Joe Hendry has reflected on the negative reaction to a WWE Raw segment from July involving Danhausen, the Minihausens and boxer Ryan Garcia.
The segment saw Garcia hit Hendry with a guitar before aligning himself with The Judgment Day. The angle received a largely negative response from fans in attendance and generated considerable criticism online.
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Hendry admitted the sheer amount of feedback was something he had not previously experienced on that scale.
“It was an interesting experience for me, because what I’ve learned is that when you do something that isn’t received how you’d want it to be received, in previous companies it’s just whatever, on to the next. Whereas now, because of the global platform that we have, these moments don’t just go away,” Hendry said. “You’re getting so much feedback, good and bad, from people that you’re not used to. It was an adjustment, I think, for a small period of time there.”
Hendry credited a member of WWE’s creative team named Alex with helping him put the situation into perspective, particularly given WWE’s year-round television schedule.
“This is a conversation I had with Alex, and she was teaching me that when we’re doing what we do, it’s 52 weeks a year. You have to learn the lessons as you go, and go, okay, take the feedback, and go, okay, this is the direction we’ll go next time. And you have to just get back on the horse and keep going,” Hendry said.
Rather than allowing the criticism to change his approach, Hendry said the experience reinforced the importance of continuing to put maximum effort into everything he is given.
“I can hand on heart say that we genuinely tried our best to deliver for the audience, and I always do. That’s all I’m trying to do, is just entertain the audience as best I can. I’m not going to necessarily be successful 100% of the time, but I think our hit rate is pretty good, and I’m proud of the effort that goes in,” Hendry said.
Hendry acknowledged that not every segment will connect with the audience as intended, but said his priority remains learning from the response and moving forward.
Away from the ring, Hendry is preparing to release his new album, Beyond Belief, on October 5.
