Two TNA Stars Appear On WWE NXT

Two major TNA favourites made their mark at NXT last night.

by Andrew Pollard
NXT Frankie Kazarian Joe Hendy
WWE

As the working relationship continues between WWE and TNA, last night's NXT saw appearances from Joe Hendry and Frankie Kazarian.

It was previously announced by Cody Rhodes that this week's NXT would feature a 25-man battle royal to crown a new #1 contender for Trick Williams' NXT Championship, with it also being noted how this battle royal would be open to talent from other companies.

While a picture of TNA mainstay Frankie Kazarian backstage with Shawn Michaels was put out online before the show, the appearance of Joe Hendry was kept as a surprise; a surprise that went down hugely well with the NXT crowd.

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With NXT opening with 22 wrestlers in the ring already, Hendry - along with Je'Von Evans and Ethan Page - got a televised entrance. Not just that, but the charismatic Scot was also afforded some promo time.

Unfortunately for Joe, he was the first person eliminated from this battle royal, lasting barely 90 seconds as he was attacked by multiple wrestlers before being eliminated by Kazarian, continuing the recent rivalry between those two in TNA. As for Kaz, he managed to make it to the final four of the match, eliminated by eventual winner Je'Von Evans.

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In footage later posted to WWE socials, Joe Hendry confronted Shawn Michaels backstage following his elimination, asking if it was Shawn's idea for NXT vs. Joe Hendry and threatening to show up on any show at any time.

While this was Hendry's first match under the WWE banner - though he did once appear as a Russian diplomat alongside Rusev and Lana - Kazarian had a short 2005 run with the market leader as part of its cruiserweight division, in addition to having worked a couple of previous enhancement matches.

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For those who may have missed it, our very own Adam Wilbourn caught up with Joe Hendry for a cracking chat earlier this month.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.