Joe Hendry Disagrees That His WrestleMania 41 Match Was a Squash

Joe Hendry says he’s very happy with how his WrestleMania debut against Randy Orton turned out and doesn’t see it as a squash. Hendry answered Randy Orton’s open challenge and got some offense in before he fell to the RKO. Some fans were critical of the match and felt it was little more than a squash match, and Hendry disagreed during an appearance on Busted Open Radio.

“I disagree,” Hendry said of the criticism (per Fightful). “The offense was back and forth, whereas a squash, to me, it could have been ‘ding, ding, RKO,’ there you go. For me, what I was thinking about, my different title reigns are defined by different things. When Josh Alexander was TNA World Champion, it was classic match after classic match. My job as TNA Champion and what defines this reign is business and getting as many eyeballs on TNA Wrestling as possible.”

He continued, “You know who else lost quickly at WrestleMania in a similar fashion? John Cena. All of a sudden, I’m going to say I’m too good to do that? To me, that’s exactly how it should have gone. Do you know what CM Punk told me? We had a great conversation after, CM Punk told me, ‘That’s exactly how it should’ve gone.’ If it had gone longer, I think it would have worked out worse for me. There is no shame in taking a RKO and losing to a legend like Randy Orton.”

Hendry will defend his TNA World Championship against Frankie Kazarian and NXT’s Ethan Page at TNA Rebellion.