Report: TNA star being ‘largely phased out’ ahead of full-time WWE arrival
Joe Hendry looks to be wrapping up his run with TNA ahead of joining WWE on a full-time basis.
It’s been expected for some time that Hendry would ultimately sign with WWE. He competed at WrestleMania this year, was an entrant in the Royal Rumble, and has made fairly regular appearances in NXT. That included a segment on NXT Homecoming this week where Bobby Roode suggested that Hendry focus on going after the NXT Championship.
Jon Alba of The Takedown on SI reports that Hendry is still under contract with TNA but is being “largely phased out” of TNA programming. The expectation is that Hendry will join WWE full-time by the start of 2026.
“Multiple WWE and TNA sources tell The Takedown on SI that Hendry is in the process of being largely phased out of TNA programming and integrated more into WWE TV,” Alba wrote. “The internal expectation across people in both companies is that he will be WWE-bound on a full-time basis by the beginning of 2026.”
The report stresses that Hendry being phased out does not mean that he won’t appear for TNA in the future.
“This is not to say TNA will not use Hendry on TV in the future, but The Takedown was told fans should expect to see him more prominently on NXT,” Alba noted.
Hendry, 37, is originally from Scotland and has gained popularity over the past couple of years with his “I Believe in Joe Hendry” theme song going viral on social media. He held the TNA World Championship for four months earlier in 2025. When he appeared at WrestleMania, Hendry brought the championship belt to the ring with him for his non-title loss to Randy Orton.
On WWE’s European tour last month, Hendry worked a series of house show matches against The Miz.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.