Joe Hendry Talks Short Run In Impact Wrestling, How He's Been Treated In Ring Of Honor

ROH star Joe Hendry joined Wrestling Epicenter ahead of his tag match on the Final Battle pre-show (full card here). Hendry will be teaming up with Dalton Castle against Silas Young and Josh Woods, which takes place at the UMBC Event Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

Before signing with Ring of Honor in August, Hendry spent about nine months with Impact Wrestling. At the time, Hendry didn't have his visa, so he was only able to work shows in Canada and Mexico, making it tougher for him to really shine in Impact.

"It was a lot of fun," Hendry said. "To team with Grado ? You know, he's got a special kind of charisma. In front of the camera and behind, he's got a personality people just gravitate to. So, getting to tag team and go down the road with him was a lot of fun. But, to be honest with you, I didn't really have a visa. So, I was only really on tapings that were in Canada or Mexico. So, I did the best I could with music videos and things when I wasn't at TV. But, the truth is, where I'm at right now, I really am one-hundred percent focused on what I'm doing right now and that's Ring of Honor."

Hendry didn't get into the details of why he decided to switch to ROH over Impact, but said he's always been treated with respect in the previous promotions he's worked with.

"Some things are for fans to know and some things are private business matters," Hendry stated. "For the places I want to go, the right decision for me was Ring of Honor. There are a lot of companies that are thriving right now. I'm thankful for the time that I've had in various companies. I feel I was always treated with respect. But, right now, I feel my focus is Ring of Honor."

Hendry also was asked about his experience with ROH, in terms of how he's been treated and his character handled. Hendry noted that he's been given quite a bit of freedom to express his gimmick on TV and ultimately felt like everyone is going to have different experiences with different promotions.

"I have to be honest and say all I can really do is speak for myself," Hendry said. "It is not my place to speak for anyone else, but I'm going to tell you my experience. I come from a place where, I'm talking to my girlfriend, if I go and do an independent show?and this is going back a year, a couple years. If I don't sell ten shirts, the next week is going to be pretty tricky. That's where I come from. I come from scratching and clawing for our next meal. You know? I just feel that work ethic and it can be a stressful thing.

"Now I am with a company that pays me a very comfortable salary that allows me to rest and recuperate and focus when I'm at the shows. When I'm brought over, I'm put in nice hotels. And, we've got a quality locker room. I look at the things I've been able to do. There have been weeks where I sent in a promo, it was kind of a spoof of a shopping network and it was a spoof Dalton Castle t-shirt. I sent it in and they put it on TV! No editing! They put it on TV! They said, 'Do you want to do music or do you want us to do your music?' I said, 'I'd like to do it.' They said, 'No problem. Send us the file by this date and time.' I sent it in, they played it, no editing! I'm getting what I wanted out of being a signed professional wrestler.

"Now, I can't speak or comment for other people. All I can give is my perspective. I never B.S. my fans. I'm not going to do that. But, if you look at the days that I'm working and the experience I'm having, I'm happy! Everybody's journey is different. But, from my perspective, I feel very well looked after."

You can check out the full interview above.

Be sure to join Wrestling Inc.'s live coverage of Final Battle later tonight, beginning at 7 pm ET!