Joe Hendry Addresses Missing Out On John Cena WWE Match During His Farewell Tour: ‘I Have To Put The Responsibility On Myself’

Published: 15 minutes ago by Jamie Toolan | Last Updated: 3 seconds ago by Jamie Toolan

Jamie has been covering the world of wrestling for four years and currently holds the position of Assistant Editor of WrestleTalk.com. During his time working for WrestleTalk.com he has written and published over 4,000 news and feature articles covering events and happenings from WWE, AEW, TNA and a variety of international and independent wrestling promotions.

Joe Hendry Addresses Missing Out On John Cena WWE Match During His Farewell Tour: ‘I Have To Put The Responsibility On Myself’

Joe Hendry has addressed missing out on having a match with John Cena during the 17-time world champion’s WWE farewell tour in 2025.

Even whilst he was still contracted to TNA Wrestling, WWE Raw star Joe Hendry made no secret about his admiration for John Cena and desire to challenge the “Never Seen 17” during his final year as an active wrestler in 2025.

Ultimately however, the year passed without any on-screen interactions between the pair and Cena instead wrapped up his legendary career with a loss to GUNTHER at Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13.

Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Hendry said he puts the responsibility on himself for not making a match with Cena a reality:

“I think the thing is, to me, something either happens or it doesn’t. Ultimately, I have to put the responsibility on myself. I didn’t wrestle John Cena because I didn’t do enough to make me an obvious choice to wrestle John Cena.

“So I didn’t do enough somewhere along the way, and that I feel led into the motivation that I needed in NXT, because it made me realize. Because if you think about it, I’m going, ‘I’ll wrestle at the Royal Rumble, I’ll wrestle at WrestleMania,’ and I’m saying this crazy stuff, and it’s happening.

“So I think that gave me a reminder that you just can’t take progress for granted. You have to work for everything. I was like, ‘All right, okay, I’ve got to take things up another level now,’ and I think it inspired me to work harder.

“So again, I have no regrets, because I look back and go, ‘Yeah, maybe could have been stronger in this area, this area, this area,’ but I won’t let that happen again. “The next thing I want to put out there, I’ll make sure I get it.”

Could Joe Hendry Get His Moment With John Cena In The Future?

While the ship has unfortunately sailed on a potential match between Joe Hendry and John Cena, the two could potentially still share a screen now that the former NXT Champion is a fully fledged member of the WWE roster.

Cena has already had a WrestleMania moment with fellow viral sensation Danhausen during Night Two of “The Showcase of the Immortals,” so it does certainly seem possible that he could do the same with Hendry.

Alternatively, Hendry could finally share a ring with Cena if he enters, and wins the inaugural John Cena Classic – the newly announced invitational event pitting NXT and main roster stars against each other for the affection of the WWE audience.

Given that Cena’s name is attached to the event and the championship which the chosen winner will be given, we should see WWE’s “Greatest of All Time” make an appearance for the proceedings, which could in-turn set up a moment between he and Hendry if he comes out of the event as the winner.