Top AEW star stepped up to fill in for Joe Hendry during WWE Royal Rumble weekend

Reports have just come in regarding a popular AEW star filling in for TNA World Champion Joe Hendry as he could not make it to an event to which he was advertised. It was 'Timeless' Toni Storm who ended up being the substitute.

Hendry was invited to the recent Jericho Cruise. However, last weekend, he was rather occupied as he was part of the Royal Rumble Premium Live Event in Indianapolis. The 36-year-old revealed during his interview with Ariel Helwani that he told the AEW veteran that he needed to leave the weekend free in case he was needed at the Rumble. Jericho reportedly told him he could join the cruise after this.

PWInsider has reported that following his appearance at the PLE, Joe Hendry tried making his way to the Jericho Cruise. He flew to Miami and had plans to fly to the Dominican Republic and join mid-way, but he did not have the right documentation to do this despite his best efforts. Eventually, they went with 'Timeless' Toni Storm instead, as she was available to do the planned Q&A session.

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Joe Hendry spoke about his photo with Triple H after the Royal Rumble

During the same interview with Ariel Helwani, Joe Hendry was asked about the backstage photo he shared with Triple H after the show.

The Game has now had several similar photos, where he gives his props to new champions, new signees, and other major figures in WWE. But this time, to the surprise of many, he did this with the TNA World Champion.

Hendry revealed that this happened right before he went out for the Royal Rumble Match, as the WWE CCO was the one who approached him. He also talked about TNA's partnership with the company, and how it has been all great so far.

"I'll tell you how it came about... I was getting ready, my music was about there, right? 'We're counting you down...' Triple H just walked over to me, put his arm around me, and pointed at me, and was like, 'Oh, we're doing the point!' ... 'We're doing the point!' [Helwani: Legendary!] Yeah, so that was awesome. Again, had a great conversation with Triple H, and it's just an honor for me to represent TNA in that environment, and I just felt so welcomed, TNA has been so welcomed. I think this partnership is just awesome, and I've got nothing but good things to say," Joe Hendry said. [13:13:46 - 13:14:21]

The photo in question can be seen below.

This may not be the last time fans catch Joe Hendry in WWE, and seeing his popularity, there is a chance he could continue to appear for them throughout this year.