Joe Hendry Reveals When He Found Out He Was Wrestling Randy Orton At WrestleMania 41

Joe Hendry was the surprise open challenge opponent for Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41 on Sunday night, and while he lost the match in a matter of minutes, his appearance was one of the best moments on the show.

Hendry says that he found out he would be taking that spot against Orton a week before the event. During an interview with Ariel Helwani, Hendry talked about details of his match and said that it was Triple H who reached out to him to let him know of the WrestleMania 41 plan.

"I found out about a week before," Hendry said. "I had to sit on this for a week! I was in the airport and I got a text from Triple H saying 'can you talk.' And, I was at WWE World. I was scheduled to be there signing things. I thought it was maybe something to do with the Slammys or he might want a promo at WWE World. So, I expected that was what the call was going to be.

"Triple H says, 'I'm sure you're aware that Randy needs an opponent and that threw me off completely. I was in a state of shock. But, I knew there was a job to be done and I know when I approach these things I want to bring as much value as possible. I want this to be the best moment we can possibly make. And, I'm so proud of what we did out there."

MORE: Joe Hendry Reveals How He Got Randy Orton's Endorsement Following WWE WrestleMania 41 Match

Joe Hendry is the TNA World Champion and he'll defend that championship at Rebellion on Sunday night against Frankie Kazarian and Ethan Page in a Triple Threat Match. Hendry has made television appearances for the NXT brand, but has yet to appear on the WWE main roster.

Randy Orton was originally scheduled to face Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 41, but the match was scrapped due to Owens injuring his neck and needing time off for surgery.

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