TNA World Champion Joe Hendry competed in the 2025 men’s Royal Rumble match.
Though Hendry appeared on WWE NXT several times in 2024, Saturday was his first time competing at a main roster pay-per-view event.
Hendry was eliminated from the men’s Royal Rumble match by Roman Reigns.
In a WWE Royal Rumble “Digital Exclusive,” Hendry commented on his cameo. He said,
“It’s unusual for Joe Hendry to be at a loss for words, but say his name, and he appeared here in Indianapolis at the biggest Royal Rumble of all time. Roman Reigns, congrats. You threw Joe Hendry over the top, and I’m willing to bet this isn’t the last time that you and I cross paths. But before I go, I do want to share a little bit of knowledge that was bestowed on me by one John Cena. He gave me four words, and it was, ‘Fortune favors the bold.’ So here I am, boldly saying John Cena’s name. We are in an era where anything can happen in the world of professional wrestling. You saw tonight, if enough people say his name, he will appear. Anywhere, any time, any show.”
During a recent appearance on the “Busted Open Radio” podcast, Kurt Angle reflected on his tenure in TNA Wrestling, stating that he performed his best there.
Angle claimed that he hit his peak in TNA, yet he found it difficult to acknowledge since it wasn’t with WWE.
He said, “I had a really good career in WWE, but I didn’t really catch my stride, where I was at my peak, at about seven years into the business, and that’s when I went to TNA. Being honest? Yeah, I had a better career in TNA. I had better matches in TNA than I had in WWE, at least more consistently better. When you wanna talk about your … the biggest part of your career, where you did your very best, you’re gonna want to do it where the highest ratings are, where there are more fans.”