WWE Criticized For Joe Hendry Winning NXT Title
Joe Hendry is the new NXT Champion, and a major wrestling critic thinks it’s not the best idea.
After Oba Femi relinquished the NXT Championship to make his move to the main roster in WWE, the vacant title was contested for in a 6-man ladder match on NXT TV between Joe Hendry, Ricky Saints, Dion Lennox, Sean Legacy, Jackson Drake, Shiloh Hill, and Keanu Carve.
Joe Hendry bumped Ricky Saints off the top of the ladder to grab the belt and be crowned the new champion.
Hendry’s entertaining gimmick of showing up as soon as his name is spoken is over with the fans, and Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer feels that WWE is not cashing in on the gimmick when it’s hot by getting Hendry to compete on the main roster.
Dave Meltzer Criticizes WWE For Making Joe Hendry NXT Champion
Speaking on Wrestling Observer’s podcast, Meltzer shared his opinion, saying WWE is running the clock down on Hendry’s gimmick by wasting it on NXT.
He said Hendry should not be wasting time on the NXT roster at 37 years of age and that WWE should strike the iron when it’s hot and get him to the main roster rather than wasting 6 months with him on NXT.
The snippet was shared by Wrestling Observer Radio’s official X account.
I would not have put the title on Joe Hendry. You know, he’s like 36-ish, right? 35, 36. He should be on the main roster.
It’s like, if that gimmick is marketable, and it is, you know, they’re wasting the sands of time of that gimmick are going very quickly, and he should be on the main roster before they go away.Because if they go and waste six months on Joe Hendry and NXT, and then bring him to the main roster, the whole peak of Joe Hendry will be so far back that it’s just, like, sometimes you’ve got to strike when it’s hot, and they already missed it by, because it was under contract with TNA, and all that.
So, but the longer they wait, the worse it’s going to be for Joe Hendry on the main roster.
"I would not have put the title on Joe Hendry. He should be on the main roster. At his age I don't think he should be wasting time in NXT right now."
– Dave Meltzerhttps://t.co/UCoGcsXxUupic.twitter.com/m1YzzElCUL
— Wrestling Observer (@WONF4W) February 12, 2026
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