Former TNA World Champion Joe Hendry made the jump to "WWE NXT" full-time in December 2025, after working closely with the brand while under TNA contract. The viral star won the NXT Championship a few months later, in a dramatic ladder match. On an episode of "Insight with Chris Van Vliet," he explained he believes a conversation with "NXT" head of creative, Shawn Michaels, helped push him to that next level, after he arrived ready to work hard."Doing as much as I could within the WWE system to try and learn WWE television," he said. "That's where my focus was at that time, and I feel like that's what helped me get to that NXT Championship. I'm grateful to Shawn for giving me the opportunity to do that... We had a conversation, it was filmed, but I asked Shawn, I said, 'Listen, what do I need to do? What skills do I need to acquire to be the type of guy that could be your champion?' I don't know if Shawn saw me in that light before that conversation, but I do feel after that, that's when I just saw that door start to open."He said after that, he started to learn more from Michaels. He appreciated the fact he was able to not only get an answer to his question, but for there to be a path for him to go and win the title.Hendry has received plenty of opportunities in WWE, even when he was still under TNA contract. He notably stepped in at WrestleMania 41, where he was defeated in quick order by Randy Orton, but still got his big 'Mania moment.If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
