When Kevin Owens was sidelined with a neck injury, Randy Orton found himself without an opponent for his 20th WrestleMania. Rather than scrap the match, WWE had The Viper issue an open challenge...which was answered by TNA World Heavyweight Champion Joe Hendry.
It was a fun, albeit relatively short, bout and Hendry facing Orton not only blew the roof off the arena, but was something few fans predicted (some of the names thrown around in advance included Rusev, Aleister Black, and SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis).
The match ended with Hendry having a little too much fun with the crowd, resulting in an unforgettable RKO Outta Nowhere. It was one heck of a WrestleMania moment for the TNA star, but some fans considered a quick loss to Orton as a "burial." Hendry, however, disagrees.
"It’s about creating moments," he told Ariel Helwani. "You know what this business is. At the end when Randy does my spin and then does his pose, people who know what wrestling is know that was Randy giving me his seal of approval. If this is being buried, keep it coming."
Asked about Triple H saying this won't be his last WrestleMania, Hendry added, "It’s a huge compliment. Wrestling at WrestleMania is the pinnacle of our industry. This is something that nobody would have thought possible. This is where I like to give credit to both WWE and TNA wrestling as well."
"I’ve said this before that TNA or WWE could have turned around at any point and gone that, you know what? But both parties worked together to give the fans an amazing moment and to help me as well, I feel like we’re in a situation where everybody’s working together and everybody’s winning, and that is what great business is, and that’s when the professional wrestling business is at its best. I’ve said this before."
"Different title reigns are about different things, and this title reign is about bringing as many eyeballs to TNA wrestling as possible. This is about big business, and I believe that I am helping facilitate that for TNA wrestling in collaboration with WWE," he continued. "I’m very grateful to both parties and the fans for loving it to happen. This is a win, win, win, win for everybody."
Many independent wrestling stars go viral for one reason or another, but few manage to keep their momentum going. Hendry, on the other hand, has continued riding the wave, and it does feel like his future lies in WWE in the not-too-distant future.
You can watch the full interview with Hendry in the player below.