What John Cena Said Backstage At WrestleMania: 18 Things We Learned From Joe Hendry’s Interview With Chris Van Vliet

18 Things We Learned From Joe Hendry On Insight With Chris Van Vliet:

1. Rapid Career Ascent: In the past year, Joe Hendry debuted in NXT, became TNA World Champion, was a surprise Royal Rumble entrant, and wrestled Randy Orton at WrestleMania.
2. Viral NXT Debut: His NXT debut video, where he had an unscripted, organic moment reacting to the crowd, became WWE’s most-watched video on X (formerly Twitter) at the time with over 21 million views.
3. Shawn Michaels’ NXT Influence: Shawn Michaels encouraged him to be himself in NXT, incorporating his real story, and gave him an unscripted promo opportunity backstage.
4. Longstanding Theme Song: His popular theme song “I Believe in Joe Hendry” has been around since his 2019 Ring of Honor days, with its recent surge in popularity attributed to his “larger than life” character presentation.
5. Key Mentor RD Evans: He credits his friend Robert (known in wrestling as RD Evans) for significantly helping him understand and refine his wrestling style and character, calling their collaborative work a “two-man act.”
6. John Cena as a Blueprint: Hendry views John Cena as the “blueprint” for the type of top talent he aims to be for TNA Wrestling and has received direct career advice from Cena.
7. Strong Belief in Manifestation: Joe Hendry is a strong believer in the power of manifestation and visualization, a practice he uses during workouts, attributing many of his recent unprecedented career moments to this mindset.
8. WrestleMania vs. Randy Orton Details: He found out he would be Randy Orton’s mystery opponent at WrestleMania (for Orton’s 20th WrestleMania) about a week beforehand through a personal call from Triple H. Hendry highly praised Orton as “unbelievable to work with.”
9. Backstage WrestleMania Moment with John Cena: Immediately after his WrestleMania match, John Cena approached Hendry backstage to praise his performance and offer further advice.
10. Secretive WrestleMania Arrival: To maintain the secrecy of his WrestleMania appearance, he was snuck into the venue wearing a disguise (generic hoodie, mask, and sunglasses) after changing in a car, with only two people at TNA knowing in advance.
11. Jordan Grace Inspired Rumble Goal: Seeing TNA’s Jordynne Grace make a successful appearance in the Royal Rumble inspired him to declare he would be in the next one, a goal he then intensely visualized for a year.
12. Using His Real Name: While he regretted using his real name in wrestling for many years, he now believes it helps fans connect more authentically with him as they see him “living their dream in real time.”
13. Impact of Previous CVV Interview: Hendry stated that his previous interview with Chris Van Vliet significantly impacted his career’s trajectory (a “butterfly effect”), as the insights shared led Shawn Michaels to want to showcase more of “Joe the human being” on NXT television.
14. Importance of “Road Family”: He emphasized the importance of his “road family” in TNA for combating the loneliness of constant travel, often sacrificing sleep to build that sense of community.
15. Grounding Ritual in Scotland: When he returns home to East Kilbride, Scotland, his grounding ritual is to walk his dog, Gromit (who currently needs an operation), in a local park.
16. Triple H’s Endorsement for Future Manias: Triple H personally told Joe Hendry backstage at WrestleMania, and later said in a press conference, that his match against Randy Orton would be his “first of many WrestleManias.”
17. PUBG Mobile Partnership: He has secured a significant video game partnership with PUBG Mobile, a game he and his brother used to play on Twitch years ago.
18. Three Things He’s Grateful For: When asked, Joe Hendry stated he is grateful for: 1) The friendships he has nurtured over the past year; 2) The continued time with his parents and their unwavering support and influence; and 3) His learned ability to embrace life’s randomness and “go along for the ride.”