become a rarity in WWE these days.
By Wednesday morning, Hendry was the talk of the pro wrestling world, with the video of his NXT debut having reportedly become WWE’s “most liked video” since the massive WrestleMania XL in April. Memes of Hendry (which is apparently a thing) flooded wrestling group chats and social media, with the 36-year-old U.K. native appearing to be a cross between Chuck Norris and Tony Robbins.
Eager to learn more and remain an active participant in my wrestling group chat (shout out Viva Las Mania), which Hendry’s face now serves as the photo for, I decided to do a deep dive. And after reading his Wikipedia page top to bottom, I came to learn that “The Prestigious One” isn’t just one of pro wrestling’s most charismatic figures, but also an accomplished amateur wrestler and black belt in Judo, whose 11-year pro wrestling resume includes stops in nearly every major independent promotion.
Hendry’s entrance is apparently a big part of his presentation too, as he routinely writes and performs his own theme songs. Still, I was curious how such a unique character might translate to the wrestling ring, so I asked my wrestling group chat how he was as a worker between the ropes.
“Never seen him wrestle,” my friend, who had shared several Hendry videos and memes throughout the day, replied.
Neither have I.
Nor do we need to.
Say his name and he appears.
We all believe in Joe Hendry.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.