As always, say his name and he appears. The Indianapolis crowd at Lucas Oil Stadium sung the words "I believe in Joe Hendry," as the TNA World Champion made his WWE main roster debut in the Royal Rumble.Hendry, having grown immensely popular over the past few years with TNA, made waves in "WWE NXT" throughout 2024, challenging for the NXT Championship albeit unsuccessfully before focusing on winning an elusive first TNA world title. Having since accomplished that goal, Hendry returned to WWE as the 15th entrant in the Royal Rumble match.Hendry got an elimination in on The Miz but found his match cut short by 16th entrant, Roman Reigns, who quickly eliminated him after entering the bout.
Hendry has been the TNA World Champion for two weeks, dethroning Nic Nemeth at TNA's Genesis event. Michael Cole recognized that win on commentary using Nemeth's real name, as opposed to Dolph Ziggler, as he was known throughout his tenure with WWE. Hendry's latest appearance in WWE follows the company's announced multi-year partnership with TNA earlier this month, cementing the relationship established with previous inter-promotional appearances at the Rumble Jordynne Grace in 2024 and Mickie James in 2022. Grace also appeared in the Women's Rumble match earlier in the event on Saturday, completing her permanent move between companies after departing TNA this month.
