I’m the British wrestling star who beat Taylor Swift to the charts and broke the WWE record and I don’t even work there.

If you’re one of the few wrestling fans who doesn’t yet know who Joe Hendry is, there’s a good chance you’ll find out soon enough.

The Scottish wrestling sensation’s final weeks have been unlike any other, after tasting pop success and making his WWE debut.

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While he’s not necessarily a household name, the versatile artist has long amassed a devoted and adoring fan base – one that’s growing thanks to his recent exploits.

Also an accomplished amateur grappler, Hendry is a veteran of over a decade, having wrestled all over the world on the independent scene, including stints with Ring of Honor and ITV’s reboot of World of Sport Wrestling.

He is currently signed to TNA Wrestling, which itself is in the middle of a WWE crossover of sorts that has seen TNA stars featured on WWE programming.

TNA Wrestling Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace recently appeared on NXT to challenge Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez, causing quite a buzz online.

This was just a preview of what was to come, however, as Hendry duly appeared on the most recent episode of NXT as a participant in the Number One 1 Contender 25-Man Battle Royal match for the NXT Championship, alongside fellow TNA member Frankie Kazarian.

Hendry’s arrival in particular was met with a thunderous welcome from the fans in attendance, who wasted no time singing the star’s signature theme: “I believe in Joe Hendry.”

The irritatingly catchy track has served Hendry well in recent weeks, going viral on social media to the extent that it burst onto the UK and US music charts as an entry in its own right.

At one point, he had knocked music megastar Taylor Swift off the top of the iTunes chart and left her at his own, before eventually being overtaken by the somewhat more established star.

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Speaking to Hello Rayo, the 36-year-old opened up about the madness: “(I) was treated pretty well, but Taylor Swift’s fan base – especially after I called her out. They were quite respectful.

“No disrespect to Taylor. She’s a brilliant performer. All I was suggesting was that she take a week off and let Joe Hendry do his thing so she can reclaim the throne!

His musical success eventually settled at a very respectful No. 4 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart and No. 6 on the UK Singles Sales Charts – all before the madness started again with his WWE appearance.

His in-ring debut – Hendry had already appeared twice as an extra on WWE Raw – was decidedly short; he lasted a few seconds before being ejected from the battle royal, quickly heading backstage to confront NXT leader Shawn Michaels.

But the length of the cameo hasn’t dampened the growing enthusiasm for the grappler. The X post of his arrival on NXT racked up 17 million views as of Saturday night, making it WWE’s most viewed post of the entire year – WrestleMania season included.

That’s a phenomenal feat for a wrestler who isn’t even under contract with WWE, although it seems hard to imagine that Hendry won’t be invited back soon enough.

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He told Busted Open: “It absolutely exceeded expectations in every way.

“I started thinking this might be a time where there were people who worked at PC (WWE training facility) and other PC stars, a lot of them were talking about my song.

“A few producers were saying they expected a big reaction. I started to realize that more people knew the song and my act, which I realized.

“I still didn’t think this would put an end to this. It doesn’t feel real. It’s total validation.”