Former TNA World Champion Joe Hendry made the jump to WWE NXT full-time In December 2025, after working closely with the brand under the TNA contract. The viral star won the NXT Championship a few months laterin a dramatic ladder game. in one episodeInsight with Chris Van VleetHe explained that he believes talking with NXT creative director Shawn Michaels helped push him to that next level, after he came in ready to work hard.
“I’m doing as much as I can in the WWE system to try to learn WWE television,” he said. “That’s when I was in the spotlight and I feel like that helped me get to that NXT Championship. I thank Sean for giving me this opportunity… We talked, it was filmed, but I asked Sean, I said: I don’t know if Sean saw me in that light before that conversation, but I feel like after that, that’s when I saw the door start to open.”
He said that after that he started learning more from Michaels. He appreciated the fact that he was able to not only get the answer to his question, but also to have a way for him to go and win the title.
Hendry received many opportunities in WWE even while he was still under TNA contract. He notably attended WrestleMania 41 where he was defeated Randy Orton in quick orderbut still got his big ‘obsession moment.
If you use any quotes from this article, credit “Insight with Chris Van Vliet” and credit ah/t Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
