Randy Orton squared off against a 36-year-old star at WWE WrestleMania 41. The Viper took on TNA World Champion Joe Hendry on The Grandest Stage of Them All. The match lasted almost three minutes as Orton took out Hendry with an RKO.
The match has since received mixed opinions on the internet. Some fans say Hendry making it to WrestleMania against a veteran like Randy Orton was an achievement in itself. Others, like Dutch Mantell, do not share the same opinion.
During a recent episode of BroDown on Sportskeeda WrestleBinge, the former WWE manager claimed Orton’s treatment of Hendry at ‘Mania screamed nothing but burial.
“He looked worse, who was the guy that opened up the show tonight? What was his name? He was in the tag team. Whatever. Well, he was down in NXT, right? But he put up a better showing than what Hendry did and Hendry went out there with Randy Orton. You knew he wasn’t going to win and he got 3 minutes.”
He continued:
“I don’t even think he got one spot. And then Orton came back and just buried him a little more and then hit his pose. That didn’t do TNA any favors, even though they thought they did. But they did put their, you know, symbol of the TNA.” [From 38:30 onwards]
Despite the complaints, Joe Hendry had nothing but positive things to say about his WrestleMania experience. Fans can check out some of the comments from the TNA World Champion here.
Manik Aftab writes Exclusive articles for Sportskeeda Wrestling’s WWE division. A BA (Hons) in English Literature helped him improve his writing skills before starting his career as a pro wrestling writer.
Before joining Sportskeeda, Aftab worked for Ringside News and The Sportster, where his wrestling articles and feature pieces consistently ranked on the first page of Google SERPs.
He prioritizes accuracy, relevance, and ethics in his reporting by conducting thorough research, verifying sources, and adhering to professional journalistic standards.
While Aftab’s favorite wrestler in AEW is Hangman Adam Page, he doesn’t have a favorite in WWE yet. However, he considers Stone Cold Steve Austin to be the greatest professional wrestler of all time. His earliest memory of watching pro wrestling was when The Rock faced The New Age Outlaws in a handicap match, but it was the John Cena vs. Edge match from Unforgiven 2006 that got him hooked. If given the chance to manage a star from the Attitude Era, he would choose The British Bulldog, as he believes Davey Boy Smith was a terrific worker and could’ve benefitted from having a mouthpiece for his lack of mic skills.
When not watching pro wrestling, Aftab enjoys reading science fiction and watching anime.
