After coming off a win against his heated rival AJ Francis, Joe Hendry spoke with SlamWrestling.net to share his thoughts on the former NFL defensive lineman, his goals and fire-starting his rivalry with Moose once again.
The Scottish TNA star has been dealing with Francis since the former Top Dolla’s debut in the promotion. Hendry has a background in music and is known to use the skills to troll other stars; this time, it’s Francis, who has his own music background. When asked whether he would collaborate with Francis in or out of the ring,
Could there be a musical tag team? Hendry laughed, agreed it was possible, but that he would have to be the producer.
“I actually think because I’m so good at the melodic sections, he’s so good at rapping,” Hendry said. “If we collaborated, it would be amazing. But AJ Francis would have to not only accept his musical inferiority but also hand over creative control to such a project. Because everything I do, let’s be honest, you know, the views, the melodies, everything I do, it just turns out, and AJ Francis’ stuff, it’s hit and miss.”
He does admit that Francis’ song “We Outside” is stuck in his head.
Joe Hendry and AJ Francis sharing the ring. Photo: Joe Hendry Instagram account
As for the rivalry itself, Hendry thinks his feud with the former Top Dolla has exceeded expectations and is an excellent way to build himself back.
“I think AJ Francis and I have over-delivered on this feud,” Hendry said. “It’s been too long since I’ve been a regular on pay-per-view. So, it’s time for me to get back on those cards and start moving up. The fans are hungry for it. The fans are excited. We’re entertaining them. The views are there. So you know what? Let’s roll on and do what we do best.”
In preparation against Francis, Hendry notes that he is a power wrestler and aims to get a power move on him. The former TNA Digital Media champion said that he has deadlifted and squatted 500 pounds, even lifted AJ Francis, but he’s most interested in and thinks the fans are interested in if he can slam Francis.
“I don’t see too many people throwing AJ Francis around. So I think it’ll be a big moment if I can get him on my shoulders again and actually deliver a power move,” Hendry said. “I think that’ll be a really cool moment if I can get that done.”
Hendry said that all jokes aside, Francis is an “unbelievably strong and a super athlete,” but he still loves making fun of him.
As for other goals in the year, Hendry says that he changed his mentality about expectations. Instead of saying, “I must win this match,” or “I must complete this by this day,” he changed to focus on his behavior and his performance. Instead of “I must,” it is now “I will.”
If the audience is behind him and his reactions to his performance continue to be good, he can only hope for bigger opportunities to come.
Interactions with fans on social media is important to Hendry, and he admitted he wouldn’t be anywhere without them. He explained that a person named ‘Drum Boy’ showed TNA management the viral videos of his entrances and how even non-wrestling fans were watching. The management didn’t understand why, but they allowed him to continue doing the parodies and that helped propel him to where he is now. He wants to continue entertaining the audience and constantly looks for new ways to do so. He also thinks the demands of the fans are what helps TNA get to the next level.
“When you go in with the mentality of, How do I entertain these fans as best as I possibly can with the minutes and the seconds that I have? Everybody wins when you go in with that mentality,” Hendry said. “The fans love it. It builds your bond with them, and you also advance in your career. The more attention I’ve paid to the fans and interacting with them at live events, the more everyone wins.”
The viral entrances and the music parodies are unique to Hendry, inspired by the likes of South Park and Tenacious D.
“I just basically brought everything that I love and put it together, and I get to put it out there,” Hendry said. “So I’m very grateful to TNA management for allowing me to express myself that way.”
Regarding who Hendry wants next, he aims for the current TNA World champion, Moose. The two have had quite the rivalry, and Hendry thinks it’s time for him to rise and become world champion. During the interview, a thumbs-up emoji popped up during the Zoom call, and Hendry said he didn’t know how that happened, but he thought the world agreed and that it was his time.
Joe Hendry at Impact Wrestling Sacrifice on Friday, March 24, 2023, at St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario. Photo by Brad McFarlin
There isn’t a direct pathway to get to Moose, but Hendry is trying to improve himself for when he gets his hands on him.
“There’s a million different things that you can look at. And realistically, can I improve in every single area? Yes, I can, and I try to do that every single day,” Hendry said. “All I’m going to do is deliver my job to the best of my ability, be a true professional, deliver as often and as well as I can, and do as much as I can for the company, show that I can handle these opportunities and improve myself in every aspect of the game.”
Hendry gives a lot of credit to Mike Bailey for his own development as a wrestler, even inviting him to his wrestling school in Scotland. He is grateful for Bailey’s willingness to spread his knowledge and give him advice. He said there are so many lessons and advice Bailey has taught him, but one resonates with him the most.
“Treat every show like its own complete story within another subsection of stories,” Hendry said.
In explaining the lesson, he says that every time he goes out there, it could be someone’s first time watching him or their last. The main point of Bailey’s advice is that you should be able to tell the story without relying on past shows for the audience to understand.
Would the music parodist change anything on his path to becoming a wrestler? He said no. He mentions the butterfly effect and how he could be doing something else if he changed anything. Sometimes, he would wish to change something — like everyone does — but he takes everything as a lesson.
“You only get one shot at life, and you’ve got to give it your absolute best, and I think life is about learning lessons,” Hendry concluded. “And when things don’t go your way, or mistakes are made, just going, You know what? I could have done that better. This is what I should have done. And you learn, and you move on. So there really is nothing I would change.”
TNA will have back-to-back events in Windsor, Ontario. TNA Sacrifice will be on Friday, March 8. TNA Impact will be on Saturday, March 9. The TNA Sacrifice card includes: Nic Nemeth vs. Steve Maclin; ABC (Chris Bey and Ace Austin) defending the TNA World Tag Team Championship vs. The System (Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers); Josh Alexander vs. Hammerstone; Time Machine (Chris Sabin, Kushida and Kevin Knight) vs. Mustafa Ali and The Good Hands (John Skyler and Jason Hotch); Jordynne Grace defending the TNA Knockouts World Championship against Tasha Steelz and Xia Brookside; Moose defending the TNA World Championship vs. Eric Young
TOP PHOTO: Joe Hendry lifts Eddie Edwards. Photo: Joe Hendry X account
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