Joe Hendry Explains Why He Left TNA After Achieving His Goal – The new NXT Champion is Joe Hendry, and his championship victory has already sparked deeper discussion about the path that led him to WWE. Hendry captured the vacant NXT Championship on the February 3 episode of NXT on The CW, winning a chaotic seven-man Ladder match to claim his first title in the company. Following the win, Hendry appeared on Busted Open After Dark with Bully Ray, where he spoke candidly about the final stretch of his time with TNA Wrestling and why he ultimately chose to move on.
During the conversation, Hendry reflected on the effort he put into his run with TNA and the sense of completion he felt before departing the promotion. He emphasized that his decision was not rooted in dissatisfaction, but rather in personal growth and timing.
“I will say this: I gave being TNA World Champion everything I — I gave everything to that company that I absolutely had,” Hendry said.
When asked directly if WWE had always been the end goal, Hendry did not hesitate.
“Absolutely. That’s the goal. Absolutely… I came to WWE because this was the dream,” he explained.
Hendry went on to say that he believed he had accomplished what he set out to do in TNA, and that continuing there would not have allowed him to progress further as a performer.
“This is genuinely what it was is I felt like I had achieved the goal at TNA and I felt like in order for me to grow, it was time. It was time,” Hendry said. “It wasn’t gonna be in a year. If I can say I feel I’ve done one thing well, it’s knowing when it’s time and it was finally time for me to make the move because I felt like I’d acquired enough skills to be successful here and now I’m just acquiring more skills at NXT. It was the right time to go.”
Although Hendry has now firmly established himself in WWE, his ties to TNA remain notable. In January 2026, he returned to the promotion at the Genesis pay-per-view, where he defeated Cedric Alexander and Moose in a three-way match. That appearance underscored the respect between both sides, even as Hendry transitions into the next phase of his career as NXT Champion.
Joe Hendry Explains Why He Left TNA After Achieving His Goal
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