Joe Hendry Is Living The Role Of NXT Champion, Not Just Holding A Title Belt (Exclusive)

Earlier this month, Joe Hendry slowly made the climb to the top of a ladder and pulled down the NXT Championship belt, his first title victory as a member of the WWE roster. Gasping, clawing, and slowly moving up the ladder was a poetic way to win, especially when you know the history of Hendry's career.

Hendry has been an active pro wrestler since 2013. Since then, he's worked for various wrestling promotions around the world. Over the years, he's developed a gimmick that sticks, an entrance song that crowds belt our all around the world, and has generated fan investment in his character because of his own hard work.

He wasn't always in the picture to be a top guy for any of the promotions that he's worked for over the years, but during an interview with The Takedown On SI, he morphed into that role flawlessly. Hendry carried himself like a star, genuinely cared about things that stars care about, and lived the role of being champion. He wasn't just holding a title belt.

"It's a huge responsibility," Hendry said if being NXT Champion. "Being the champion is a rare privilege and when you are the champion, there's pressure on your shoulders to try and help elevate the ticket sales. You need to be aware of ratings. You need to be aware of locker room morale. You need to try and lead by example. There's a lot of pressure."

"To be the one that gets to wear this championship and spearhead the brand right now, it's a huge honor, and it's a responsibility that I take very seriously. Every championship title reign has a story, and I want the story to be that I was able to elevate the championship and help elevate the brand."

How does Hendry do that? By understanding the numbers.

"Anytime I get to a live event, my first question is, where are we at with the draw?" Hendry said. "Where were we last time? I've learned that from CM Punk. John Cena did that. All the top talents did that. So, I've tried to learn as much as I can from these guys. I've been fortunate enough to spend time with these guys and learn from them. And that is one thing I've noticed, is that they're very hands on with the stats and knowing what they are. And yes, it's pressure, but in this game, pressure is a privilege."

It took years of hard work, dedication to the craft, and a commitment to himself to hone a character that began to move the needle, and ultimately elevate himself to this position. Hendry said there was a specific moment a few years ago when he realized he needed to sink or swim on his own accord.

"I was doing an independent show in Newcastle, England in I think maybe in 2020 2021, Hendry said. It was before I kind of got back to wrestling in America again and I was unsigned at the time. I had just done a show in front of 200 people. I did one of my comedy entrances and the fans loved it. And I remember thinking, if 200 people is as big as it gets, I'm committed. I will do this to the absolute best of my ability, regardless of how big it gets."

"This is still awesome. This is great. I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going to have fun with it. I'm going to start to have fun with it and enjoy it and just accept that (reality) no matter how big it got. That's when the pressure was somewhat relieved and my career skyrocketed after that. It was when I became truly happy and fulfilled just pursuing the craft and going in with the main intention of entertaining the audience and trying to get better. When that was my, my genuine intent, that's when doors started to open."

The Joe Hendry "Believe" gimmick was calculated

As for the Joe Hendry "Believe" gimmick that's so popular today and helped push him to new levels in the business, a lot of it was calculated, but not all of it.

"There are some things that I carved out," Hendry said of creating his now championship level act. With the song, I sat down and carved out two weeks full-time to write the song. Obviously, that was one of the greatest investments of time and resources that I've ever made.

"You also add things as you go along. I started with the biker shorts. I had different colors and then I settled on on the blue. Just before that, I dyed my hair blonde and I decided to make my mannerisms bigger when I started spinning around. "I thought that the audience were going to chant, 'I believe in Joe Hendry,' which they sometimes do, but the main chant was, 'we believe.' You can fight against it, or you can go, okay that's what we shoot for now."

Joe Hendry appeared at WrestleMania last year as a surprise opponent for Randy Orton. This year, he'll look to enter the biggest week of the year in the industry as champion and as a potential NXT Stand & Deliver headliner.

On this week's episode of NXT, Hendry opened the show and celebrated his championship win. By the end of the show, Hendry was taken out by former champion, Ricky Starks. That's how fast things move in the pro wrestling business.

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