Sometimes you have to put yourself out there, and that's what Joe Hendry did.
Hendry had long been one of the more prominent names on the European indie scene. He'd gone viral several times with ICW entrances, and worked on television for IMPACT Wrestling. In addition to multiple appearances with Ring of Honor, Hendry was a bit of everywhere. So much so, most people didn't even realize the man wasn't under contract to anyone.
"I’d been working for Ring of Honor on tours here and there. But, I don’t actually think Ring of Honor knew that I was a free agent and I realized that was part of my problem. Because, without going into too many details, it suits companies sometimes to have people think that you’re going to be under contract. That’s happened a couple of times, I’m not singling anybody out there, but multiple people we’re referring to that. That’s why I made this YouTube show called Free Agent to tell people that I’m a free agent. People need to know. I had a couple options. I thought, I need to see what the lay of the land is here. I was on a conversation with my friend who edits WrestleTalk magazine. I speak to him and he’s like, “Well, what would be the ideal situation for you? Where would you want to go?” I was like, “Well, I’d want to go to Ring of Honor.” He’s like, “Right, okay.” So, we got chatting about it and then I thought about it, again reached out to some old contacts and I says, “Look, something’s come up and I’m gonna be taking a deal just now, but if you want to have a conversation before that happens. I’d love to chat.” So, Greg, whose the general manager, he’s like, “Yeah, let’s talk.” I’m not joking. We got our deal done in five minutes," Hendry told Fightful in an exclusive interview.
From there, Hendry says Ring of Honor was nothing but great to deal with. Even though the deal wasn't set to start for months, Hendry and Gilleland came to an agreement.
"I didn’t even have to speak to the other companies. I think part of the thing was I didn’t really want to be tempted by anything else at that point. My heart was telling me that Ring of Honor was the place to go. So, me and Greg talked, and this is the thing I loved about doing business with Greg and this chat was, to me, it’s like when someone gives your word your word, and to me that’s everything. Me and Greg talked for between two and five minutes and said, “Alright, what are you thinking?” “Well, what are you think?” Blah blah blah, “Can we make this work?” “Let’s do it.” Virtual handshake over the phone, done deal. The contract wasn’t actually, didn’t come into effect until couple of months later, but that was enough for both of us. Just word. There you go, done. So I’ve got real respect to Greg for the way we got things done. It just felt easy," said Hendry
A deal similar to this played out with standout performer Session Moth Martina, who signed with Ring Of Honor, but didn't appear for several months due to delays on getting her visa.
You can see our full interview with Joe Hendry at the top of the page. When wrestling gets started up again, you'll be able to catch him on ROH HonorClub, but for now you can see him on Youtube, as well as social media.
