JOE HENDRY

On his time thus far in ROH:
“I have to be honest – It has been awesome! It has what I thought the dream would be. I’m traveling to all of these new places… Because, before, I didn’t have a visa. So, I couldn’t work in the United States. So, I’m going to all these amazing places. Before, I was only able to work in Canada and Mexico. But, as a British wrestler, a lot of us don’t get to see what the scene is like over in the States. It has been amazing – I hate to be cliche but it has been an honor! It’s been a fantastic opportunity, they’ve looked after me really well, and there are some amazing people that I’ve met along the way. It has been an amazing experience.”

On how he and Dalton Castle formed a kinship:
“Here’s the thing, me and Dalton, we’ve got to be the two biggest egos – The two biggest personalities in Ring of Honor. So, it has hard to keep guys like that together as a tag team. But, we’ve made the very adult decision that putting those two personalities together would, even by default, make us the most entertaining tag team in wrestling. Obviously, we’re looking towards Final Battle which is a huge step for me and for my career. We’re going to be facing Silas Young who is a long reigning TV champion and Josh Woods who is a great athlete as well. This is going to be as entertaining as it is athletic.”

On if people look past his amateur wrestling skills because of the big persona:
“Absolutely not. They’re pretty skilled also. I believe Josh Woods was a National Amateur champion as well. And, Silas, he’s got more experience than all of us. But, it is pretty cool to have myself and Dalton with entertaining personalities but when you scratch beneath the surface, we’ve both got that amateur background as well.”

On his amateur wrestling status:
“I’m focussed on professional wrestling right now. I actually just opened up my own wrestling school. The last amateur match I had was when I won my 2nd British National Championship in 2018. So, I thought, “You know, unless something comes along, I’m focused on pro wrestling. In today’s day and age, people see that amateur wrestling and pro wrestling and MMA and jiu jitsu – They’re all connected. So, never say never. But, it would take something pretty special.”

On his brief stint with Impact Wrestling:
“It was a lot of fun. To team with Grado – You know, he’s got a special kind of charisma. In front of the camera and behind, he’s got a personality people just gravitate to. So, getting to tag team and go down the road with him was a lot of fun. But, to be honest with you, I didn’t really have a visa. So, I was only really on tapings that were in Canada or Mexico. So, I did the best I could with music videos and things when I wasn’t at TV. But, the truth is, where I’m at right now, I really am 100% focussed on what I’m doing right now and that’s Ring of Honor.”

On choosing to go to ROH instead of returnign to Impact:
“Some things are for fans to know and some things are private business matters. For the places I want to go, the right decision for me was Ring of Honor. There are a lot of companies that are thriving right now. I’m thankful for the time that I’ve had in various companies. I feel I was always treated with respect. But, right now, I feel my focus is Ring of Honor.”

On the incredible change and talent coming from the UK scene:
“(laughs) Yeah, we had the UK Rock and the UK Undertaker at tribute shows back in the day. I have to be honest, I only started in pro wrestling in 2013 so a lot of the hard work was done before I ever laced up a pair of boots. Even if you look back to FWA, I used to watch FWA on The Wrestling Channel. I watched World of Sport. FWA even co-promoted shows with Ring of Honor so it all comes back around. A lot of British legends really built the scene to what it is now. Getting to share the stage (at Ring of Honor_ with guys like Mark Haskins who is an incredible talent and a great human being as well is great. But, the British scene, there is so much incredible talent doing better than ever before.”

On taking part in an ROH tryout years back:
“I feel really honored and privileged – I attended a Ring of Honor tryout in 2016. That is what my gut told me to do. And, 3 years later, here we are! So, that is a message for any wrestlers or trainees out there – You need to go and make it happen!”

On if any of the talent didn’t take the jokes in his custom theme songs well:
“Yes. (laughs) The answer is yes. Once or twice, I’d say, it has happened. And, if you go back and watch the matches, you can tell who didn’t like it. But, what can you do? You’ve got to be bold and you’ve got to go for it!”

On his musical influences:
“I was a huge fan of Tenacious D when I was a kid. I think I watched their DVD “The Masterworks” hundreds of times – Me and my cousin must have watched it hundreds and hundreds of times. I remember I started doing this thing where whatever we were listening to, I changed the lyrics to it and whoever I was with was just totally irritated by it. But, I was just amusing myself. Who knew that would be the thing that got me noticed? But, here we are!”

On taking part in the rebooted World of Sport:
“It was an interesting experience. If you look back at when it was taped, I think that was the first terrestrial television that I had done. I had done commentary and wrestled for 5 Star Wrestling but this was ITV! The tapings were intense. They were great fun. It was a great group of people. When you talk about the old World fo Sport, I’m a fan of Marty Jones and Terry Rudge. If I had match choice, that would be the kind of wrestling that would be done. Then again, it was ITV. It was a great time-slot for that demographic. They had a goal in mind. It was a great experience. I’ve been very lucky to have the variety of experiences that I’ve had in the short time that I’ve been in the business.”

On the recent media “incoming” in ROH from departed talent:
“I have to be honest and say all I can really do is speak for myself. You know? It is not my place to speak for anyone else but I’m going to tell you my experience. I come from a place where, I’m talking to my girlfriend, if I go and do an independent show and this is going back a year, a couple years, whatver.. If I don’t sell 10 shirts, the next week is going to be pretty trickly. That’s where I come from. I come from scratching and clawing for our next meal. You know? I just feel that work ethic and it can be a stressful thing. Now I am with a company that pays me a very comfortable salary that allows me to rest and recuperate and focus when I’m at the shows. When I’m brought over, I’m put in nice hotels. And, we’ve got a quality locker room. I look at the things I’ve been able to do. There have been weeks where I sent in a promo, it was kind of a spoof of a shopping network and it was a spoof Dalton Castle T shirt. I sent it in and they put it on TV! No editing! They put it on TV! They said, “Do you want to do music or do you want us to do your music?” I said, “I’d like to do it.” They said, “No problem. Send us the file by this date and time.” I sent it in, they played it, no editing! I’m getting what I wanted out of being a signed professional wrestler. Now, I can’t speak or comment for other people. All I can give is my perspective. I never BS my fans. I’m not going to do that. But, if you look at the days that I’m working and the experience I’m having, I’m happy! Everybody’s journey is different. But, from my perspective, I feel very well looked after.”

On final thoughts heading into ROH Final Battle on Friday:
“My final thought is we’re going to find out if one man can suplex both Silas Young and Josh Woods!””