Joe Hendry reflects more on his WrestleMania 41 experience.
TNA World Heavyweight Champion Joe Hendry was the surprise opponent for Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41 Sunday. The bout lasted just over three minutes and ended with a RKO by Orton. Many fans criticized how the match played out, feeling the TNA Champion was "buried."
"If this is being buried, keep it coming," Hendry told Ariel Helwani on The Ariel Helwani Show. "We understood the assignment at WrestleMania, we were the fun and the surprise. You saw Randy's promo after the match had taken place; that's what he talked about: the match being fun. This is Randy Orton's 20th WrestleMania. This was a featured match. As Triple H put it in the post-event press conference, this was about giving Randy a fun moment for his 20th WrestleMania appearance. For me to do that, I remember being 15 years old, walking back from high school, talking to my friend about Randy Orton, and 'could he win the world title?' I remember having these conversations. For me to be part of his 20th WrestleMania...this is what people don't understand, when I was at the Performance Center, William Regal gathered everyone around and said, 'Listen, if you want to work with Roman Reigns and Randy Orton, you need to show that you can be professional and be relied upon, that you can do the job.' This year, I wrestled Roman Reigns in the Rumble and Randy Orton at WrestleMania. That doesn't just happen. That's a huge responsibility, and I'm grateful for the opportunity."
While making the media rounds, Hendry stated that the match with Orton was exactly how it should have gone. You can find his full comments here.
Fans can find Fightful's coverage of WWE WrestleMania 41 Sunday by clicking here. Check out the post-show podcast for a full review by clicking here.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit and link to the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
