Joe Hendry Reflects On ‘Unbelievable’ Match With Randy Orton At WrestleMania 41

Joe Hendry recently spoke about his match with Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41 and having it took pressure off him. Hendry achieved his first big WrestleMania moment when he came out as the opponent for Orton’s open challenge at the 2025 WrestleMania. The match didn’t last long, but it put Hendry on the biggest stage possible and helped lead to him ultimately signing with WWE.

Hendry spoke about the moment in his appearance on My Mom’s Basement With Robbie Fox. He called it one of the greatest moments of his life and talked about how he was grateful to WWE, TNA, and Orton for all going along with it. You can see the highlights below:

On What the Moment Meant To Him:

“Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it was one of the greatest moments of my life. It’s every pro wrestler’s dream to wrestle at WrestleMania. I got to wrestle Randy Orton in his 20th WrestleMania, which is like — it was a dream come true. And to actually actualize your dream like that in one moment is just so surreal. So I just feel so fortunate, because not many people get to do that. Not many people get to have their dream like that in a moment.

“And in a way, it kind of took a lot of the pressure off. Because it’s like, I’ve had this huge WrestleMania moment. So, it allowed me to kind of focus on other goals and pursue them without the weight of like, ‘I have to have this particular WrestleMania moment.’ So, to get that before I even signed with the company was crazy.”

On Everyone Making the Moment Come Together:

“It was unbelievable. And I’m actually really grateful to everybody involved that allowed that to happen. Because WWE had to be open to that, because I didn’t work for the company. TNA had to say yes to it. Randy had to say yes to it. And from what I understand, Randy actually — when he saw what I did and what it was about, he was one of the people that thought it’d be a good idea, you know? So, I’m grateful for that.”

On the Crowd Reaction:

“It was wild, man. The way I describe it is, I mean — you know, when you’ve got like 80,000 people reacting that way, it was like a physical wave of energy. It was unlike anything I’ve experienced. It was quite unbelievable. What’s crazy is, I remember I flew back. Because for a long time, I was flying back and forth from Scotland to do shows. I only moved over to America in August. So, for a lot of the time I’d be on the road and then I’d fly home. And I flew home, land at the airport, got in the car, and I was driving back to my dad’s house. And I was like — not that I would. I just, in my head I was like, ‘That moment was so crazy, I could retire now and I’ve made it.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit My Mom’s Basement With Robbie Fox with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.