A young Hendry appeared on Raw in 2014, alongside the US Champion and his manager/wife. He cut a promo in a poor Russian accent, thanking Rusev on behalf of Vladimir Putin.
Joe Hendry spoke to Chris Van Vliet about how he came to represent Rusev, with a Russian accent, in WWE. He revealed how William Regal’s advice helped get him the role, when he helped get red ties for people to wear during the segment.
“I was actually Rusev and Lana’s lawyer at one point as well, which was crazy because if you think about how few people get mic time on Raw or SmackDown. I cut a 90-second promo as their lawyer on, I think it was SmackDown in Liverpool.”
“It’s quite a funny story. What I didn’t know is two people had been specifically hired to do this role. William Regal said when you are asked if you can do something, be the one that steps up. Someone backstage came up to me and said something about the red ties, and I was like, ‘The red ties?’ So I went to a clothes shop and bought red ties. It turned out they had the wrong person. Whoever was backstage, I think it was one of the referees, told me to go get red ties, and it wasn’t meant for me.”
“So, I brought the red ties and asked, ‘What are the red ties for?’. They said, ‘It’s for the lawyers.’. I thought, ‘Oh, cool.’. Someone then asked, ‘Where’s my lawyers at?’ and I went up. Some poor dude who had been hired specifically for this role, even shaved his head for it, was sitting behind me. He had prepared, and I just stepped forward.”
Joe Hendry Lied About Being Able To Do A Russian Accent
Joe Hendry continued. He revealed that he took “ Stone Cold” Steve Austin’ s advice, and claimed he could do a Russian accent, knowing full well he couldn’t. He quickly learned how to do one, and figured that if he memorized the promo completely, he would get the role.
“It was me and Lionheart, who has very sadly passed away. They said, ‘Here’s this promo. You’re both going to read it out, and we’re going to pick one.’ I remember thinking this was really cool because Adrian and I were close. It was a great moment for both of us to get on TV.”
“Then they asked me, ‘Can you do a Russian accent?’. I remembered Stone Cold’s advice about the forklift truck. When asked if you can do something, just say yes. So, I said, ‘Yeah, of course I can,’ while frantically looking up how to do a Russian accent. My Russian accent was horrible! But they said they were going to let a couple of people read the promo and then pick one.”
“The script was long. I knew if I memorized it word for word without using the sheet, they’d pick me. When we went in the ring, there were a bunch of different people trying out for it. I read it once without the sheet, and they immediately said, ‘Him.’ Nobody else got the chance to do it. That’s how that came to me.”
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