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00:00Hello, this is National World's Martin Simpson,
00:02sport content editor for the Edinburgh Evening News,
00:05and today I'm delighted to say I'm joined
00:07by the new TNA Wrestling World Champion,
00:10Edinburgh's own local hero, Joe Henry.
00:13Joe defeated Nick Nemeth at TNA's Genesis pay-per-view
00:15last weekend to capture the gold on the back of a year
00:19that not only saw him reach new heights in the ring,
00:21but also on social media and in the UK music charts,
00:24where his entrance song, I Believe in Joe Henry,
00:27written and performed by the man himself,
00:29peaked at number four.
00:31Joe, thank you very much for speaking with me today.
00:35Thanks for having me.
00:35Say his name and he appears.
00:38I believe.
00:40So it's fair to say that 2024 was probably
00:43the biggest year of your career so far,
00:44but you're kicking 2025 off by winning the TNA World Title.
00:49It looks like even bigger things
00:51are in store for you this year.
00:53Yes, 2024 was a whirlwind,
00:55but I have to say we're starting off the year hot.
00:59We're just in January,
01:00and already I'm the TNA World Champion,
01:03so it's been awesome so far.
01:05I have a sneaking suspicion 2025 is gonna be even bigger
01:09than last year.
01:11Obviously you've held titles before in other promotions
01:14and in TNA in your career,
01:15but just the history and the lineage of that title,
01:19it's been held by Hall of Famers like Kurt Angle and Sting.
01:23How much does it mean for you
01:24to now represent that title's lineage?
01:28Yeah, it means everything.
01:29This is the greatest achievement in my professional career.
01:33TNA Wrestling was something I watched intently
01:35from 2002, 2003.
01:38So again, to have this championship now
01:42and be in the same club as names like you say,
01:45like Kurt Angle, Sting, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe,
01:51Christian and so on,
01:52it's a huge honor to step up and do this.
01:59And for casual wrestling fans
02:00who maybe aren't familiar with TNA,
02:02how exactly if they're in the UK,
02:04can they watch the program?
02:05How can they see you representing that brand
02:08and defending that title?
02:10So if you're in the United Kingdom,
02:12the way I do it is to get the TNA Plus app.
02:15It's fantastic.
02:16So that's where you can catch all the action in the UK.
02:20And obviously TNA going back
02:23to sort of the mid-2020 tens
02:26was a really big promotion with some top names.
02:29It's fair to say it dipped a little bit,
02:31but it's had a real resurgence.
02:32And now you're the man leading that resurgence.
02:35Just how good do you feel the TNA product is right now
02:39at this moment in time?
02:41The TNA product is unbelievable,
02:45and you just have to look at the size of the arenas
02:48that we're filling right now.
02:49The growth of TNA is absolutely undisputed.
02:53If you look at Slammiversary,
02:54we had about 4,000.
02:55At Bound for Glory, we had a packed house there.
02:57And then the other night,
02:58we had sold out 4,000 in the Curtis Caldwell Center.
03:02So this is not just like,
03:03we're selling out here and there.
03:05It's like, it's all the time now.
03:07It's the norm.
03:08It's for us to sell out the arenas that we're in.
03:11And there was a time in professional wrestling
03:14where that would be,
03:15like you say, there was a time
03:17where the entire industry had kind of dipped a little bit,
03:19but right now, pro wrestling is hot,
03:21and TNA Wrestling's growth has been unbelievable in 2024.
03:26And I'm so excited for what the company has in store
03:28for 2025.
03:29We have just unbelievable talent on our roster.
03:33I put our TV show right up there
03:35as an unbelievable professional wrestling program.
03:40There's something for everyone.
03:43Yeah.
03:44Like you said, it's a sort of boom period
03:45across the industry at the moment, really.
03:48Not just TNA, but WWE as well,
03:50who TNA have recently signed up a working deal with.
03:54We've obviously seen you on NXT last year in 2024.
03:58Is that something fans can expect to see again?
04:00Maybe even on the main roster,
04:02maybe even, dare I say,
04:04there's a big PLE coming up
04:05that's known for surprise appearances?
04:10Look, the thing about these appearances
04:12is a lot of the time,
04:13we'll find out the day before or the day of.
04:17Nobody knows what's going to happen.
04:19And that's what's so exciting about these partnerships
04:21is that anything is possible,
04:23but not even the roster know
04:25if and when any of these things are going to take place.
04:28So all you can do as champion is be ready
04:30when TNA Wrestling calls me and says,
04:32look, it's time to go.
04:33No matter where that is around the world,
04:36whether it be London, Paris, Tokyo, America, Scotland,
04:41you got to be ready to go.
04:44I want to take things back to sort of your early days now,
04:47growing up as a wrestling fan in Scotland,
04:49because obviously so many kids grow up
04:51dreaming of being professional wrestlers,
04:53but very few actually follow through on that
04:55and even less go on to achieve
04:57the kind of success that you have.
04:59What are your memories of growing up in Edinburgh
05:03as a wrestling fan?
05:05Well, I remember I went to Drummond Community High School
05:09and I lived up in the,
05:11so my dad's house was on Easter Road, actually,
05:16and my mom's house was up in Liberton.
05:19My mom's house is where they had the wrestling channel,
05:21so I remember getting the bus all the way from Broughton Street
05:25up to the Liberton area
05:27to make sure I got home in time
05:29to watch the wrestling channel,
05:31which had TNA Wrestling and a bunch of other pivotal,
05:37important professional wrestling promotions.
05:39So I remember just being very excited to get home
05:43and see what wrestling was available to watch
05:45on the wrestling channel.
05:48So yeah, I've got good memories of that.
05:51So you trained at Source Wrestling in Glasgow
05:54and obviously early in your career you worked with ICW.
05:58Did you believe back then that even back then
06:00one day you could go on and be the world champion
06:03at a major promotion in America like TNA?
06:07Believe it or not, I actually attended,
06:10I've never spoke about this,
06:11but I actually attended a fan event for TNA Wrestling in 2013
06:15when I just started training.
06:18And I remember speaking to Dixie Carter and saying,
06:23you know, I really wanted to work for TNA Wrestling
06:26and now I'm the world champion.
06:27So it's just, it's quite amazing how things work out sometimes.
06:33So obviously, how important was it having a wrestling school
06:37in Scotland where you could learn the trade?
06:38Because I know from other interviews,
06:40listening to Drew McIntyre,
06:42who was Drew Galloway when he was in TNA
06:44and also held that title,
06:46he had to travel as far as Portsmouth
06:48to learn how to be a professional wrestler.
06:50Do you think something like that would have deterred you
06:53if that was the only option available to you?
06:56Well, I had actually made plans to go to Portsmouth to train,
07:01but you know, I just, for whatever reason, it didn't happen.
07:04And that's, you know, I got to 24, 25
07:06and I'd kind of decided, right, well now I really got to go.
07:09But I think that everything happens for a reason.
07:12I'm kind of glad I got into wrestling when I was 24, 25,
07:15because I was a bit more mature.
07:17But, you know, there are many places to train now.
07:20I have my own training school,
07:22the Discovery Wrestling Academy in Edinburgh as well.
07:24So there's places all over Scotland.
07:27And, you know, like I say, if you want to learn
07:29from the TNA world champion, that's where I'll be.
07:33It's got to be pleasing just how much Scotland
07:37is represented in the pro wrestling industry
07:39across so many major promotions in America and Japan.
07:43Just how great is that given we had
07:46so such little Scottish representation
07:48as soon as just as recent as a decade ago.
07:52And now we've got so much.
07:53And obviously you yourself now as the TNA world champion
07:56are probably one of the biggest Scottish names
07:58in professional wrestling.
08:01I think it's awesome.
08:02You know, if you look at all the names
08:04across all the major organizations,
08:06again, in prominent positions,
08:08the amount of Scots that have been champions
08:11in major organizations in the last,
08:14you know, even couple of years is staggering.
08:16You know, it's quite unbelievable.
08:18You've had, you know, Drew has been a,
08:20you know, a WWE world champion.
08:23You had Isla Dawn and Kay Lee Ray,
08:29take, you know, the tag team championships at the Hydro.
08:32You've got myself as TNA world champion.
08:35You've got, you know, I don't want to leave people out,
08:38but you had, you know, Piper Niven is challenged
08:41for the world championship on a PLE as well.
08:45You've got, you know, Galison over there doing their thing.
08:48There was, I remember Debo performed at WrestleMania
08:52that are, you know, and look,
08:54I know I'm missing a bunch of people out here,
08:56but that just goes to show how many Scottish wrestlers
09:00are out and about doing their thing.
09:01So I'm very honored to join.
09:05How could I forget?
09:06Nikki Cross as well, was a world champion as well.
09:10So I'm very excited to join that club
09:13of Scottish world champions in professional wrestling.
09:18So TNA's obviously toured UK in the past,
09:22as recently as I think 2023 or 2024.
09:26Do you know, are there any plans for TNA
09:28to return to the UK in the future?
09:31It would be pretty cool.
09:33It would be pretty cool.
09:33We went on tour last, was it last year?
09:36The year before last year.
09:38And so it would be, it would be awesome.
09:41I think this would be a great time to do it again.
09:43It's a, that's a TNA management decision,
09:45but I'll be ready to go if they tell me to go.
09:48It's exciting.
09:48I'd love to get back to the UK.
09:51And in particular Scotland,
09:52obviously we do see a lot more wrestling
09:55and big events in Scotland,
09:56but they tend to be in Glasgow.
09:59I mean, obviously just as Scotland as a whole,
10:01what would it mean to represent TNA
10:03as a world champion,
10:04maybe even defend that title in Scotland
10:06or potentially maybe even in Edinburgh one day?
10:11Yeah, I think that would be very special.
10:12It would be very, very special indeed.
10:15You never know that could happen sooner
10:17rather than later, who knows.
10:18I'll try and make it happen from my end,
10:21but I love Edinburgh.
10:23I'm still, I still live in Scotland.
10:24I live in East Kilbride, but I'm in Edinburgh
10:28sort of three times a week when I'm home.
10:29So I'm looking at buying a house in Edinburgh as well.
10:36So I'm very proud, always proud to represent Edinburgh.
10:39It's my hometown, it's where I grew up
10:42and I think I'll always have a base there
10:44in my entire life.
10:45So it's very exciting.
10:46I'd love to do it in Edinburgh.
10:48There was an opportunity some time ago in my career
10:52where I was almost gonna wrestle Rey Mysterio
10:54in Edinburgh with a different promotion
10:56and that didn't happen.
10:58So now to, I thought that would be my opportunity
11:01to have a big match in Edinburgh,
11:02but defending the championship in Edinburgh
11:05would be very special indeed.
11:08I will be at Discovery Wrestling on March 9th.
11:13I will say I will be appearing at Discovery Wrestling
11:17in Edinburgh on March 9th.
11:18So you never know, but yeah,
11:20it'd be brilliant to bring TNA there.
11:24One final question.
11:25I'm sure the people watching, listening
11:27or reading in the paper will want to know,
11:30is Joe Hendry a jambo or a hibby?
11:34I knew this was gonna come up.
11:35I knew this was gonna come up.
11:36I gotta be honest.
11:39I was just all about wrestling and MMA,
11:42but my family are such diehard Hearts fans.
11:47So recently I've kind of dipped my toes in the water.
11:50I've gone along to some games
11:52and I'm trying to learn the ropes
11:55when it comes to football.
11:57I have gone to a few games.
11:59I'm kind of slowly getting into it
12:01and I'll let you know
12:02when I become a fully-fledged jambo,
12:04but I seem to be on my way to do it.
12:07But even as a non-football fan,
12:11I've always enjoyed the banter
12:14between Hibs and Hearts.
12:15But if you're forcing me to pick a side,
12:17my dad will disown me if I don't say the jambos.
12:19So who knows?
12:22In the next calendar, in 2025,
12:24you're probably gonna see Joe Hendry
12:26with a Hearts top.
12:28Brilliant.
12:30Thank you very much for your time, Joe,
12:31and best of luck defending that title.
12:33I'm sure there's gonna be a lot
12:35of really talented wrestlers hot on your heels
12:37trying to take it off you.
12:39Thank you for the time.