WWE Nixed Joe Hendry RAW Feud After Backstage Issues With Executive

The TNA and WWE partnership has been heating up lately—but it almost delivered a very different kind of feud on Monday Night RAW.

According to internal chatter, Joe Hendry was originally pitched for a main roster angle that would’ve had him go toe-to-toe with The Miz. So what happened?

Sources confirmed via Fightful Select the plan was for Hendry to appear on WWE RAW earlier this year in what was described as a setup feud, but things hit a wall when Ariel Shnerer, a WWE executive, reportedly shot down the creative. The reason? Hendry would’ve been booked to lose in his debut—something Shnerer allegedly didn’t agree with.

One version of the pitch would have used the loss to spark a bigger program with The Miz, giving Hendry a platform to work with one of WWE’s most established talkers. But when it didn’t go through, the creative team pivoted—and Ethan Page was sent in to fill a nearly identical role over in TNA.

Sources claim this was just one of the reasons WWE has “soured” on Shnerer in recent months. The exec also reportedly rubbed people the wrong way in NXT, where some talent requested that he not be allowed in the locker room—not out of personal beef, but because “they believed it should be limited to talent.”

So instead of hearing “I believe in Joe Hendry” in a RAW arena, fans got Ethan Page in TNA—same concept, different execution.

Would you have rather seen Joe Hendry debut on RAW? Do you think creative missed the mark by scrapping the original plan? Drop your thoughts in the comments and let us know who you believe in.