Joe Hendry made a surprise appearance at WrestleMania 41 (Night Two) as the unannounced opponent for Randy Orton.
The match lasted just over three minutes, with Orton securing the win after landing a decisive RKO on the reigning TNA World Heavyweight Champion.
The quick defeat led some fans to label the bout a glorified squash, questioning why the TNA World Champion was booked to lose in such swift fashion.
Speaking on today’s edition of the “Busted Open Radio” podcast, Hendry addressed the fan backlash and shared his thoughts on whether he agreed with the squash-match sentiment. He said,
“I disagree. The offense was back and forth, whereas a squash, to me, it could have been ‘ding, ding, RKO,’ there you go. For me, what I was thinking about, my different title reigns are defined by different things. When Josh Alexander was TNA World Champion, it was classic match after classic match. My job as TNA Champion and what defines this reign is business and getting as many eyeballs on TNA Wrestling as possible. You know who else lost quickly at WrestleMania in a similar fashion? John Cena. All of a sudden, I’m going to say I’m too good to do that? To me, that’s exactly how it should have gone. Do you know what CM Punk told me? We had a great conversation after, CM Punk told me, ‘That’s exactly how it should’ve gone.’ If it had gone longer, I think it would have worked out worse for me. There is no shame in taking a RKO and losing to a legend like Randy Orton.”
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