The Music of Joe Hendry

[WolfofWords]

I first saw Joe Hendry pretty close to his pro-wrestling debut in Insane Championship Wrestling. Insane Championship Wrestling is a company founded in 2006 in Scotland. ICW has been the starting place for so much talent. Many of those stars have moved on to Word Wrestling Entertainment, TNA Wrestling, and All Elite Wrestling (the three biggest US companies). Among the greats have been Drew McIntyre, Finn Balor, and Aleister Black. The company is known for violence and comedy. The promotion is also very Scottish even though it regularly hosts American, Irish, British, and German wrestlers.


I C Double Me and You

I started watching Insane Championship Wrestling in 2014 shortly after Hendry premiered in 2013. He appeared as a smarmy and arrogant man who worked for James R. Kennedy. He called himself the Local Hero as he was indeed from Scotland. However, it was an ironic nickname for a heel sort of like how The Rock started calling himself The People’s Champion when he first turned heel. In fact, the “Local Hero” moniker was actually given to Hendry and his band in a magazine called Kerrang!. Having been in a band, Hendry almost immediately incorporated his musical talent in his gimmick. He sang his own disingenuous theme song/music video.



You’re Getting Battered By Joe Hendry (Wheatus - Teenage Dirtbag parody)

Time went on and Hendry started to gain momentum and favor with the fans. His musical and physical talent were undeniable and it would not be long until he turned face. He started to challenge bigger and bigger opponents, never backing down. As soon as he turned face, he started to film and direct his own music video parodies for his opponents. The music videos are charmingly cheap-looking but show off both Hendry’s musical skill and his comedy. In storyline, they are a way to mock his opponent and get them mad enough that they are off of their game. Even back in 2014, there were major rumblings about Hendry’s potential to be a mainstream star. The only real worry was his use of copyrighted songs in his music video. This would fly on YouTube and a small company like ICW but not maybe not on television.


Lionheart is a Fanny (The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army parody)

Hendry gained an ally when he teamed up with Davey Blaze with whom he won a tag team title. With Davey, he gained not only an ally in combat but also a partner in crime for his music videos. Hendry and Davey’s joy was infectious as they formed the theme Local Fire. After all, Joe Hendry had kept the “Local Hero” nickname. Except now the name was increasingly less and less ironic. He really was a local hero. Opponents would have to fight not to laugh at his music videos as they were surprised in the ring. I have watched these music videos over and over. A recent run of watching them is what inspired me to finally do this post.


Bobby (Justin Bieber - Sorry parody)

Hendry worked for other British Isles companies including World of Sport and What Culture Pro Wrestling. It was in WCPW (later named Defiant Wrestling) that Hendry started to gain even more mainstream fame as the YouTube-founded company brought in a lot of stars from the WWE, New Japan, Mexico, and other promotions. It was also in WCPW that Joe Hendry let the music die by turning heel once again. He became known as The Prestigious One and formed a heel group called The Prestige. Eventually, the team imploded but it helped Hendry make a bigger name for himself. He was finally able to cross the Atlantic and work for American companies TNA Wrestling and Ring of Honor. By this time, Hendry was a face again and had returned to singing for the people.


I Believe in Joe Hendry

When Ring of Honor went bankrupt and then was bought by Tony Khan (of AEW), Hendry was not included in the plans for the newly revitalized company. Instead, Hendry returned to TNA Wrestling after a gap of three years. He reappeared with a brand-new music video showcasing an absolute banger of a song that has proved super catchy on the Internet (like a lot of his previous stuff). His charm continues to be undeniable and his skill in the ring has only gotten better. He has largely been able to continue his music videos but instead uses original songs instead of parodies. A few weeks ago, he appeared in NXT as part of TNA and WWE’s new partnership and things are looking good for Hendry.