Joe Hendry Makes Surprise Appearance At Scottish Premiership Game; May 15th Wrestling News Round-Up

TNA Wrestling have disputed a recent report claiming they banned blood in matches.

Earlier this month, it was reported that TNA had placed an immediate ban on blading and ‘excessive blood’ in its matches. However, it has since emerged that this may not entirely be the case.

Jon Alba of Sports Illustrated reports that several TNA talents told the outlet that the edict had been misrepresented in initial reports. Per TNA President Carlos Silva, no such ban is said to be in place.

While speaking to the outlet on Wednesday, Silva is said to have clarified that while the topic of bleeding was brought up during a recent talent meeting, it was to encourage talent to use intentional bleeding and other brutality more sparingly.

However, Silva also confirmed the promotion is looking to be mindful of current and future sponsors going forward, which did play into the recent edict.

A major sponsor of WWE WrestleMania 41 appears to have been a major flop.

Earlier this week, SNK Corporation announced in a press release that CEO Kenji Matsubara would be stepping down to an advisory role. The Chairman of the company’s Board will take on the role of interim CEO going forward.

While the press release did not disclose the reason behind the move, the news comes weeks after the release of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, the company’s attempt to revive the legendary fighting video game series.

WWE fans may recognise the game as one of WrestleMania 41’s biggest sponsors. On top of its logo appearing in the centre of the ring canvas across both nights, the event’s first night opened with a sponsored performance by DJ Salvatore Ganacci, who features in-game as a celebrity guest fighter alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

Unfortunately, it appears SNK’s major sponsorship efforts did not pay off. While official sales figures have not been disclosed, renowned Japanese video game outlet Famitsu reports the title sold just 6,302 copies in its first 11 days of sale in Japan.

Per SteamDB, the game also peaked at just 4,674 players worldwide on top PC gaming platform Steam, less than half the peak players the title saw for its open beta several months before release. By comparison, its main rival Street Fighter 6 peaked at over 70,000 players shortly after its release.

It doesn’t matter if it’s wrestling or even football: Say his name, and Joe Hendry will appear!

The TNA World Champion made a surprise hometown return during Hearts’ Scottish Premiership clash against St Johnstone at Edinburgh’s Tynecastle yesterday. He appeared during half-time, complete with his iconic entrance theme.

During an on-pitch interview, Hendry talked about his family being lifelong Hearts fans and declared that the Edinburgh-based club would win the big one, just like he did with his TNA title in January.

The appearance marks Hendry’s first time back in the Scottish capital since emerging as Randy Orton’s surprise opponent at WrestleMania 41. Just weeks before that iconic moment, he competed in the city for Discovery Wrestling’s Year 10 event, defeating Man Like DeReiss.

OH MY GOD JOE HENDRY 💙 pic.twitter.com/Z9jKfsYYIU

— The Sainty Way 💙 (@TheSaintyWay) May 14, 2025

Welcome back to the ITRWrestling live blog! I’ll be with you from 12pm to 6pm BST (8am – 2pm ET) covering all the biggest stories from WWE, AEW, NJPW, TNA, and more.

Today’s top stories are:

• Joe Hendry Makes Surprise Appearance At Scottish Premiership Game
• Major WrestleMania Sponsor Appears To Have Flopped
• TNA Wrestling Hits Out At Reported Blood Ban