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TNA’s Joe Hendry Reportedly Bound to WWE, Starting 2026

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports
By Steph Franchomme | Last updated Sep 19, 2025 9:34 PM ET

That’s probably been the worst-kept secret of the year: Joe Hendry is closer than ever to going to WWE when his TNA contract ends at the end of the year. Even before the WWE/TNA partnership, Hendry had been on the WWE radar. As the TNA World Champion, he has represented TNA at some of WWE’s biggest events. That’s also in WWE, but in NXT, he lost the Championship to an NXT talent.

Multiple WWE and TNA sources say that Hendry is in the process of being largely phased out of TNA programming and integrated more into WWE TV. 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.

TNA President Carlos Silva confirmed that Hendry is still under a deal with TNA. WWE NXT and TNA coordinate their talent usage together as part of their partnership.

Joe Hendry has become a staple of WWE NXT TV since last summer, earning more and more time on the show despite being a TNA wrestler. Of Hendry’s previous eight matches, only one has been under the TNA umbrella, a September 4 iMPACT match against Travis Williams. He even took part in the WWE Road to Clash in Paris tour, defeating The Miz in the three UK shows.

WWE has continued to feature Hendry not only on NXT TV, but in its social media segments as well. On Wednesday, the official WWE Recruiting Instagram page posted a reel with him discussing his favorite WWE match of all time while wearing a WWE t-shirt.

From TNA World Champion to WWE “Darling”

Joe Hendry’s current success is an irony. He already worked for TNA Wrestling (then iMPACT Wrestling) in 2018 and 2019, before spending three years in Ring of Honor. When Tony Khan acquired the company in 2022, Hendry came back to Impact Wrestling. He quickly became the Impact Digital Media Champion and was involved in many feuds.

.@joehendry and @FrankieKazarian set their sights on the NXT Championship as they compete in the #1 Contenders Battle Royal on @WWENXT!

— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) June 19, 2024

In 2024, Hendry went viral on social media with his theme tune, “I Believe In Joe Hendry”, being released as a single. It peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart and number 6 on the UK Singles Sales Charts on 3 May 2024. With this song came the time for World Championship opportunities. Even before the WWE/TNA partnership was signed, Hendry appeared in NXT for the first time on 18 June 2024.

A few days after winning the TNA World title at TNA Genesis 2025, Joe Hendry made his WWE main roster debut, first appearing in the Men’s Royal Rumble match as a surprise entrant. He then would be Randy Orton’s mystery opponent at WrestleMania 41 and would be quickly defeated (Orton personally chose Hendry as his opponent that night). WWE’s confidence in putting the then-TNA World Champion in that spot gave early indications of plans for him.

TNA WORLD CHAMPION JOE HENDRY IS AT WRESTLEMANIA!!!! OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/pkZ2f7oG7X

— (@WrestlingCovers) April 21, 2025

The Most Featured TNA Wrestler in WWE and NXT

The more Joe Hendry appears in NXT, the less he competes in TNA. That’s a statement every TNA fan has been able to make since Mania. If Hendry retained the title at TNA Rebellion 2025, NXT’s Trick Williams appeared and started the switching process. A month later, at NXT Battleground, Hendry lost the title to Trick Williams, ending his reign at 126 days. It was the first time the TNA World Title was defended in a WWE event.

On July 20 at Slammiversary, Hendry failed to regain the title from Williams in a 3-Way match. The match also involved Mike Santana, on whom TNA has been slowly starting to build some momentum. With Hendry probably on his way out, the company needs a new hero, able to put the company on his shoulders.

.@joehendry is here and @thejudasicarus scores the win! @TheEricYoung is FUMING!

WATCH #TNAiMPACT on TNA+: https://t.co/7Kijj1Npee pic.twitter.com/urLskqLuPj

— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) September 19, 2025

Since Slammiversary, Hendry has only wrestled in the iMPACT Zone three times (he has also appeared many times in taped segments or otherwise). We have barely heard Hendry say, “I want the TNA World title back.” He firmly believes he will face John Cena before his retirement.

This week on NXT Homecoming, former TNA and NXT Champion Bobby Roode appeared backstage in a segment with Hendry, Charlie Dempsey, and Wren Sinclair. There, Roode told Hendry to turn his focus towards the NXT Championship. The same night, Hendry was featured in the show intro, making him, in some ways, a member of the NXT roster.