Joe Hendry Defends WrestleMania Squash Match to Randy Orton

TNA World Champion Joe Hendry isn’t letting criticism of his WrestleMania 41 match against Randy Orton get to him. Despite some fans claiming he was “squashed” by Orton during their brief encounter, Hendry is setting the record straight — and he’s not backing down.

In a recent appearance on Insight With Chris Van Vliet, Hendry addressed the backlash over his loss to Orton, emphasizing that he was chosen for a reason and that the match did exactly what it was supposed to do.

“The thing is, one, it was back and forth, so I got offense in,” Hendry explained. “It’s Randy Orton’s 20th WrestleMania. It’s also Randy Orton. The thing is, I did the spin around. So it’s me being the Joe Hendry character, the RKO is one hit kill.”

Hendry also revealed that Orton didn’t initially plan to mock his spin-around move but decided to do it in the heat of the moment. “So I’ll tell you this. He didn’t plan it. He was like, ‘Should I not?’ He goes, ‘Let’s call it out there. If I’m feeling it, I’m doing it.’ So it was like, alright — he had a good time,” Hendry said.

Despite taking the loss, Hendry pointed out that the WrestleMania match served its purpose of elevating his visibility and TNA’s profile. He noted that the timing couldn’t have been better, as TNA pulled off a record-setting event just days later.

“And let’s be honest. The next how many days later, we had the biggest show TNA has ever had in 10 years, we had a higher attendance at Slammiversary… I understand what this is, and my job is to put asses in seats for TNA Wrestling,” Hendry emphasized.

As for what’s next, Hendry is set to defend the TNA World Championship against Trick Williams at the Battleground Premium Live Event later this month. Whether or not Randy Orton will be in his corner remains to be seen, but Hendry is clearly focused on proving himself and solidifying his status as TNA’s top star.