Joe Hendry intends to meet John Cena’s crazy challenge for a match with his incredible self-belief

Joe Hendry has a knack for making the impossible a reality. It’s how he’s cultivated such a wide swathe of believers. The TNA world champion arguably received a louder ovation than any WWE superstar at the 2025 WWE Royal Rumble. Now he’s planted the seeds for something even more ambitious: a match with John Cena.

“John laid down the challenge. He said it’s on me to make it happen. I accept that challenge,” Hendry told CBS Sports. “I need to rise to the occasion to make that one of the most compelling matchups in professional wrestling. John said if I can generate the buzz to the point where the parties that need to want that match to happen, he’ll be there for it.”

Hendry and Cena had an extensive conversation at the Rumble in Indianapolis. According to Hendry, Cena shared words of wisdom and conditionally accepted his request for a match between them. The burden falls on Hendry to make the match of undeniable fan interest. That’s a tremendous task. Cena is arguably the greatest WWE superstar of all time and a bonafide Hollywood star. Hendry, despite his remarkable rise and status as coveted TNA world champion, has a mountain to climb as a non-WWE performer.

If Cena’s challenge wasn’t bold enough, it also comes with a time limit. The 16-time world champion is currently on his farewell tour. Cena will retire at the end of 2025 and everyone wants a role in his final in-ring year.

“We don’t have a lot of time left,” Hendry said. “That is the matchup I’m looking for. It’s a huge goal for me this year and in my career. John Cena was the first wrestler I ever spoke to when I was 15 years old. The matchup means a lot to me.”

Cena vs. Hendry is about more than career accomplishments. It’s a story 20 years in the making. Cena was Hendry’s favorite pro wrestler. It’s Cena who sparked Hendry’s interest in the business. Naturally, a 15-year-old Hendry was saddened when he couldn’t attend a local meet-and-greet with his hero. Until he received the phone call of a lifetime. Hendry’s friend, who went to the meet-and-greet without him, told Cena of his predicament. Cena agreed to call Hendry, holding up a fan queue for 10 minutes to speak with him. That teenager would be blown away to think a match with Cena would ever be on the table.

“In a strange way, it was a similar situation. He gave me time when he didn’t need to when I was 15. He gave me time when he didn’t need to over [Royal Rumble] weekend,” Hendry said. “It was a very full-circle moment for me. 

“But, honestly, I think that 15-year-old would be blown away and incredibly proud. Because that 15-year-old really didn’t think he was capable of much. I guess I’ve proved to him that we will achieve something.”

Learning that Hendry once thought so little of himself is jarring. Lacking self-confidence is the antithesis of his brand. His theme music is titled, “I Believe In Joe Hendry” — a song that went viral on social media and peaked at No. 4 on the United Kingdom’s Official Big Top 40 charts. But much like Hendry encourages fans to believe in him, he also has learned to believe in himself. 

Hendry vividly remembers the day he broke his dad’s heart. Hendry’s father had encouraged his son to pursue a black belt in Judo, but Hendry said that people like him weren’t cut out for such achievements. Poetically, Hendry was gifted with impossible self-belief the day he was finally awarded that honor.

“I’m just a normal guy giving it my best and trying to get this done. I think people identify with that,” Hendry said. “I didn’t come into sports or academics with an abundance of talent. I’ve had to work really hard to become talented.

“It didn’t feel like much came naturally to me at a high level.”

The Royal Rumble is one example of Hendry’s ambitiousness. Hendry’s raucous surprise appearance at the Royal Rumble played out in front of approximately 70,000 fans. Hendry describes it as “an unfathomable amount of people.” And even though the deal came together very close to the date — Hendry had booked several appearances in Indianapolis just in case — Hendry willed it into existence a year before.

“I walked into my students after the last Rumble when Jordynne [Grace] appeared. I said to them, ‘Mark my words, I’ll be in that next Rumble.’ And I was,” Hendry said. “I told people I would win this [TNA] championship and I did. I’ve delivered and executed on every single thing I said I was going to.”

WWE and TNA formally announced a multi-year partnership this year after working together frequently in 2024. But seeing the TNA world championship on a major WWE pay-per-view is still unbelievable. Hendry is proud to be in this position, seeing it as an opportunity to give back to the company that has invested so much in him.

“I remember watching AJ Styles come from TNA Wrestling and entering the Royal Rumble,” Hendry said. “I was thinking, ‘Woah, what a way to make an impact!’ Pun intended, if you will. I felt like it would be such a ridiculous notion that I would one day do the same thing.

“TNA really elevated me and gave me the development I needed to be the professional wrestler I knew I could be. Now it’s my turn to return the favor and elevate this championship, which is already a hugely prestigious championship… I want to generate business for TNA and contribute so other people can get the development that I got. It’s such an important company in professional wrestling.”

Check out the full interview with Joe Hendry below. 

How can Hendry procure enough interest to make the match a reality? He’s doing it every day. He’s lobbying for it on social media, in interviews and rallying his wide Internet fanbase around a moment as powerful as the dream that fuels it.

“I believe I was given the wonderful opportunity of being in the Royal Rumble because it was great for the fans, it was great for TNA and hopefully I contributed something to WWE in the process,” Hendry said. “I think the same logic needs to be applied to the John Cena match. 

“If I can generate enough buzz where I can contribute, then it’s a possibility. But it’s very much on me. To be clear, just like the Rumble, people were asking me about the Rumble for over a year before it happened. I did not know until shortly before but I planned as if it were going to happen. I’m playing to win and you have to in this game.”

The TNA world champion squaring off with Cena, WWE’s leading man from 2005 to 2015, was once reserved for fantasy matchmaking and video games. In 2025, it’s unlikely but not impossible. There might not be a better underdog to put your chips on in 2025. There’s a reason so many people believe in Joe Hendry.

“I trust my gut because that’s all you have in this game,” Hendry said. “Trusting my gut has got me to an incredible place right now. I’m trusting my gut that going for this John Cena match is the right thing to do.”