Joe Hendry Reveals Reason For Leaving TNA And Joining NXT

Joe Hendry quickly became a popular name within the wrestling community due to his in-ring work and plethora of parody song covers he would create targeting a particular wrestler.

That popularity led him to work with numerous indie promotions before signing with TNA, which then led him to become the promotion's biggest and most well-liked performer.

After capturing the TNA Digital Media and World Heavyweight Championships, Hendry would officially sign with WWE and become part of the NXT brand in November of this year.

Why Joe Hendry chose NXT over TNA

Joe Hendry made an appearance on the No-Contest Wrestling podcast with TJ Henderson and O'Shea Jackson Jr. and spoke about his decision to join NXT.

"One thing I love about the Performance Center is it motivates, it keeps me on my toes every single day because I'm just surrounded by world class athletes, world class talents...I'm going to have to go up against world class athletes, I'm not willing to show up and be embarrassed. I have to be able to show up and compete with these world class athletes and I think that's what makes the experience of NXT so good for me."
Joe Hendry, No-Contest Wrestling Podcast

Hendry also talked about how privileged he feels to get paid to come in and learn from greats such as Terry Taylor, whom he says he has been working very closely with.

Joe Hendry's NXT work

After losing the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, Hendry has yet to capture gold once again. Instead, he has been mixed up with the DarkState faction, often teaming with the likes of Chase U, Je'Von Evans, Leon Slater, and more to compete against the group since officially joining NXT.

He also attempted to go after the AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championships when he partnered with Thea Hail to challenge current champions Ethan Page and Chelsea Green for the titles, but that ended unsuccessfully back at NXT Gold Rush.

Henry has also been hanging around the NXT Championship division and was named one of the participants in the men's Iron Survivor Challenge back at NXT Deadline, but he wasn't able to secure the victory and earn a title match.

🚨 FATAL 4-WAY MATCH 🚨

Dion Lennox, Myles Borne, Leon Slater and Joe Hendry will square off in a No. 1 Contenders Match NEXT WEEK to determine the NXT Champion's New Year's Evil opponent! 😱 pic.twitter.com/VyqQvXlFT4
— WWE (@WWE) December 10, 2025

A second chance is coming up on the next episode of NXT, as he will compete in a Fatal 4-Way against Myles Borne, Leon Slater, and Dion Lennox to determine who faces Oba Femi at New Year's Evil.

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