Latest news with #TNAWorldHeavyweightChampionship
Metro
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
WWE breaks 23-year tradition with fans shocked over 'mind blowing' twist
WWE fans witnessed history and the end to a 23-year championship legacy over the weekend. Last night, for the first time ever, a TNA Wrestling championship was defended on WWE television – and viewers tuning into NXT Battleground were stunned after a major twist. History was made in the main event as Trick Williams stole the win from TNA Wrestling World Champion Joe Hendry, meaning for the first time in its 23-year history, TNA's top title is now held by a WWE contracted superstar. Although the TNA Title itself has only been active since 2007, the company used the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for its first five years. It's a massive step in the partnership between WWE and TNA, and fans couldn't believe what they were seeing as Sunday's show went off air. 'A WWE superstar is TNA world champion.. I never thought I'd see something like this in my lifetime,' wrote @Formersoccerfan on X. A second fan, @TheDanHuelsman, added: 'The TNA Champion is a WWE Wrestler. Unreal times….' Another viewer, @HeelBalor, tweeted: 'Honestly, my mind is blown but in a good way kind of way this is insane. A WWE wrestler is now the TNA world heavyweight champion just WOW!' 'Is a WWE superstar now the TNA champion???? What is going on??? Rules have been broken,' raved @Lux00__, with @jackbeeton2002 saying: 'Never thought I'll see the day a wwe wrestler is a tna champion wow (sic)' 'Yo I can't believe that the TNA Champion is a WWE wrestler… 🤯🤯,' @2crack_17 added, and @JcAponte_35 said: 'A WWE wrestler is TNA world champion… weird timeline to be in #wwebattelground (sic)' TNA President Carlos Silva was on the front row at Battleground, and took to X afterwards to offer his congratulations while hinting at future plans in the pipeline. 'Congrats Trick. Make sure you take care of that belt,' he wrote, before adding: 'I'll see you in the TNA office tomorrow.' Fans have had a hint of what's to come, with TNA Wrestling star Mike Santana revealed earlier in the show that he would be waiting to challenge whoever walked out as champion. The result is also interesting when it comes to the future of Hendry himself, who has caught fire with WWE fans this year, including a shock WrestleMania match with Randy Orton last month. More Trending There has been plenty of speculation about whether or not the Scottish star will making the jump from TNA to WWE when his contract is up – and a decision could be made sooner rather than later. 'Who knows what's gonna happen next. I'm in my contract year right now, it's a very exciting time,' he recently told Chris Van Vliet on Insight. View More » 'I'm doing my best to give my best to the performance, give the audience everything else and to enjoy it.' Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson dies aged 79 after Alzheimer's diagnosis MORE: Injured WWE star returns after 6 months to join 'unstoppable' group MORE: 'I'm a buff WWE wrestler but I've always struggled with body image'
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Joe Hendry Details The ‘Military Operation' To Keep Him Hidden Before Wrestlemania Match With Randy Orton
Joe Hendry details how he stopped his surprise WrestleMania debut from leaking ahead of time. One of the biggest surprises at WrestleMania 41 was the WrestleMania debut of Joe Hendry. The current TNA World Champion was the one to answer Randy Orton's open challenge. During a recent edition of TNA's Press Pass podcast, WrestleZone's Managing Editor Bill Pritchard asked Hendry how he prepared for the match and managed to stay hidden until his match. Advertisement Hendry said he appreciated both TNA and WWE for keeping him a secret from everybody. He also shared that the match was all about creating moments and it indeed created a moment. 'This was a military operation. You know how rare it is, Bill, for secrets not to get out in professional wrestling? We weren't even in the betting odds. That's… That is how well this was kept a secret. And I'm extremely proud of that. That's so hard to do in professional wrestling. And that's a testament to TNA Wrestling, to WWE, and to my management team as well. All worked together to coordinate everything perfectly. I just had an amazing experience,' Hendry explained. 'There was no run-through of the entrance because we couldn't. Because people would know. So, that shows you how slick WWE's production is and how great the communication is between WWE and TNA. If you look at that entrance, that looks like that would have taken rehearsals.' Joe Hendry is extremely proud of his work at WrestleMania 41 Hendry said that everything was ready for him, which he says is a testament to how amazing the production and the team are at WWE. Advertisement 'The fact that we didn't have a run-through and it was that cool with the doors opening and the visuals that we had. And even just little things like when we're waving the hands from side to side, and the camera follows you, And if you look at the RKO, Randy is completely out of shot and then he comes in. And it's… Look, people can say whatever they want about it. But our job is go and create a moment and that's exactly what happened. That's exactly what we did. We did exactly what was best for that show at that time. And I'm extremely proud of it. 'I was very hidden. What happened was, we're again similar to Rumble, I had appearances at WWE World so, it wasn't unusual for me to be there. I was in a tinted vehicle, I changed into a disguise, I had a hoodie, I had shades, I had the COVID mask, I had everything going on. I was like Inspector Gadget in the back there. Right? I got on the… And then, I'm telling you, they got these little golf carts and they are fast. They are fast. They had me on the back of one of these things. Boom. Straight to a secret room. You're in, no one saw anything. It was a military operation,' Joe Hendry said. Despite suffering a loss at WrestleMania 41, Hendry gained his momentum back by retaining his TNA World Heavyweight Championship at the TNA Rebellion pay-per-view. Advertisement What was your reaction to Joe Hendry answering Randy Orton's open challenge? The post Joe Hendry Details The 'Military Operation' To Keep Him Hidden Before Wrestlemania Match With Randy Orton appeared first on Wrestlezone.
