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Latest Report On Joe Hendry Joining The WWE Main Roster

Joe Hendry appears to be on his way to the WWE main roster, with one network reportedly very keen on him being featured on their programming.
Rick Ucchino|
Joe Hendry
Joe Hendry | WWE

WWE and the USA Network both believe in Joe Hendry.

The former TNA World Heavyweight Champion is coming off an appearance at Saturday Night's Main Event and he'll be wrestling The Miz on the December 26 edition of Friday Night SmackDown, which appears to be the first of many bookings on the Blue Brand moving forward.

On the latest episode of WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select, it was reported that WWE is putting the pieces in place to feature some fresh faces on SmackDown with the show returning to a three-hour format next Friday, January 2, in Buffalo, New York.

"One of them looks to be Joe Hendry," WrestleVotes said during the show. "There have been internal discussions about Joe Hendry getting a main roster call-up, with Smackdown being his permanent home.... [The] USA Network was keen on getting Joe Hendry."

Fightful Select's Sean Ross Sapp reported earlier this year that Hendry was officially under contract with WWE, and even though he was still primarily working NXT tapings at the time, he was signed to a main roster deal.

There's been a great amount of noise surrounding NXT call-ups as of late, with Joe Hendry being just one of several names discussed.

Sol Ruca, Je'Von Evans and others could also be main roster bound

Sol Ruca
Sol Ruca | WWE

Mike Johnson of PWInsider reported earlier this week that the expectation is for every NXT talent who was featured during John Cena's retirement show to receive a promotion to Raw or SmackDown in the relatively near future. Some sooner than others.

There are many within WWE who reportedly view Sol Ruca as a future star on the main roster. The former NXT Women's North American Champion was very impressive in her match against Bayley at Saturday Night's Main Event, and was even booked to go over The Role Model.

The 26-year-old has less NXT creative obligations going for her right now than someone like Oba Femi, which could indicate a quicker graduation for the 26-year-old. The Ruler just recaptured the NXT Championship ahead of his clash with Cody Rhodes at SNME, and would presumably have to drop the belt before making the move to a new brand.

Femi will defend the NXT Championship against TNA X-Division Champion Leon Slater coming up at New Years Evil on Tuesday, January 6.

Je'Von Evans, meantime, appears to have already received his official call to the main roster. He successfully defeated Rayo Americano this past Monday night on Raw, and if WWE is as serious about his future as GM Adam Pearce played it off on television, then he should officially be signing to the Red Brand very soon.

Evans is currently scheduled to face Ricky Saints on the December 30 edition of NXT, which could potentially be his swan song on Tuesday nights.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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