An Edinburgh-born professional wrestler has reportedly signed a contract with WWE over the weekend following a string of one-off appearances with the company.
Though not officially announced, American wrestling outlet Fightful has claimed that Joe Hendry has now officially signed with the company, becoming only the third current Scottish wrestler competing in the WWE, and is set to make regular appearances in the coming weeks.
After learning his craft across Britain, Hendry has spent the last three years at Total Nonstop Action (TNA), where he became world champion and was the company’s wrestler of the year in 2024. Hendry’s popularity rose exponentially after the release of his entrance song “I Believe in Joe Hendry” reached number four in the official charts. From this, interest from wrestling giants WWE grew. The Scot then made multiple appearances for WWE’s developmental brand NXT, in which he received great vocal support from fans each week.
With this cult figure status, Hendry returned to his parent company, where he captured the TNA World Championship against Nick Nemeth at Genesis earlier in the year. This came off the back of Hendry’s shock appearance at WWE’s annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view event, as he entered the 30-man match before being eliminated by wrestling box office star Roman Reigns. Another surprise appearance came two months later when Hendry appeared at WrestleMania 41 by answering an open challenge from wrestling legend Randy Orton.
In an interview with Chris Van Vilet, Compatriot Drew McIntyre was complimentary of Hendry:
“He’s killing it, it’s awesome. To a lot of people, it’s, ‘oh my goodness this overnight sensation’, and Joe Hendry is not an overnight sensation. He’s been working hard, he’s been paying his dues… He’s always had that entertainment aspect, but he’s come so far in the ring, He’s about a ten-year overnight sensation.”
Wrestling enthusiast Liam Miller said:
“I think it’s great for Scottish wrestling as a whole. We’ve obviously seen he likes of Drew McIntyre have incredible levels of popularity in the company, and I think Joe Hendry absolutely has all the attributes to become a success as well. Hopefully with Joe and Drew at the forefront of Scottish professional wrestling, this can inspire a new generation of young Scottish stars to emerge in the future.”
The current rumours suggest that Hendry could make his main roster appearance in the “Last Time is Now” tournament, a knockout style competition which will see the winner face John Cena as his final opponent, as the wrestling legend is set to retire at Saturday Night Main Event following a 25-year career.