Joe Hendry is one of the most popular stars in the professional wrestling business today.
Recently, Hendry shared that he was inspired by Sycho Sid and wanted to become a modern-day version of him. While speaking to Inside The Ropes, Joe Hendry reflected on the time he came from the United Kingdom to the USA and how the world practically shut down because of the looming threat of COVID-19.
Hendry was flying in for the ROH 18th Anniversary Show in Las Vegas, but found out about travel restrictions after they’d landed.
Hendry on his ROH run ending due to the global pandemic
“Mark Haskins and I were flying out to wrestle The Briscoes. Me, Mark, and Vicky Haskins all got on the plane at Heathrow to Las Vegas. Everything was fine. When we got off the plane, Mark just shouted, ‘The world’s shut down!’ We went to the hotel and I was told that if I didn’t get a flight home there was a very real chance I was going to be stuck in America.
“My dog was at home, so I had to leave, and that was my Ring of Honor run over. I had just started to build up a bit of steam and that was it done. And then wrestling was taken away from me for two years, no momentum, no leverage, and I had to find a way to get back.”
Joe Hendry was starting to accept that wrestling might be over
Hendry then mentioned that he was coming to the mindset that professional wrestling was coming to an end. However, things changed and he wanted to build himself back up.
“I started to accept that wrestling might be over, and I think sometimes you have to let go of a dream to actually achieve it. I feel like I personally and professionally had a couple of rock bottom moments around that time, and I feel like I needed that to build myself back up.”
Hendry also shared how he got into bodybuilding.
“I got super into weightlifting programmes, powerlifting, and bodybuilding. I bulked up to 265 pounds and I would work out for two hours every day because I bought all the gym equipment. That’s all I was doing, just working out. In the background I was watching old WWF stuff that I’d never seen before.”
Then, Hendry used Sycho Sid as motivation to improve his repertoire.
“I was watching the rise of Sycho Sid. And I thought this guy kicks a**. I thought I’m just going to be Sid if he was in the modern era, with the Joe Hendry character. I took a little bit of that influence with my move set, doing more power stuff. That influence in-ring has brought me to where I am today,” Joe Hendry said.
What is your favorite match of Joe Hendry?
