Joe Hendry Is NXT, Remains Ready For His Next Moment (Exclusive)

It takes more than just an organic moment to become a star in wrestling. It takes dedication, skill, perseverance, and will to make it to the top, but there’s no denying a catchy theme helps a little bit, too.

Joe Hendry has had a remarkable run over the past two years, becoming the breakout star of TNA, rising to the top of the promotion as TNA Champion, and now with WWE, firmly planted atop NXT as its champion. Hendry spoke to TheSportster about his win, the rise to the top, and chasing the next moment.

Joe Hendry Looks To Help Elevate NXT

From the outside, it may look like Joe Hendry’s rise was overnight, but nothing in life is an overnight circumstance. It can take years of persistence, grinding, and clawing to the top to get to the next level.

After a whirlwind two years, and between multiple promotions, Hendry tells me he hasn’t had a minute to process it. The moments come and go, he says, because the business is always focused on what’s next, not what’s happening now.

“That’s the thing I love about wrestling is that it moves forward,” he says. “Winning the Championship was a huge goal of mine. It’s something that I’ve been super focused on, and we got that done. Now the goal is, how do I represent NXT in the best way possible? What can I do to potentially elevate the brand at NXT? What can I do as part of this team to help keep us moving forward and take us to the next level?”

Having had two major moments with the company in 2025, he officially signed with WWE in November. He’s quickly become a main player in NXT, quickly elevating to the top of the card, winning the NXT Championship on the February 3rd episode, defeating Ricky Saints, Dion Lennox, Sean Legacy, Jackson Drake, Shiloh Hill, and Keanu Carver in a ladder match.

Hendry says the moment is one he’s been pursuing for a long time, and although you may have some idea of how you’ll react when the moment occurs, it’s always different. He says there was a moment where he expressed a real, raw, emotional reaction securing the championship, and that the win means more than just validation.

“Validation is one of the emotions, but there’s a hundred different emotions that run through your mind when something like that happens. That’s my way of letting it all out, and then it’s like, Okay, on to what’s next, on to tomorrow. So it’s really cool.”

Joe Hendry Never Doubted His Rise

The rise of Joe Hendry started long before his theme song became an internet sensation, but the growth certainly helped the momentum happen faster. “I Believe In Joe Hendry” became a viral hit, first becoming a trend on TikTok, then climbing to the top of multiple iTunes charts, including the number 1 position in the UKinted Kingdom and peaked at #6 in the United States.

The song and its popularity propelled him into an entirely different stratosphere, helping both him and TNA to gain significant exposure as a result. The song resulted in him making his first appearance on NXT, shattering records for the most viewed wrestling moment of the year.

Hendry knew he had caught lightning, but he tells me he never doubted any of the success, or what it might bring, for a minute.

“If you look at it as doubt, that’s putting a negative spin on it. That’s almost like you’re putting it into the random nature of life rather than taking control of it.”

When sales of the record started to plateau and then dip, Hendry saw the moment as an opportunity, including a memorable promo where he asked Taylor Swift to “take a week off” from the charts to help his song grow again. Hendry admits he made mistakes in the moments of trying to put that lightning in a bottle, but he says the biggest thing he learned from the experience is that you have to take control of your own destiny.

“Wrestling and life is about stories,” he says. “People love stories. It’s about narratives. What narrative are you going to create? And I go into that with that mindset, with anything and everything I do. So for me, I wanted to become an NXT champion. What narrative do I have to build so that when people see Joe Hendry, they see someone who could carry a championship? It was my job to build that story by being at the performance center every day, by putting in the work, by constantly improving, by building my brand. That was the story that I was building to build myself into someone who could carry the championship.”

Hendry knows how much people like the song and how it’s transcended wrestling into every day life. When asked where the weirdest places he’s heard people singing to him, he laughs and mentions that Uber Eats has become a challenge, with multiple delivery drivers singing his impossibly catchy song to him during drop off.

“It actually happened last night. So that does happen pretty frequently. That’s one of the disadvantages is that the more you order from Uber Eats, the more you’re letting people know where you live.”

Joe Hendry Wouldn’t Change A Damn Thing About His Career

With two top championships under his belt, and two groundbreaking moments as TNA Champion in WWE, including a match against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41, The Era of Joe Hendry is truly upon us in WWE. He still faces some major challenges waiting in the wings, as Ricky Saints looks to take back what he lost, and Jackson Drake lurking at every turn.

Hendry takes no pause before answering what he’d tell his younger self. He’d tell him to stay the course and not change a damn thing.

“I wouldn’t change anything because I think the butterfly effect is a real thing. I think If you were to say one thing, you might just steer them off the trajectory or you know what? I would keep it as is because the journey that I’ve been through to get to this point has been a long journey, but I’ve learned so many lessons. I’ve had so many great experiences. I’ve had the opportunity to do so many amazing things in my life and to experience the relationship that I have with the fans and to get that support that’s built over a long period of time. If I’d have done things differently, for example, if I’d have released my song when I wrote it five years earlier, it wouldn’t have had nearly… It just wouldn’t have blown up in the way that it has. I just got that gut instinct when I was like, You know what? Now is the time to release it. I really trust my gut instinct, and I wouldn’t say anything.”

Joe Hendry is the NXT Champion and the head of the new class of WWE. He reaffirms his love for the show and its Superstars, and knows you’ll love it, too.

“This is a fast-paced, action-packed professional wrestling program where the whole roster, everyone that works on it, we’re so proud of the work that we do on this show. So make sure you check out and see on The CW.”

WWE NXT airs live on The CW every Tuesday at 8pm ET/5pm PT. Check your local listings for start times in your area.

Founding Year

1953

Streaming

USA: Peacock, Netflix Worldwide: Netflix