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More than 60,000 fans packed Allegiant Stadium on Night 2 of WrestleMania 41 with the buzz of the first night still filling the air and the anticipation that anything could happen on the highly anticipated WWE event of the year.
WWE star Randy Orton slithered around the ring, awaiting his opponent. It could have been anybody as the former champion was left without an opponent. But that night in Las Vegas was something special. Not only for Orton who was making his 20th WrestleMania appearance, but for the man who walked through the curtain and onto the entrance ramp.
"Say his name and he appears."
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Every pro wrestling fan in the house knew who was coming out. It could only be one person.
"I believe in Joe Hendry."
Then the Total Nonstop Action (TNA) world champion, Hendry’s appearance was a perennial moment for the sport. It was the first time a TNA contracted superstar appeared at WrestleMania. And it just went to show that a viral push from pro wrestling fans could go a long way.
"It was an unbelievable moment," Hendry recalled to Fox News Digital. "I think that is a moment that is even beyond your wildest dreams. There are moments where you have to go, ‘Is this a dream? Walking out at WrestleMania?’ I remember walking, being backstage, seeing the vignette marking 20 years of Randy Orton at WrestleMania, and for me to be the opponent and the surprise opponent, it was just such a perfect moment. And I’m so grateful."
It was about seven months after his WrestleMania appearance when Hendry was no longer a TNA wrestler, but he was a WWE superstar. He was thrust onto the NXT roster, already having familiarity with the rising stars who were on the brand.
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Hendry quickly made a name for himself. The Scottish star may have lost his opportunity to get a title shot in the Iron Survivor Challenge at NXT Deadline but he redeemed himself earlier this month.
The Scottish wrestler won a ladder match over Dion Lennox, Jackson Drake, Keanu Carver, Ricky Saints, Sean Legacy and Shiloh Hill to capture the vacated NXT Championship.
"It means the world," he said of being the NXT champion. "It’s very humbling that with the amount of talented people that we have working in the Performance Center and on NXT that I’m the person who has the privilege to be the champion and to represent the brand. It’s a surreal feeling, but it’s a responsibility that I take very seriously and I want to deliver for NXT."
Hendry took the road less traveled to become a pro wrestler.
Inspired by WWE video games, Hendry told Fox News Digital he became "totally obsessed" with the sport as he watched pro wrestlers from the Attitude Era and earlier compete. He homed in on the other things that make pro wrestlers go from backyard tweeners to immortal icons like the ring gear, vignettes, entrance songs and the like.
Hendry had gold medals in freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling before his career really took off. He competed in Inane Championship Wrestling in Scotland before moving around to Discovery Wrestling and New Generation Wrestling. He had appearances in Ring of Honor and World of Sport Wrestling before getting to Impact Wrestling, which later returned to its original name of TNA.
But when did Joe Hendry start to believe in Joe Hendry?
"I remember when I got my black belt in judo, that was really the first thing that I finished to completion in my life," he said. "I’d started a lot of things and stopped them. And when I did that, I was like wow, I achieved the goal. Then after that point, I realized that for a lot of people, the difficult part is they get so close and just to push it over the line, I think as human beings, that’s something we all find difficult, but sometimes you need to give yourself permission to win and go take it all the way to the finish.
"Thankfully, that’s what I was able to do in the ladder match and become NXT champion."
Hendry now sits on top of the NXT roster as the champion and the face of the brand. But he’s not the only Scotsman who is doing that on the WWE roster.
Drew McIntyre is the undisputed WWE champion as he gets ready to defend his title at WrestleMania 42.
"It was Drew that said to me that Scotland is 0.068% of the world’s population, but we have a much larger percentage of WWE titles. So, very proud to be someone that’s worked with Drew. The way that people talk about the Undertaker in the locker room, that’s how we saw Drew McIntyre when we were on the independents. He was our Undertaker and so to see him now as undisputed WWE champion and for me to be NXT champion at the same time is an amazing feeling. He challenged me when we worked together. He always made me better and brought out the best in me. So, I’d be delighted if our paths could cross again."
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