Rise to Success: Career Highlights of Joe Hendry

From career breakthroughs to professional milestones, explore how Joe Hendry made an impact.

Joe Hendry is a Scottish professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, performing on NXT, where he is the reigning NXT Champion. He previously wrestled for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he held the TNA World Championship and was the longest-reigning TNA Digital Media Champion.

Sections (2)

Full Timeline Career & Achievements

2013: ICW Appearances Begin

In 2013, Joe Hendry began appearing with Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) in Scotland.

May 2014: RWA "The Revolution" PLE Appearance

On 24 May 2014, at Romanian Wrestling Alliance (RWA) inaugural "The Revolution" PLE, Joe Hendry reached the final four of the "Revolution Rumble" before being eliminated by Damian O'Connor.

2014: Discovery Wrestling Debut

In 2014, Joe Hendry debuted for Discovery Wrestling, teaming with Marty Scurll to defeat Cryme Tyme (JTG & Shad Gaspard).

2014: Transition to amateur freestyle wrestling

In 2014, Joe Hendry, a black belt in Judo, transitioned to amateur freestyle wrestling at the age of 26.

April 2015: ICW World Heavyweight Championship Challenge

On 6 April 2015, Joe Hendry unsuccessfully challenged Drew Galloway for the ICW World Heavyweight Championship at a Pro Wrestling Ulster event.

November 2015: NGW Championship Match

In November 2015, Team Scotland faced NGW Champion Nathan Cruz in an eight-man tag team match with Cruz's title on the line; Cruz retained his title.

May 2016: NGW Tag Team Championship Win

In May 2016, Joe Hendry, Lionheart, and Kid Fite answered the NGW Tag Team Championship Open Challenge and won the titles, forming Insane Fight Club.

July 2016: ICW Tag Team Championship Win

On 31 July 2016, Joe Hendry and Davey Boy, as the Local Fire, won the vacant ICW Tag Team Championships by defeating Mike Bird and Wild Boar in the finals at Shug's Hoose Party 3.

September 2016: ICW Tag Team Championship Loss

On 11 September 2016, Joe Hendry and Davey Boy lost the ICW Tag Team Championships to Polo Promotions in a ladder match.

2016: ROH Reach for the Sky Tour

In 2016, Joe Hendry made appearances for Ring of Honor during the promotion's tour of the United Kingdom titled Reach for the Sky, losing matches against Donovan Dijak and Jay White.

March 2017: Heel Turn and Leader of The Prestige in WCPW

In March 2017, Joe Hendry underwent a heel turn and became the leader of the WCPW stable, The Prestige, subsequently becoming known as "The Prestigious One."

October 2017: WCPW Refuse to Lose '17

On 2 October 2017, at WCPW Refuse to Lose '17, Joe Hendry defended his WCPW championship against Will Ospreay. Marty Scurll cashed in his 'Magnificent Seven' briefcase to make the match a triple threat, and then won the championship.

2017: British Senior National Championship in freestyle wrestling

In 2017, Joe Hendry captured the British Senior National Championship in freestyle wrestling, earning selection to Team Scotland for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

2017: Commonwealth Wrestling Championship

In 2017, Joe Hendry represented Great Britain internationally in freestyle wrestling at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship.

May 2018: World of Sport Wrestling Television Tapings

Between 10 and 12 May 2018, Joe Hendry participated in television tapings for the reboot of World of Sport Wrestling.

May 2018: Impact Wrestling Debut Announcement

On 25 May 2018, Impact Wrestling announced that Joe Hendry would be part of the 1 and 2 June television tapings for the promotion from Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

2018: Commonwealth Games and Greco-Roman wrestling championship

In 2018, Joe Hendry competed at the Commonwealth Games, losing in the Round of 16. Following the Games, Hendry won the British Senior National Championship in Greco-Roman wrestling.

2018: Commonwealth Games

In 2018, Joe Hendry earned a position on the freestyle wrestling team for Scotland at the Commonwealth Games.

2018: First Impact Wrestling Appearance

In 2018, Joe Hendry first appeared in Impact Wrestling before returning to the company in September 2022.

2018: ROH Return and Honor United Event

In 2018, Joe Hendry returned to ROH as Silas Young's challenger for the ROH World Television Championship at the Honor United event on 24 May in Edinburgh, but failed to win the title. He also competed in the Honor Re-United event.

2018: Disband of WCPW stable The Prestige

In 2018, although the WCPW stable The Prestige disbanded in early 2018, Joe Hendry has continued to refer to himself by the moniker "The Prestigious One", stating that "it's me with the volume turned up", and also in a BBC interview when training for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

February 2019: Departure from Impact Wrestling

On 15 February 2019, Joe Hendry announced that he was no longer signed to appear for Impact Wrestling.

June 2019: Defeat of Andy Wild at ICW I Ain't Yer Pal, Dickface!

On 16 June 2019, Joe Hendry defeated Andy Wild at ICW I Ain't Yer Pal, Dickface!.

July 2019: ICW Departure and ROH Signing

On 27 July 2019, Joe Hendry was forced to leave ICW after losing to Leyton Buzzard, leading to him signing with Ring of Honor days later.

August 2019: ROH Contract Signing and Debut

On 8 August 2019, it was announced that Joe Hendry signed a contract with ROH. He made his first appearance as a full-time member by interrupting Dalton Castle on 24 August.

October 2019: Y Division Championship Win

On 6 October 2019, Joe Hendry defeated Joe Coffey for the Y Division Championship.

2019: Departure from ICW

In 2019, Joe Hendry ceased appearing with Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW).

September 2022: Return to TNA

In September 2022, Joe Hendry returned to Impact Wrestling, which was later renamed to TNA in 2024.

September 2022: Signing with Impact Wrestling

On the 15 September 2022 episode of Impact!, a vignette aired announcing that Joe Hendry was coming to Impact Wrestling, and the company announced on Twitter that he had signed with the promotion.

October 2022: Winning the Impact Digital Media Championship

In October 2022, Joe Hendry defeated Brian Myers for the Impact Digital Media Championship, marking his first title win in Impact Wrestling. The match aired on the November 10 episode of Impact!.

January 2023: Retaining the Digital Media Championship at Hard To Kill

In January 2023, at Hard To Kill on 13 January, Joe Hendry retained the Impact Digital Media Championship in a match against Moose.

April 2023: Y Division Championship Loss

On 8 April 2023, after holding the title for a record-setting 1,280 days, Joe Hendry lost the Y Division Championship to Gene Munny in a rematch.

June 2023: Impact Digital Media Championship Defense

On 3 June 2023, Joe Hendry returned to Discovery Wrestling to successfully defend his Impact Digital Media Championship against Jack Morris.

January 2024: Interrupting A. J. Francis's debut at Hard To Kill

At Hard To Kill on 13 January 2024, Joe Hendry interrupted the debut of A. J. Francis with a mocking music video, leading to an attack by Francis and DJ Whoo Kid.

May 2024: Theme song success

In May 2024, Joe Hendry's theme tune, "I Believe In Joe Hendry", achieved significant success, peaking at number 4 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart and number 6 on the UK Singles Sales Charts on 3 May 2024, and also reaching number 4 on the Official Big Top 40 Charts.

Loading Video...

June 2024: WWE in-ring debut on NXT

On 18 June 2024, Joe Hendry made his WWE in-ring debut on NXT as TNA's representative in a 25-man battle royal for the NXT Championship number one contender, but was eliminated by Frankie Kazarian.

2024: WWE Return on NXT

In 2024, Joe Hendry returned to WWE on NXT through a working partnership between TNA and WWE.

February 2025: Royal Rumble debut

In February 2025, Joe Hendry made his Royal Rumble debut on 1 February, entering as the 15th entrant and being eliminated by Roman Reigns.

April 2025: Return to NXT and confrontation with Trick Williams

On 22 April 2025, Joe Hendry returned to NXT, calling out Trick Williams before throwing him out of the ring with the assistance of NXT Champion Oba Femi.

November 2025: Signing with WWE and becoming NXT Champion

In November 2025, Joe Hendry signed with WWE and performs on the NXT brand. He became the NXT Champion for the first time.

December 2025: SmackDown debut

On the 26 December 2025 episode of SmackDown (taped a week prior), Joe Hendry made his main roster debut on the SmackDown brand, defeating The Miz in a Miracle on 34th Street Fight.

2025: Signing with WWE and Royal Rumble/WrestleMania Appearance

In 2025, Joe Hendry became the first TNA World Champion to enter the Royal Rumble and have a match at WrestleMania, and signed with WWE in November.

February 2026: Winning the NXT Championship

On the 3 February 2026 episode of NXT, Joe Hendry defeated Ricky Saints, Dion Lennox, Sean Legacy, Jackson Drake, Shiloh Hill, and Keanu Carver in a ladder match to win the vacant NXT Championship, securing his first title in WWE.