Joe Hendry Defends Matt Taven Against His Haters, Talks ROH TV Title Shot Tonight
Joe Hendry is among the newest signees to ROH but he's been around to see the hate that Matt Taven gets from some fans. Hendry has an upcoming match with Taven and he was asked if Taven's hate is justified when he spoke to Wrestling Inc. on our WINCLY podcast.
"I think Matt Taven is certainly underrated. There's no question about that. He's a world-class professional and it's not a surprise he's held the world title," stated Hendry. "But if you're a world-class athlete, then he doesn't need to concern himself with the hate he's received. We all get things like that?but people who are truly successful need to be laser-focused on what they're doing."
Hendry made it clear that Taven's hate is not justified before adding that "it would be a massive statement if I can pin his shoulders or make him tapout."
Taven defeated Jay Lethal and Marty Scurll at the G1 Supercard to win the ROH World Title and Hendry was asked if Scurll should have been the one to exit MSG with the strap.
"It's not about who should have won, it's about who was the one that got the job done. That's the only thing that matters," Hendry said.
"I would say [Scurll] is one of the smartest people in pro wrestling, without a doubt. I can't remember when it was but I was the driver for one of the trips and I made sure to utilize that with some targeted questions [to Scurll]. The guy has figured out many things in this business and has been doing it for a long time. He was on TV before I was event thinking about getting into the business. He is smart, very, very smart."
Hendry has a title opportunity of his own upcoming against TV Champion Shane Taylor tonight. Hendry believes that fighting in his native UK will give him the upper edge against Taylor.
"I genuinely believe in my heart that I'm the person to hold this title right now. Shane Taylor should be offended by me saying that if he believes he is the rightful holder of that championship. However, I will say that Shane Taylor's strikes are some of the best I've ever seen in the wrestling business. They are absolutely deadly," said Hendry.
"Shane Taylor has been putting away everyone he's been facing but when me and him locked horns in the ring, we went the distance with a 15-minute time limit draw. That's how I got my title shot. Now if we were neck-and-neck on his style, I'm gonna have the advantage of the British crowd behind me. That margin is gonna be enough for me to push it over the head and become the first Scottish person to hold a championship in ROH."
To end ROH's UK Tour,, Hendry will take on Silas Young who beat Hendry in a match last year. Hendry talked about what it would mean if he could defeat Taylor for the TV Title and then defend it against Young.
"It would be poetic. It's almost like the universe is putting this in his way," said Hendry. "If you look at the crowd reaction, my match with Silas Young was probably the best I've ever had. There's two matches in ROH that probably got me the job ? that is one of them ? and myself vs. Jonathan Gresham was the other one.
"In that one, the atmosphere was electric and I was seconds away from becoming champion. I think now if the roles were reversed, then that would be poetic justice and a real moment for me in my career to defend the title against someone I was trying to win it from.
"But I can't get ahead of myself. Shane Taylor has been a dominant champion for a reason and I need to be 100 percent focused on that and not looking past anybody. I am 100 percent confident in my abilities and it feels like the momentum is here for me. I am ready to step up and be the TV champion and I'm gonna do everything in my power to make that happen. So get your tickets to make sure that you're there to see it."
Joe Hendry will compete as part of ROH's Honor United UK tour from October 25-27th. He will face World Television Champion Shane Taylor on the Honor United tour stop in London tonight. For tickets and more information please visit ROHWrestling.com. Hendry's full interview with Wrestling Inc. aired as part of Thursday's episode of our WINCLY podcast. It can be heard via the embedded audio player at the bottom of this post. Featuring Joe discussing how his ROH signing came about, why he feels ROH is his home, his upcoming ROH TV title shot against Shane Taylor in the UK, struggling to translate his British sense of humor to the United States, Matt Taven's haters, why Marty Scurll is the smartest man in pro wrestling and more.
You can check out past episodes of the WINCLY here. Subscribe to Wrestling Inc. Audio on iTunes or Google Play. Listen to the show via Spotify here or through TuneIn here.