Joe Hendry’s name was reportedly brought up multiple times as part of an internal WWE exercise to put together new tag teams. According to Joey Votes on WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select, WWE asked employees across multiple departments, not just creative, to pitch new tag team combinations this summer.
There were reportedly no restrictions on brands, meaning that talent from RAW, SmackDown and NXT could be paired together. Those involved were also encouraged to come up with unlikely tag teams, with the idea of strengthening a tag team division seen as weak. However, Votes did not reveal who was pitched as Hendry’s tag team partner.
Hendry was paired with Danhausen on RAW that same summer. Their concert segment on the July 27 episode did not go over well backstage at the time, but the two continued to work together through SummerSlam, where Hendry helped Danhausen defeat Dominik Mysterio. It’s not clear, though, if the two were put together because of the exercise.
During the edition, Votes even floated LA Knight as a tag team partner for Hendry. While Votes believes fans would get behind the team if it were put in the spotlight every week and won the titles, he made it clear how he felt, saying, “I would hate it.”
Damian Priest and R-Truth, mentioned on the show as a recent example of an unlikely tag team, won the WWE Tag Team Championship on the March 20 episode of SmackDown in what was only their third match together. Priest and Truth held the titles for 147 days before losing them to MFT on August 14.