Say his name, and he appears. I believe in Joe Hendry.
A lot of WWE 2K25 creators also believed in Joe Hendry; it felt like he was everywhere in last year's Community Creations, and for good reason.
The then TNA Champion shocked the world by appearing in the 2025 Royal Rumble, though we all kinda expected him to show up. We didn't, however, expect him to appear at WrestleMania, which he did while answering an open challenge to fight Randy Orton.
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It's all a testament to Hendry's virality and popularity over the past couple of years. Despite the partnership between WWE and TNA, Hendry didn't make the final cut for last year's roster, and it's something developer Visual Concepts admits is a challenge for them. "We always have our work cut out for us," Creative Director Lynell Jinks told me last year.
This year, however, Visual Concepts delivered what fans have been waiting for: Joe Hendry in the WWE 2K26 roster. They said his name, and he has finally appeared.
Joe Hendry Credits the WWE Video Games For His Career in Pro Wrestling
Hendry was one of the WWE Superstars who appeared during our recent hands-on time with WWE 2K26 at WWE HQ. Naturally, Hendry was one of the more popular wrestlers at Creator Fest, but I still had the chance to ask him how it felt to be in the game officially.
As it turns out, not only is Hendry a long-time fan of wrestling games, but he also credits those games with helping him get into professional wrestling.
I remember being a young teenager playing the Smackdown games, being obsessed with them, kind of creating my own story lines on there, creating my own wrestlers on there. And actually, you know, probably about five or so years ago, I used the video game to create how I was going to look. When I changed up my look, I used the video games in my career as well to think about different wrestling gear ideas, so you know the wrestling video games have been a huge part of my life, and ultimately, what steered me into becoming a pro wrestler, so it feels amazing to actually be in the game.
While Hendry burst onto the mainstream scene over the past couple of years, his career began in the early to mid-2010s on the independent circuit. He notably appeared in Ring of Honor in 2016, debuted in TNA in 2018, and returned to Ring of Honor that same year.
It wasn't until his second run in TNA that he helped skyrocket his popularity, leaning into his current character, appearance, and, most importantly, theme song.
Things have now come full circle, with Hendry appearing in the video games that he credits with both the start of his career and his current character and storylines.
You'll be able to play as Hendry through the Joe Hendry Pack, available to those who pre-order WWE 2K26 or purchase one of the game's three special editions. Not only will you get the playable Joe Hendry character, but you'll also obtain a Joe Hendry shirt cosmetic item, Joe Hendry MyFACTION EVO card, and Joe Hendry Spin Island Emote.
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