Joe Hendry Comments On Negative Fan Reaction To WWE Raw Segment

It has now been one week since Danhausen and Joe Hendry held a musical performance on "Raw" that received a hostile reaction from fans and critics, who criticized both Danhausen and Hendry's performances and the inclusion of boxer Ryan Garcia, who has drawn controversy for racist and homophobic stances. Garcia wasn't brought up when Hendry was asked about the segment during a "WWE Radio" appearance, but he was asked what he thought about the negative reception.

At first, Hendry seemed to dodged the question, talking about his passion for wrestling and how that led to him moving from Scotland to Orlando when he signed with WWE, a move he felt was necessary for him to dive into WWE full-time. Later, however, he connected that passion to the pressure he puts on himself to deliver for the fans.

"The reason I bring that up is us, as performers, and everybody that works at the company, we are so passionate about this business," Hendry said. "And the goal is and always has been for me to give the audience value, right? There's been times when I've been on the indies and I've made a music video making fun of my opponent. I remember there's one in Germany and there was like 300 people, and I'm like 'Man, I hope this joke lands.' 

"And I'm behind the curtain like 'Come on,' and you want it to land. And it's the best feeling in the world when you give the audience that moment, that laugh. And so I'll say this; we give absolutely everything that we've got. I give my absolute best effort and we're going to try a lot of things. And some things are going to land, and some things won't. But we will always give our best efforts."

The negative reception Hendry received for last week's segment is the first time Hendry has gotten significant blowback during his time working with WWE, either in "NXT" or the main roster. It's not the first time Hendry has dealt with adversity, however.

"It depends on how you move forward, and that's the real challenge," Hendry said. "There's been moments in my career which felt tough at the time. I'll give you an example; I remember there was a time where it looked like I was going to be on 'Raw' in Glasgow, Scotland. And Scotland's where I'm from, so to do 'Raw' at that time, in Scotland, would've been a dream come true for me. And I remember, you know, I was in TNA at the time. We just couldn't get it done for that show. 

"And I remember it feeling painful and thinking 'Ugh,' and just thinking it was the worst thing ever, and I was like 'Aww man.' I just couldn't see the positive in it. But then four weeks later, I was on WrestleMania. Now would I have been on WrestleMania if we'd done that? Maybe not, because it wouldn't have been the same reaction. So I think in your career, when you're talking about the lore and things like that, it's how you respond and how you move forward with these things...It comes down to what your next moves are."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "WWE Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription