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William Christopher Spradlin (born December 24, 1979), better known by his
ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...
Chris Hero, is an American
professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...
and trainer. , he is signed to
All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...
(AEW) as a producer. Hero has worked for a number of independent wrestling promotions, including
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Los Angeles, California. As of 2024, it is on an extended hiatus. It was created by pro wrestlers Disco Machine, Excalibur, Scott Lost, Joey Ryan, Super ...
(PWG),
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...
(ROH),
Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South Independent Wrestling Association (IWA) Mid-South (also known as IWA Mid-South, IWA-MS, and IWA Mid South Wrestling) was an American Independent circuit, independent professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in J ...
,
Combat Zone Wrestling Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion founded in 1999 by John Zandig. Commonly associated with the 2000s hardcore wrestling genre, early CZW shows showcased a brand of wrestling dubbed by the p ...
(CZW) and Chikara, as well as Pro Wrestling Noah in
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. Hero has had two stints in
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
, both as part of their development territory NXT, under the
ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...
Kassius Ohno. His second tenure with the company saw him work as a "player-coach" for the trainees in NXT and
NXT UK ''NXT UK'' was a professional wrestling television programme that was produced exclusively in the United Kingdom by the American promotion WWE. It aired on BT Sport and 5Action (previously known as Paramount Network). In the United States, the ...
. For years Hero teamed up with
Claudio Castagnoli Claudio Castagnoli ( ; born 27 December 1980) is a Swiss professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Death Riders and a former AEW World Trios Championship, AEW World Trios Champion. He also per ...
as the " Kings of Wrestling", winning various tag team championships and tournaments such as
Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas The Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas (''Chikara Tag Team championship'') was a professional wrestling Tag team (professional wrestling), tag team championship (professional wrestling), championship contested for in the Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pe ...
, Tag World Grand Prix 2006,
CZW World Tag Team Championship The CZW World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship, world tag team Championship (professional wrestling), championship owned and copyrighted by the Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) professional wrestling promoti ...
, JCW Tag Team Championship and the
ROH World Tag Team Championship The ROH World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship, world tag team championship contested for in the United States, American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). The current champions are D ...
.


Professional wrestling career


Training; early career (1998–2000)

After graduating from Northmont High School in Clayton, Ohio, Spradlin decided to train as a
professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...
in the summer of 1998. After undergoing some initial training in
Middletown, Ohio Middletown is a city in Butler County, Ohio, Butler and Warren County, Ohio, Warren counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 50,987 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area in sou ...
, Spradlin debuted on September 12, 1998 in
Xenia, Ohio Xenia ( ) is a city in Greene County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located in southwestern Ohio, it is east of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton and is part of the Greater Dayton, Dayton metropolitan area as well as the Miami Valley region. As o ...
wrestling Shawn "HeartThrob" Halsey in the Unified Championship Wrestling promotion. Spradlin's initial training in Middletown was under the supervision of a small-time promoter named Gary Goffinet. Spradlin trained for a little while alongside his friend, Adam Ghazee, under a wrestler by the name of Bo Dacious. Bo had trained previously under Charlie Fulton at the Monster Factory. At the suggestion of Matt Stryker, Spradlin underwent further training at Les Thatcher's
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
-based HWA Main Event Wrestling Camp between May 1999 and November 1999. In December 1999, he traveled to
Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making ...
to train under Dory Funk Jr. at the Funkin' Conservatory professional wrestling school. As Spradlin wrestled wearing what is popularly known as a " wifebeater" style of
shirt A shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body (from the neck to the waist). Originally an undergarment worn exclusively by men, it has become, in American English, a catch-all term for a broad variety of upper-body garments and undergarments. ...
, he began using the ring name "Wife Beater". He continued to use the Wife Beater character until a women's group, offended by the gimmick, organized a
boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...
of a show on which Spradlin was wrestling in Platteville, Wisconsin. The character was discussed on the talk show ''
Politically Incorrect "Political correctness" (adjectivally "politically correct"; commonly abbreviated to P.C.) is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society. ...
''. However, Spradlin was not mentioned by name. After Spradlin was booked for a series of
family-friendly A family-friendly product or service is one that is considered to be suitable for all members of an average family. Family-friendly restaurants are ones that provide service to families that have young children. Frequently, family-friendly produc ...
shows for NWA West Virginia / Ohio, he changed his ring name to "Chris Hero". He wrestled his last matches as Wife Beater in 2000. In 2000, Hero began working for the
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
-based Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South, where he received supplementary training from
Ian Rotten John Benson Williams (born June 1, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and Promoter (entertainment), promoter better known by his ring name Ian Rotten. He has wrestled in the Global Wrestling Federation (GWF), Extreme Championship Wrestli ...
. In the following years, he spent a great deal of time working with
Tracy Smothers Tracy Stanton Smothers (September 2, 1962 – October 28, 2020) was an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, the WWE, World Wrestling ...
on IWA Mid-South shows, and he now credits Smothers as his mentor. In October 2002, Hero attended the Blue Bloods Wrestling Camp, operated by UK wrestlers Dave Taylor,
William Regal Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as the vice-president of Global Talent Development. He is also known for ...
and
Dave Finlay David John Finlay (, born 31 January 1958) is a Northern Irish former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a trainer and assistant coach at the Performance Center, as well as a producer. He is best known for his tenures with World Cha ...
. In July 2003, Chikara brought in Skayde from
Último Dragón , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler signed to Dragon Gate (wrestling), Dragon Gate, where he acts as an in-ring talent, trainer and senior advisor. In addition to having trained in Japan, ...
's Toryumon Gym in Mexico City to teach some special ''
lucha libre ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...
'' clinics. Hero took part in the training sessions and was able to add the ''Lucha'' style to his repertoire. He attended Skayde sessions in
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
and
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
between 2003 and 2006.


Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South (2000–2007)

Hero debuted for IWA Mid-South on July 1, 2000, in a losing attempt versus Harry Palmer. In his first year in the promotion, he won the annual Sweet Science 16 tournament (now known as the Ted Petty Invitational or TPI), defeating four other wrestlers in the process (
Colt Cabana Scott Colton (born May 6, 1980), better known by the ring name Colt Cabana, is an American professional wrestler, color commentator, and podcaster. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a wrestler and as a coach, and he performs the same ...
, American Kickboxer, Ace Steel and Harry Palmer), and unsuccessfully challenged Sabu for the
NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA World's Heavyweight Championship is a men's professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#World championships, world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professiona ...
at ''Bloodfeast 2000''. Hero engaged in feuds with the Suicide Kid, American Kickboxer, Mark Wolf, and the Rugby Thug. On October 20, 2001, in Charlestown, Indiana, Hero won the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship from the champion Trent Baker. He held the title until December 5 of that year, when he lost to
CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand. Regarded as ...
. He regained the title on July 12, 2002, in Clarksville, Indiana, defeating Colt Cabana, and lost it to M-Dogg 20 three months later on October 5 in Clarksville. He won the title for a third time on February 7, 2003, in Clarksville, pinning CM Punk in a match that lasted over ninety minutes. His third reign lasted until June 7, when he lost to Mark Wolf. Hero regained the title in a match with Danny Daniels on July 12, 2003, after Mark Wolf had vacated the title. Hero lost it for a fourth and final time to Danny Daniels less than a month later on August 2. During the fall of 2005, Hero and Arik Cannon continued their feud that had started years before in IWA Mid South. At the end of it, Hero became a
villain A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...
after being eliminated by Cannon in the third round of the 2005 TPI. He later turned his back on Rotten, his trainees Trik Davis, Mickie Knuckles, Bryce Remsburg and everyone else that had befriended him. Hero has since destroyed the IWA Mid South Heavyweight title belt. At the end of 2005, he won the third annual Revolution Strong Style Tournament, defeating
Necro Butcher Dylan Keith Summers (born July 13, 1973), better known by the ring name Necro Butcher, is an American professional wrestler. Throughout the years he has worked for various promotions, including Ring of Honor, Full Impact Pro, IWA Mid-South, Pr ...
in the finals.


Chikara


SuperFriends (2002–2005)

On May 25, 2002, at Chikara's inaugural event, Hero teamed with
CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand. Regarded as ...
and
Colt Cabana Scott Colton (born May 6, 1980), better known by the ring name Colt Cabana, is an American professional wrestler, color commentator, and podcaster. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a wrestler and as a coach, and he performs the same ...
, calling themselves the Gold Bond Mafia, in a losing effort against the Black T-shirt Squad of Reckless Youth,
Mike Quackenbush Michael Spillane (born March 18, 1976) is an American podcaster, author, Glossary of professional wrestling terms#school, professional wrestling trainer, Promoter (entertainment), professional wrestling promoter, and semi-retired professional wre ...
and Don Montoya. In July 2003, the team of Chris Hero and Mike Quackenbush, the "SuperFriends", was formed. The SuperFriends defeated Toryumon representatives Skayde and Koichiro Arai in the first round of the 2003 Tag World Grand Prix, then wrestled Swi$$ Money Holding (
Claudio Castagnoli Claudio Castagnoli ( ; born 27 December 1980) is a Swiss professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Death Riders and a former AEW World Trios Championship, AEW World Trios Champion. He also per ...
and
Ares Ares (; , ''Árēs'' ) is the List of Greek deities, Greek god of war god, war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for ...
) to a 30-minute time limit draw, eliminating both teams from the tournament. In July 2004, Hero moved to
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
to work alongside Mike Quackenbush at the Chikara Wrestle Factory. In April 2005, the school moved from
Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...
to the former
ECW Arena 2300 Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, used primarily for professional wrestling, boxing, mixed martial arts, and concert events. Originally known as Viking Hall, the venue has since been named XPW Arena, New A ...
in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. The school was renamed the CZW / Chikara Wrestle Factory and became operated by Quackenbush, Hero and Jorge "Skayde" Rivera. In February 2005, the SuperFriends made it to the finals of Chikara's three-day, thirty-two-team tournament, the Tag World Grand Prix. Late in the match, Hero turned on Quackenbush and formed an alliance with Claudio Castagnoli and Arik Cannon. He later referred to the trio as The Kings of Wrestling". He lost the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup! to Justice in a match with Roderick Strong on June 5, 2004.


Kings of Wrestling (2005–2007)

Hero's faction feuded with Quackenbush and his allies for the entirety of 2005. At the closing of the Chikara "season", Arik Cannon departed from the group, leaving Hero and Castagnoli as the remaining " Kings of Wrestling". At the opening of the 2006 Chikara "season", Hero and Castagnoli defeated Equinox and Hydra, Ranmaru and Sumie Sakai, the North Star Express (Ryan Cruz and Darin Corbin), Incoherence ( Hallowicked and Delirious), and finally Team Dragondoor (Skayde and Milano Collection A.T.) to become the first Chikara Campeones de Parejas. On November 17, 2006 at the Chikara show ''Brick'' in Reading Pennsylvania, Hero and Castagnoli lost the Chikara tag title to Team F.I.S.T (
Icarus In Greek mythology, Icarus (; , ) was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the architect of the labyrinth of Crete. After Theseus, king of Athens and enemy of King Minos, escaped from the labyrinth, Minos suspected that Icarus and Daedalu ...
and Gran Akuma) in a 2 out of 3 falls match. Following the match, Hero and Team F.I.S.T turned on Castagnoli and engaged in a beat down. This was done due to Castagnoli signing a developmental deal with the
World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
(WWE). Upon Chikara's season return in February,
King of Trios King of Trios was a three-night tournament promoted by the Chikara (professional wrestling), Chikara professional wrestling promotion. The tournament was a different take on the Tag World Grand Prix event that the promotion was known for annually ...
, Hero was scheduled to be teaming with his Team F.I.S.T partners to enter the tournament. However, Hero was booked to make his Pro Wrestling Noah debut in Japan, so it was stated that F.I.S.T. did not want Hero on their team and instead went on to recruit Chuck Taylor as a new member of the Kings of Wrestling. On the other hand, Chris Hero had his sights set on other things when he returned to Chikara in March 2007. After Claudio Castagnoli, who had been released by WWE before making his debut for them, defeated numerous opponents and seemed focused on getting his revenge on his former partner, Hero decided he wanted to win back the control of Castagnoli. At Chikara's April 'Rey De Voladores' tournament Chris Hero faced Claudio Castagnoli in a non-tournament match in which the winner would gain control of the loser. Mike Quackenbush was the special referee for the contest. Chris Hero won the match, forcing Castagnoli back under the control of Hero. The following month Hero, Castagnoli and Larry Sweeney joined forces with Icarus, Gran Akuma and Chuck Taylor to re-form the Kings of Wrestling as a superstable. Hero faced "Lightning" Mike Quackenbush at Chikara's May 26 'Aniversario?' show in a match that was two years in the making. Quackenbush won the match with his new submission maneuver, the ''Chikara Special'', a move that Lince Dorado, El Pantera, Equinox and Claudio Castagnoli all used to defeat Hero during the summer of 2007. Many suggested that Hero was affected by a curse and was unable to break the hold. Following another upset loss to Equinox, this time a tag match in Reading, Pennsylvania on November 16, 2007, Hero snapped and tore apart Equinox's mask. Leonard F. Chikarason intervened and scheduled Hero and Equinox for a '' Mascara contra Caballera'' (Mask vs. Hair match) to take place the following evening in Hellertown, Pennsylvania. With moments remaining in the match, Equinox managed to apply the Chikara Special, only to have Hero counter out of it and lock on a Chikara Special of his own. Equinox tapped out and was forced to unmask. Hero pointed out, to the crowd, that the man behind the mask was
Vin Gerard Vince Gerard Durling (born February 4, 1986) is an American former Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in Chikara (professional wrestling), Chikara, where he was a one time Chikara Young Lions Cup, Young ...
, a luchador impostor. Previously, Vin had attended the Chikara Wrestle Factory and trained under both Hero and Quackenbush. It was not until Gerard was unable to break through and gain bookings on Chikara shows that he decided to create a false identity in order to wrestle for Chikara. In late 2007, Hero vacated his spot as a head trainer at the Chikara Wrestle Factory. His spot was assumed by his student and former partner, Claudio Castagnoli. On December 9, 2007, at ''Stephen Colbert > Bill O'Reilly'' Hero lost a feud ending match against Castagnoli, subsequently leaving Chikara.


Combat Zone Wrestling (2002–2007, 2010, 2013)

In May 2002, Hero debuted in
Combat Zone Wrestling Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion founded in 1999 by John Zandig. Commonly associated with the 2000s hardcore wrestling genre, early CZW shows showcased a brand of wrestling dubbed by the p ...
, wrestling Ruckus. He wrestled a second match later that year teaming with B-Boy against Nate Hatred and Nick Gage for the CZW Tag Team Championship. Hero returned to CZW for a third time in the autumn of 2003, and this time he secured a regular place on the roster. Declaring himself the "Savior" of CZW, Hero defeated Jimmy Rave on May 1, 2004, to become the promotion's Ironman Champion. He became the longest-reigning Ironman Champion before losing the title to B-Boy at the CZW year-end event, Cage of Death, on December 11, 2004. Hero recruited Claudio Castagnoli and Blackjack Marciano to be his "Few Good Men", but shortly thereafter, Marciano disappeared from wrestling altogether, leaving Hero and Castagnoli as a tag team, calling themselves the "Kings of Wrestling". On September 10, 2005, the duo defeated the Tough Crazy Bastards (Necro Butcher and Toby Klein) to become the CZW Tag Team Champions. Hero and Castagnoli held the title and defended them in an ongoing feud with Eddie Kingston and the rest of the BLKOUT faction. While Hero and Castagnoli dropped the title to Eddie Kingston and Joker in February 2006, the feud with BLKOUT continued. On May 13, 2006, Chris Hero was scheduled to take part in the Best of the Best tournament. However, Hero gave his spot to the CZW World Heavyweight Champion, Ruckus, who promised him a title shot in return. When Ruckus won the Best of the Best tournament, Hero came out and immediately used his title shot to win the CZW World Heavyweight Championship. Hero successfully defended it against Claudio Castagnoli and Necro Butcher. At the Chri$ Ca$h Memorial Show, Eddie Kingston accepted an open challenge from Hero and pinned him to become the new CZW World Heavyweight Champion. On October 14, 2006, the Kings of Wrestling defeated Team Masturbation (Beef Wellington and
Excalibur Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur that may possess magical powers or be associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. Its first reliably datable appearance is found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. E ...
) in the first round, the BLKOUT ( Ruckus and Human Tornado) in the second round, and the makeshift team of
Justice Pain Christopher Wilson (May 16, 1978 – January 24, 2020) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Justice Pain. Pain was best known for his time in Combat Zone Wrestling, as well as Xtreme Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestli ...
and the Human Tornado (subbing for Pain's partner in the H8 Club, Nick Gage, who left the building before the match) in a one-night tournament at the CZW show "Last Team Standing" to become two-time CZW Tag Team Champions. After news broke that Castagnoli would be leaving for the WWE, he and Hero dropped the CZW World Tag Team Championship to the BLKOUT of Sabian and Robbie Mireno on November 11, 2006. On Saturday, April 7, 2007, at ''Out with the Old, in With the New'' show, Hero would face long time, heated rival Eddie Kingston in a match where the loser would be forced to leave Combat Zone Wrestling. Hero was defeated following a spinning back fist from Kingston and post-match made a farewell speech to the CZW crowd. Following this CZW owner
John Zandig John Corson (born April 4, 1971), better known by the ring name John Zandig, is an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is the founder and former owner of the promotion Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). Early life Corson was born in Sew ...
came out and thanked Hero for all he had done for CZW, including the war with
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...
. More than three years later, on June 12, 2010, Hero made a return to CZW, in a losing effort against Egotistico Fantastico. Three years later, on December 14, Hero returned to CZW at Cage of Death XV to unsuccessfully challenge Drew Gulak for the CZW World Heavyweight Championship.


Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003–2004)

Hero wrestled off and on for
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busines ...
in 2003 and 2004. He traveled alongside Nate Webb and Dave Prazak to
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
on a weekly basis at the urging of Bill Behrens. Hero wrestled on several ''
TNA Xplosion ''TNA Xplosion'' is a professional wrestling television program that is produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Launched in 2002, the show features highlights from TNA's flagship television program ''Impact!'', exclusive taped matches ...
'' tapings. Although he never appeared on pay per view, he was featured on card #22 of the Pacific released TNA trading card set.


Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (2004–2011)

Hero's first appearance for the
southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
promotion
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Los Angeles, California. As of 2024, it is on an extended hiatus. It was created by pro wrestlers Disco Machine, Excalibur, Scott Lost, Joey Ryan, Super ...
was at the January 2004 Tango and Cash Invitational tournament to determine the first ever PWG Tag Team Champions. He and his partner
CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand. Regarded as ...
defeated The Messiah and
Christopher Daniels Christopher Daniel Covell (born March 24, 1970), better known by the ring name Christopher Daniels, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he works as the Head of Ta ...
in the first round, and the Thomaselli Brothers in the second round, but lost to B-Boy and
Homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...
in the third round. He made his next appearance eight months later in a losing effort against Super Dragon. At the 2005 ''All Star Weekend – Night One'', Hero defeated
Chris Sabin Joshua Harter (born February 4, 1982), better known by the ring name Chris Sabin, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. After being trained by Scott D'Amore, Sabin debuted in 2000 f ...
. Later in the night, Hero came out and challenged Christopher Daniels for his TNA X Division Championship. Daniels accepted and defeated Hero the next night. A few months later, however, at ''Zombies (Shouldn't Run)'', Daniels refused to put the title on the line against Hero and defeated him in a non-title match. At ''After School Special'', Hero became one of Joey Ryan's targets, so that Ryan could prove that he was the best technical wrestler; however, Hero seemed to be out-wrestling Ryan in the match, so Scott Lost came out and helped Ryan win. As a result of the interference, Hero had a match with Lost at the next show, and defeated him. On February 4, 2008, at ''Card Subject to Change 2'', Hero teamed up with Claudio Castagnoli to challenge Super Dragon and Davey Richards for the tag team championship, but failed to win in a 50-minute match. Hero also competed in the 2006 Battle of Los Angeles, but lost to
Genki Horiguchi is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . He is currently a full-time wrestler for Dragon Gate (wrestling), Dragon Gate. He has also competed in Wrestling Society X and Ring of Honor. When Horiguchi's hairline began re ...
in the first round. Hero appeared with regular tag team partner Claudio Castagnoli in PWG's
Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament The Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament (''DDT4'') was an annual professional wrestling tag team tournament produced by Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) between 2007 and 2015. The inaugural tournament was contested for the vacant PWG World ...
, but lost in the first round to the Briscoes. They were on the winning side of an 8-man tag on the second night of the weekend as they were joined by the Trailer Park Boyz ( Josh Abercrombie and Nate Webb). In September 2007 Hero entered a heated feud with The Human Tornado after saving Candice LeRae from her abusive pimp at the second night of the 2007 Battle of Los Angeles. The feud culminated on July 6, 2008, at Life During Wartime in a Guerrilla Warfare steel cage match, where Hero defeated Tornado to become the new PWG World Champion. Hero competed in the 2008 Battle of Los Angeles defeating Necro Butcher in the first round, Scott Lost in the second round, and
Bryan Danielson Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs on a part time basis. He is also known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under t ...
in the semi-finals. In the finals of the tournament Hero was defeated by
Low Ki Brandon Silvestry (born September 6, 1979) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Low Ki. He is known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, TNA Wrestling, Ring of Honor and Major ...
, in a match with only the top rope attached, as the other ropes had been damaged in the previous match. Hero's title was not on the line, but Low Ki was named the number one contender to his title following the match. Ki ended up signing with the WWE and leaving PWG before he could challenge Hero for the title. Hero went on to successfully defend the title in a
three-way match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...
against Human Tornado and the returning Colt Cabana on February 21, 2009, at ''Express Written Consent'' and on April 12 at ''One Hundred'' he defeated Cabana in a singles match. On May 22, 2009, at
Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament The Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament (''DDT4'') was an annual professional wrestling tag team tournament produced by Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) between 2007 and 2015. The inaugural tournament was contested for the vacant PWG World ...
, Hero defeated Joey Ryan to retain the PWG World Championship. After the match Ryan was holding the belt and offered Hero a handshake, but then out of nowhere he knocked him out with it and said "I got three more months bitch!" (referring to Ryan being the longest reigning PWG champ of all time) and left. On July 31 at Threemendous II, Hero defeated Ryan in a Guerrilla Warfare match to ensure that on August 17 he became the longest reigning PWG Champion of all time. On September 4, 2009, at ''Guerre Sans Frontières'' Bryan Danielson defeated Hero to end his reign at 425 days. Following the loss of his title, Hero decided to return to his former moveset in order to regain it, and defeated El Generico on October 2 at ''Against the Grain'' with a ''Hero's Welcome'', instead of using his various elbow strikes. As Danielson was forced to vacate the World Championship, due to signing with World Wrestling Entertainment, the 2009 Battle of Los Angeles had the World Championship at stake. Hero opted to use his rematch clause after the tournament had concluded but at Seven on July 30, 2010, was defeated by defending champion Davey Richards. On September 4, Hero entered the 2010 Battle of Los Angeles, defeating Christopher Daniels in his first-round match. The following night Hero defeated
Akira Tozawa Akira Tozawa (戸澤 陽, ''Tozawa Akira'', born July 22, 1985) is a Japanese professional wrestler. As of 2016, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand and is a member of the Alpha Academy St ...
and
Brandon Gatson Brandon Gatson (born May 29, 1984) is an American professional wrestler. He has worked for several independent promotions throughout the southwest United States and has appeared on several episodes of World Wrestling Entertainment, WWE and Natio ...
to make it to the finals, where he was defeated by Joey Ryan. After the tournament Hero was granted another shot at the PWG World Championship, when he and the three other Battle of Los Angeles semifinalists, Brandon Gatson, Claudio Castagnoli and Joey Ryan, were placed in a four-way match to determine a new champion, after Davey Richards had been stripped of the title. However, on October 9, 2010, at ''The Curse of Guerrilla Island'', Hero's long time tag team partner Claudio Castagnoli defeated him for the PWG World Championship. At the following event on December 11, 2010, Hero and Castagnoli unsuccessfully challenged ¡Peligro Abejas! (El Generico and
Paul London Paul Michael London (born April 16, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he performs as a wrestler and a producer. He is best known for his tenure in WW ...
) for the PWG World Tag Team Championship. On March 4, 2011, Hero and Castagnoli entered the 2011 DDT 4 tournament, defeating the Cutler Brothers (Brandon and Dustin Cutler) in their first-round match. However, in the semifinals of the tournament, the Kings of Wrestling suffered an upset loss against the Nightmare Violence Connection (Akira Tozawa and Kevin Steen), when Tozawa rolled Hero up for the win. On May 27, during the first night of ''All Star Weekend 8'', Hero unsuccessfully challenged Castagnoli for the PWG World Championship. Hero received another shot at the PWG World Championship on July 23 at PWG's eighth anniversary show, but was again defeated by Castagnoli. On August 20, after both Hero and Castagnoli were eliminated from the 2011 Battle of Los Angeles in the first round, they challenged PWG World Tag Team Champions,
the Young Bucks The Young Bucks are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Matthew Massie and Nicholas Massie, who perform under the ring names Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson. , they are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), whe ...
(Matt and Nick Jackson), to a match for the title. The match, which took place later that same evening, saw the Kings of Wrestling once again fail to win the PWG World Tag Team Championship. Hero made an unadvertised return to PWG four months later on December 10, 2011, losing to Willie Mack, and afterwards held a farewell speech to the fans in attendance.


Ring of Honor (2005–2012)


CZW invasion (2005–2006)

During a large portion of 2006, Hero feuded with the entire
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...
promotion, which began when he issued a challenge to ROH at CZW's ''Cage of Death 7'' in December 2005. Hero began by challenging Bryan Danielson for the
ROH World Championship The ROH World Championship is a professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling)#World championships, world championship created and promoted by Ring of Honor (ROH). It is considered the most prestigious title in the promotion. The cu ...
on January 14 at ''Hell Freezes Over'', but could not win the title. He, along with
Necro Butcher Dylan Keith Summers (born July 13, 1973), better known by the ring name Necro Butcher, is an American professional wrestler. Throughout the years he has worked for various promotions, including Ring of Honor, Full Impact Pro, IWA Mid-South, Pr ...
, had been attending various Ring of Honor events, which usually involved them getting kicked out after harassing of Ring of Honor wrestlers in the middle of a match. During the feud Hero portrayed a villain in ROH, while still a fan favorite in CZW. On February 25 Hero, Necro Butcher, and the CZW locker room invaded ROH's ''Fourth Anniversary Show'', before being chased away by
Samoa Joe Nuufolau Joel Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), better known by the ring name Samoa Joe, is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Opps, and is one-third of the AEW Worl ...
and the ROH locker room. The feud came to a head on March 11, when both promotions were in the same place, to co-promote an evening during which ROH held ''Arena Warfare'' and CZW ''When 2 Worlds Collide''. Although Hero was not in attendance at ''Arena Warfare'', CZW came out on top, after the CZW locker room took on Samoa Joe and B. J. Whitmer following their own match. This resulted in an all out brawl between the Ring of Honor locker room and the Combat Zone locker room, and the Combat Zone roster proceeded to destroy the ring ROH had set up, and chase Ring of Honor out of "their house". Hero and Necro Butcher came to ROH's ''Best in the World'' event in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
on March 25 to answer a challenge made by Adam Pearce, but instead attacked him. Hero's long time tag partner and pupil Claudio Castagnoli turned on both Necro and Hero by saving Pearce. The next weekend, Hero and Necro again caused a disruption during the ROH shows. They attacked ROH Commissioner
Jim Cornette James Mark Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author, sports historian, and podcaster who previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, photographer, promoter, tra ...
as well as Whitmer and Pearce. They also finally got the attention of Joe, who personally declared war on CZW. On April 22, ROH's 100th show in Philadelphia featured a battle between Team ROH (Joe, Whitmer and Pearce) and Team CZW (Hero, Necro and Super Dragon). The team of Hero, Necro Butcher, and Super Dragon went on to win the ROH vs. CZW main event, after Castagnoli revealed his allegiance to Hero and CZW by first attacking Samoa Joe and then helping Hero pin Pearce for the win. On July 15 at ROH's ''Death Before Dishonor IV'' Hero led Team CZW into the Cage of Death for a five-on-five main event against Team ROH. Hero had teased that he had made a deal with a mystery fifth man, who turned out to be Hero's hated rival Eddie Kingston. Although ROH's surprise fifth man Bryan Danielson turned on Samoa Joe in an effort to incapacitate Joe before their title match, Team ROH finally put CZW away when Homicide arrived in the Cage and pinned Nate Webb for the win. The following day on their Newswire, ROH stated that the war with CZW was over, thanks to Homicide. Despite being forced out of ROH, Hero invaded the promotion's first two shows in the United Kingdom in August and was defeated by Colt Cabana in a singles match and Cabana,
Nigel McGuinness Steven Haworth (born 23 January 1972), better known by his ring name Nigel McGuinness, is an English professional wrestling, professional wrestler and commentator. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he serves as a color commentato ...
and
Robbie Brookside Robert Edward Brooks (born 11 March 1966), better known by his ring name Robbie Brookside, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he works as a trainer/producer for the NXT brand. He has toured all over the w ...
in a six-man tag team match where he teamed with Castagnoli and
Chad Collyer Chad Collyer (born December 12, 1974) is an American retired professional wrestler. Professional wrestling career Collyer attended Manchester College, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree. He was an accomplished amateur wrestler, w ...
. In August 2006, the Ring of Honor Tag Team Title belts were stolen from champions
Austin Aries Daniel Healy Solwold Jr. (born April 15, 1978), better known by his ring name Austin Aries, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, TNA Wrestling, where he is a t ...
and Roderick Strong. Hero revealed on his
LiveJournal LiveJournal (), stylised as LiVEJOURNAL, is a Russian-owned social networking service where users can keep a blog, journal, or diary. American programmer Brad Fitzpatrick started LiveJournal on April 15, 1999, as a way of keeping his high school ...
that he and Castagnoli were the culprits and would be challenging for the title on September 16. They defeated Aries and Strong at ''Glory By Honor V Night 2'' to become the Ring of Honor tag team champions. ROH then announced that by winning the belts, Hero had been made a full-time ROH wrestler. After it was announced that Castagnoli had signed a developmental deal with the WWE, the Kings of Wrestling lost the belts to
Christopher Daniels Christopher Daniel Covell (born March 24, 1970), better known by the ring name Christopher Daniels, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he works as the Head of Ta ...
and
Matt Sydal Matthew Joseph Korklan (born March 19, 1983), better known by the ring name Matt Sydal, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his tenure with WWE from 2008 to 2014 under the ring nam ...
on November 25 at ''Dethroned''.


Sweet N' Sour Inc. (2006–2009)

On December 22 at ''International Challenge'' Larry Sweeney made his ROH debut and assisted Hero and Castagnoli defeat the Briscoe Brothers. The following night in Manhattan at ''Final Battle 2006'' the Kings of Wrestling had their final match together when they, with Larry Sweeney in their corner, were defeated by the Briscoe Brothers in a rematch. After the match, Castagnoli announced that he was no longer going to World Wrestling Entertainment, and would remain in ROH as one half of the Kings of Wrestling. Sweeney then said he and Chris Hero had big plans for 2007, but Castagnoli was not included in them. Then, when Hero was forced to choose between staying with Castagnoli or going with Sweeney, he shook Castagnoli's hand but left with Sweeney. Hero found relative success in singles competition, with notable feuds including Nigel McGuinness and the Briscoe Brothers. Hero was described by Sweeney as "the best athlete in Ring of Honor today", and was the most high-profile member of Sweet 'N' Sour Incorporated, Sweeney's stable that included Hero, Tank Toland, Bobby Dempsey and Sara Del Rey, with whom he held the unofficial Intergender World Tag Team Championship. He had challenged for the ROH World Title in a losing effort against then champion Homicide, and briefly reformed the Kings of Wrestling in another losing attempt at winning the ROH World Tag Team Championship. At ''Survival of the Fittest 2007'', Hero single-handedly eliminated Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, Claudio Castagnoli,
Rocky Romero John Raymond Rivera (born October 28, 1982), better known by his ring name Rocky Romero (ロッキー・ロメロ, ''Rokkī Romero''), is a Cuban-American professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and All Elite Wrest ...
and Human Tornado to win the 2007 Survival of the Fittest tournament. As his prize, Hero was granted a shot at the ROH Heavyweight Championship at a time of his choosing. He chose to challenge the reigning champion, Nigel McGuinness, at ''Glory by Honor VI: Night One''. Despite a badly torn biceps sustained a week prior, McGuinness accepted the challenge. Hero managed to force McGuinness to tap out, but the match was restarted after the referee noticed that McGuinness had reached the ropes. After the restart McGuinness made Hero tap out and retained his title in controversial fashion. On June 27, 2008, Hero pinned FIP World Champion Roderick Strong in a non-title bout with an assist from Sweeney. On June 28, 2008, Hero's winning streak continued when he defeated Pelle Primeau in a Light's Out Match with an assist from Larry Sweeney and Sara Del Rey, despite interference from former Sweet N'Sour Inc. teammate and later turn coat Brent Albright. On July 26, 2008, Hero and fellow Sweet N'Sour Inc. teammate Go Shiozaki were defeated by Roderick Strong and Naomichi Marufuji when Strong pinned Hero with a big boot/cradle backbreaker combination. During late 2008 Hero began wearing a more traditional wrestling attire and adopted a new finishing maneuver in the ''Rolling Elbow'', while being dubbed "That Young Knockout Kid" by his manager Larry Sweeney, who ended up leaving the company in April 2009. After returning from a tour of Pro Wrestling Noah in early 2009, Hero began using a weighted elbow pad, which he claimed to have been given as a gift from
Mitsuharu Misawa was a Japanese professional wrestler and promoter. He is primarily known for spending 18 years with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and subsequently leading the 2000 All Japan Pro Wrestling mass exodus, which culminated in him forming Pro W ...
, to knock out his opponents and win matches. On May 8, 2009, Hero was defeated by the ROH World Champion
Jerry Lynn Jeremy Lynn (born June 12, 1963), better known by the ring name Jerry Lynn, is an American retired professional wrestler signed with All Elite Wrestling as a producer and coach. Lynn has worked for professional wrestling promotion, promotions ...
in a match for the title. On July 25, 2009, in Toronto, Canada, Hero scored what could be considered the biggest win of his career when he pinned
Lance Storm Lance Timothy Evers (; born April 3, 1969), known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a Canadians, Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he works as a producer. He is best known ...
in a grudge match that was one year in the making. During much of 2009, Hero rekindled an old feud with Eddie Kingston, whom he defeated in a singles match on September 26 at ''Glory By Honor VIII: The Final Countdown''. On December 19, 2009, at Final Battle 2009, ROH's first live pay-per-view, Kingston defeated Hero in a Fight Without Honor.


Kings of Wrestling reunion (2009–2012)

Towards the end of Final Battle 2009, after the Briscoe Brothers had defeated The American Wolves (Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards) for the ROH World Tag Team Championship, Hero reunited with his Kings of Wrestling partner Claudio Castagnoli. Together they attacked the new champions and then posed with the Tag Team Championship belts. The two would adopt Shane Hagadorn as their manager and Sara Del Rey as an associate. On April 3, 2010, at The Big Bang! Hero and Castagnoli defeated the Briscoes to win the ROH World Tag Team Championship for the second time. At the following pay-per-view, Death Before Dishonor VIII, on June 19 Hero and Castagnoli successfully defended their title against the Briscoes in a No Disqualification match. In July Ring of Honor announced the return of Tag Wars, where twelve tag teams would compete in three blocks to determine, which three would get to challenge the Kings of Wrestling in the final Ultimate Endurance match. On August 28 the Kings of Wrestling defeated The Dark City Fight Club ( Jon Davis and
Kory Chavis Kory Chavis is an American professional wrestler, also known by the ring name Rainman. He works for several independent promotions, including Dragon Gate USA, Full Impact Pro, and Evolve. Chavis wrestled with tag team partner Jon Davis as Th ...
), The All Night Express ( Kenny King and Rhett Titus) and the Briscoes in the Ultimate Endurance match to win the 2010 Tag Wars and retain the ROH World Tag Team Championship. On September 2 it was announced that Hero had signed a contract extension with Ring of Honor. On December 18 at Final Battle 2010 the Kings of Wrestling ended their feud with the Briscoe Brothers in a six-man tag team match, where Jay, Mark and their father Mike defeated Hero, Castagnoli and Shane Hagadorn. On January 4, 2011 Hero and Castagnoli became the longest reigning ROH World Tag Team Champions by breaking the previous record of 275 days, set by the Briscoe Brothers. Although they had ended their feud with the Briscoes, they had already begun another. At the September 11, 2010 pay-per-view Glory By Honor IX, the Kings of Wrestling picked up a major victory by defeating Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team (
Charlie Haas Charles Doyle Haas II (born March 27, 1972) is an American Professional wrestling, professional and former Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2000 to 2009 and Ring of H ...
and Shelton Benjamin) in a non–title match on the team's debut with the promotion. However, on January 28, 2011, Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team took a return win in a non-title match at ''SoCal Showdown II''. On February 26 at 9th Anniversary Show, Hero and Castagnoli successfully defended the ROH World Tag Team Championship against The All Night Express. On April 1 at Honor Takes Center Stage, the Kings of Wrestling lost the ROH World Tag Team Championship to Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin, ending their reign at 363 days. On May 7 at ''Revolution Canada'' Hero unsuccessfully challenged ROH World Champion Eddie Edwards for his title, losing to him via referee stoppage. The Kings of Wrestling received their rematch for the ROH World Tag Team Championship on August 13 at the first '' Ring of Honor Wrestling'' tapings under the
Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair, Inc., doing business as Sinclair Broadcast Group, is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb o ...
banner, but were unable to regain the belts from Haas and Benjamin. This would mark the team's final ROH appearance as the following month it was reported that Castagnoli had signed a contract with WWE. On December 23, 2011 at Final Battle, Hero returned to ROH to accept the Roderick Strong Invitational Challenge, losing to Strong after interference from his manager, Truth Martini. He made one more appearance with the company, at their January 20, 2012 ''Homecoming'' event in Philadelphia. There, he faced Strong's ally
Michael Elgin Aaron Michael Frobel (born December 13, 1986) is a Canadian professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name Michael Elgin. He is known for his work with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a List of IWGP Intercontinent ...
, but was again defeated.


International promotions (2007–2016)

Hero became a regular for several European wrestling promotions, most notable being the
Westside Xtreme Wrestling Westside Xtreme Wrestling, commonly shortened to wXw, is a German professional wrestling promotion based in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. wXw has been one of the leading professional wrestling promotions in Germany, and most of its event ...
(wXw) federation based in Essen, Germany. He has wrestled in sixteen different countries across the world: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland and the United States. In April 2007, Hero competed in the first King of Europe Cup, as the representative of CZW. He defeated Claudio Castagnoli in the first round before being defeated by Doug Williams in the quarterfinals. On May 6, 2007, Hero won wXw's prestigious international competition event, the "16 Carat Gold Tournament", defeating Ares in the finals. Hero also returned to Australia to wrestle for the PWA Queensland promotion, competing in their annual "Rise of the Warriors" tournament, in which he also competed in 2007. Hero made it all the way to the final of the tournament, which lasted two nights, losing to PWA Queensland regular, Esteban Molina. Along the way, he defeated Mason Childs, whom he lost to in the final of the 2007 tournament, Mark Davis, and Blakestone to get to the finals. The previous year, he defeated Kyote, Damian Slater, and Ryan Eagles to advance to the finals. In January 2009, Hero returned to Japan for Pro Wrestling Noah. He came to an agreement with the Noah front office and was granted a stay at the dojo after the tour. He trained alongside Richie Steamboat and made his way back to the U.S. after five weeks abroad. Hero returned to Noah for the June 2009 tour and stayed, once again, at the dojo. During this stay, Hero wrestled at the event where one of his idols, Mitsuharu Misawa, died during the main event match. In January 2010 Hero and Claudio Castagnoli entered the Global Tag League, but ended up losing all three of their matches. Hero and Castagnoli returned to Noah on November 19, 2010, for a three-week-long tour. The team went undefeated in tag team matches, before being defeated on December 5, the final day of the tour, by Takuma Sano and
Yoshihiro Takayama is a Japanese former professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Debuting for UWF International (UWFI) in the 1990s, Takayama joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 1997 after UWF-i folded. In 2000, he joined Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), an ...
in a match for the
GHC Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team Championship (professional wrestling), title in Japanese Professional wrestling promotion, promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created on October 19, 2001, when Big Van Vader, Vader and 2 Cold Scorpio, Sc ...
. The Kings of Wrestling returned to Noah in April 2011 to take part in the 2011 Global Tag League, where they managed to win two out of their seven-round robin matches, finishing seventh out of eight teams in the block. On March 13, 2010, Hero made his debut for the American promotion Evolve at ''Evolve 2: Hero vs. Hidaka'', losing to
Ikuto Hidaka (born August 5, 1972) is a Japanese professional wrestling, professional wrestler, currently performing for Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah). Hidaka was the regular partner of Minoru Fujita, with whom he has held the NWA International Lightweight Tag Te ...
in the main event of the evening. In October 2011, Spradlin took part in the first season tapings of Wrestling Retribution Project, where he performed as Chris Hyde. On April 12, 2014, Hero returned to Japan and Pro Wrestling Noah to take part in the 2014 Global Tag League, where he teamed with Colt Cabana under the team name "Big in U.S.A.". The team finished the tournament with a record of two wins and four losses, finishing last in the block. They were, however, given the Technique Award for their effort in the tournament. From October 18 to November 8, Hero took part in Noah's 2014 Global League, where he finished with a record of four wins and three losses, failing to advance from his block. Hero returned to Noah in April 2015, when he and Cabana took part in the 2015 Global Tag League, where they finished with a record of three wins and two losses, finishing tied second in their block and missing the finals. During the tournament, Hero and Cabana most notably scored a win over reigning GHC and
NWA World Tag Team Champions The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship, world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed List of National Wrestling Alliance territories ...
K.E.S. ( Davey Boy Smith Jr. and
Lance Archer Lance Hoyt (born February 28, 1977), better known by his ring name Lance Archer, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where is a member of The Don Callis Family and one-half of The Murder Machines w ...
). As a result, Hero and Cabana received a shot at the GHC Tag Team Championship on June 19, but were defeated by K.E.S. In June 2015, Hero wrestled for the
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
Smash Wrestling as part of a fundraiser for research against ALS called an Infinity Gauntlet, where the duration would be set by the level of donations and he would be wrestling the entire time. Hero wrestled for over three hours, raising $3440 for ALS. From October 16 to November 6, Hero took part in Pro Wrestling Noah's 2015 Global League, where he finished with a record of four wins and three losses. Hero entered the final day with a chance to advance to the finals, but was eliminated after losing to Naomichi Marufuji in the main event. Hero debuted for
Progress Wrestling Progress Wrestling (stylized as PROGRESS) is a British professional wrestling promotion that was established in 2011 by comedian Jim Smallman, events and comedy promoter Jon Briley, and later, actor Glen Robinson (professionally known as Glen ...
in the UK in May 2016 at their annual Super Strong Style 16 tournament. He won against Mark Andrews in the first round and Big Daddy Walter in the quarter finals before losing to
Tommy End Tom Büdgen (born 19 May 1985) is a Dutch professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Aleister Black. Before signing with WWE, Büdgen was ...
in the semi-finals. At Chapter 31, he had a thirty-minute match with then-Progress Champion Marty Scurll for the title but did not win. At the 2018 Super Strong Style 16 tournament, Hero, billed as Kassius Ohno, won against Chris Brookes in the 1st round before being eliminated by
Tyler Bate Tyler Bate (born 7 March 1997) is an English professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE where he performs on the Raw brand and is one of the two members of New Catch Republic, performing alongside Pete Dunne. In 2017, he became the inaugur ...
in the quarter finals. As Bate was injured during his previous match with Ohno, an impromptu Semi-final Qualifier match occurred between Ohno, Roy "Big Wavy" Johnson, Chuck Mambo, Chris Brookes,
Jordan Devlin Jordan Devlin (born 15 March 1990) is an Irish professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name JD McDonagh and is a member of The Judgment Day. In WWE, he is a World Tag Team Champion and ...
, Angélico & David Starr. Ohno won, earning a place in the Semi-final match against Zack Gibson, which he won. Ohno was defeated in the final by
Zack Sabre Jr Lucas James Uggles Eatwell (born 24 July 1987), known by his ring name and its abbreviated form ZSJ, is an English-born Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In NJPW, he is the second an ...
.


WWE (2011–2013)


Florida Championship Wrestling (2011–2012)

In June 2011, both Spradlin and Claudio Castagnoli had a private tryout with WWE. While Castagnoli was instantly signed to a developmental contract, Spradlin's contract was delayed when elevated
testosterone Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone and androgen in Male, males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of Male reproductive system, male reproductive tissues such as testicles and prostate, as well as promoting se ...
/ epitestosterone level caused him to fail a drug test for steroids. Eventually, Spradlin signed a contract in February 2012 and was assigned to WWE's developmental territory,
Florida Championship Wrestling Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until ...
(FCW). On February 16, FCW introduced Spradlin under the new ring name Kassius Ohno. He later revealed that he had come up with the name himself, wanting to have the initials "K.O."; Ohno was taken from Apolo Ohno. Spradlin made his debut as Ohno at an FCW
house show A house show (also commonly called a live event) is a professional wrestling event produced by a major Professional wrestling promotion, promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in o ...
that same evening, losing to
Xavier Woods Austin Watson (born September 4, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and YouTuber. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Xavier Woods and is part of The New Day and is one-half of the current World ...
. Ohno made his '' FCW'' television debut on March 11, when he introduced himself in a promo. His in-ring debut took place the following week, when he defeated Xavier Woods. On the April 29 episode of ''FCW'', Ohno unsuccessfully challenged
Seth Rollins Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986), better known by the ring name Seth Rollins, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand and ...
for the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship.


NXT (2012–2013)

When WWE
rebranded Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors ...
its developmental territory FCW into NXT, Ohno debuted on the July 4 episode of the rebooted '' NXT'', where he defeated Mike Dalton, while taking on a gimmick of a methodical wrestler who takes pleasure from inflicting pain and knocking out opponents. Ohno started a feud with Richie Steamboat in September; Steamboat defeated Ohno twice (via disqualification and a cradle), but Ohno conducted successful post-match assaults on Steamboat. Ohno then injured and pinned Steamboat during a six-man tag match while teaming with the Ascension against Steamboat and
The Usos The Usos were a Samoan-American professional wrestling tag team which consisted of twin brothers Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. They are signed to WWE, where Jey performs on the WWE Raw, Raw brand while Jimmy performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), Sma ...
on the October 17 ''NXT'', but Steamboat still managed to cost Ohno a match against Trent Barreta a week later. Ohno defeated Barreta in a rematch on the November 7 ''NXT''. After Leo Kruger attacked Baretta before he could face Ohno again on the November 21 ''NXT'', Steamboat returned from injury and decisively pinned Ohno to end the feud. Ohno then formed an alliance with Kruger and also started a feud with
William Regal Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as the vice-president of Global Talent Development. He is also known for ...
after Regal saved
Tyson Kidd Theodore James "TJ" Wilson (born July 11, 1980), better known by the ring name Tyson Kidd, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he works as a road agent (professional wrestling), producer. The final graduate o ...
from a beatdown by Ohno and Kruger on the December 5 ''NXT''. Ohno and Kruger defeated Kidd and Justin Gabriel on the January 2, 2013 ''NXT''. On the January 30 ''NXT'', Ohno and Kruger entered the NXT Tag Team Championship Tournament to crown the inaugural champions and defeated
Alex Riley Kevin Robert Kiley Jr. (born April 28, 1981) is an American former professional wrestler and commentator. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, under the ring name Alex Riley, where he was a participant in the second season of '' NXT''. Pr ...
and Derrick Bateman in the first round. On the February 6 ''NXT'', Ohno and Kruger were defeated by Adrian Neville and Oliver Grey in the semi-finals when Ohno was distracted with taunting Regal. When Regal saved Derrick Bateman from Ohno's post-match attack on the March 13 ''NXT'', Ohno confronted Regal only to be assaulted by him. The following week, Regal apologized to Ohno and in reply, Ohno stated that he had followed in Regal's footsteps to arrive in WWE, but that Regal's whole career had no legacy, leading to Regal again assaulting Ohno. In the following weeks, Ohno and Regal went on to attack each other while the other person was at commentary. The rivalry between Ohno and Regal culminated in a match on the April 11 ''NXT'', which Regal won. On the May 8 ''NXT,'' Ohno turned
face The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect th ...
by apologizing to Regal, after which, he was attacked by the Wyatt Family. On the May 29 episode of ''NXT,'' Ohno competed in an 18-man
battle royal Battle royal (, also battle royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules, where the winner is the one who registers the most wins. In recent times, the term has been ...
to determine the number one contender to the NXT Championship, where he and
Corey Graves Matthew Polinsky (born February 24, 1984) is an American wrestling color commentator and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Corey Graves as the color commentator on th ...
were eliminated by
Bray Wyatt Windham Lawrence Rotunda (May 23, 1987 – August 24, 2023), better known by his ring name Bray Wyatt, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in WWE from 2009 until his death in 2023. Rotunda was a third-generati ...
. The following week Ohno and Graves teamed up to take on
Luke Harper Jonathan Huber (December 16, 1979 – December 26, 2020) was an American professional wrestler known as Brodie Lee. Huber performed under the ring name Luke Harper in WWE from 2012 to 2019, and as Mr. Brodie Lee in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) ...
and Erick Rowan for the
NXT Tag Team Championship The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's Professional wrestling championship, professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE. It is defended on NXT ...
but were defeated after Wyatt interfered. On the June 19 ''NXT'', Ohno, Graves, and Adrian Neville were defeated by the Wyatt Family in a six-man tag team match. On the June 26 ''NXT'', Graves and Ohno defeated Garrett Dylan and Scott Dawson to become number one contenders for the tag title, but were later attacked by the Wyatt Family as well as Dylan and Dawson. This attack led to Ohno suffering a storyline injury while he was pulled from NXT television tapings, reportedly due to his lack of commitment to physical conditioning programs. Ohno returned to in-ring action on the October 2 ''NXT'', losing to Luke Harper. On November 8, 2013, Spradlin was released from WWE ending his first stint in the company. After his release, he said that he had enjoyed the last 21 months and intended to continue with his independent career, including international dates in Europe and Japan. The split was reportedly on "good terms", with Hero saying that the door was open to a future with the WWE. He would go on to say, "In my exit interview, they said we would take a little while and revisit later on and see if things change".


Return to the independent circuit (2013–2017)

On November 16, 2013, Spradlin returned to working on the independent circuit under his Chris Hero ring name, defeating Shane Helms at a Pro Wrestling Syndicate event. The following day he made his debut for
Dragon Gate USA Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA) is an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2009 as an international expansion of the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate. Gabe Sapolsky, former head booker of Ring of Honor, served as the promotion's Vice Presi ...
, unsuccessfully challenging Johnny Gargano for the Open the Freedom Gate Championship. On November 30, Hero made his debut for NWA territory Florida Underground Wrestling, defeating Jesus De Leon. On December 15, Hero defeated
Lance Storm Lance Timothy Evers (; born April 3, 1969), known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a Canadians, Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he works as a producer. He is best known ...
in his Smash Wrestling debut. On December 27, Hero made an appearance for Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW), losing to Tim Donst in a singles match. On January 10, 2014, Hero returned to Evolve, losing to
Ricochet A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...
in a singles match. On February 23, Hero defeated A. R. Fox to win the Evolve Championship. On March 16, 2014, Hero became the first two-time winner of wXw's 16 Carat Gold tournament, defeating
Axel Tischer Axel Tischer (born 5 November 1986) is a German professional wrestler currently performing for German Wrestling Federation (GWF), Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) and Progress Wrestling, where he is the current Progress Wrestling Atlas Championshi ...
in the finals of the three-day-long tournament. On June 6, 2014, Hero made his debut at Tommy Dreamer's House of Hardcore. Hero was defeated by A.J. Styles. On June 13, 2014, Hero defeated Jeckles the Jester in San Francisco, CA Near the Historic Cow Palace to win the All Pro Wrestling World Wide Internet Championship. On August 8, Hero lost the Evolve Championship to
Drew Galloway Andrew McLean Galloway IV (born 6 June, 1985) is a Scottish professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Drew McIntyre. Galloway began his career in 2001 in the United Kingdom wit ...
. In June 2015, Hero wrestled for three consecutive hours against 17 opponents in a fundraiser for
ALS Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and low ...
. After re-signing with WWE, Hero wrestled his final independent match on January 28, 2017, losing to Zack Sabre Jr. at Evolve 77.


Ring of Honor (2013–2014)

On December 14, 2013, Hero also returned to ROH, attacking ROH World Champion Adam Cole and
Matt Hardy Matthew Moore Hardy (born September 23, 1974) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he a former List of TNA World Tag Team Champions, three time TNA Wor ...
at the end of Final Battle 2013. On January 4, 2014, Hero was defeated by Kevin Steen in his ROH return match. On February 21 at the 12th Anniversary Show, Hero unsuccessfully challenged Cole for the ROH World Championship. A rematch between the two, contested under Ringmaster's Challenge rules, took place on March 8 and saw Cole again retain the title. Hero's last match in ROH was on March 22 in Dayton, Ohio, at the Flyin' High event, where he was submitted by A.J. Styles.


Return to PWG (2013–2016)

Hero returned to PWG at the first night of the ''All Star Weekend X'' on December 20, 2013, unsuccessfully challenging
Adam Cole Austin Kirk Jenkins (born July 5, 1989), known by the ring name Adam Cole, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of The Paragon (professional wrestling), ...
for the PWG World Championship. In August 2014, Hero then entered the Battle of Los Angeles for the first time since 2011, but was eliminated in the first round by a returning Matt Sydal. In the following year's tournament, Hero made it all the way to the finals before being submitted by
Zack Sabre Jr. Lucas James Uggles Eatwell (born 24 July 1987), known by his ring name and its abbreviated form ZSJ, is an English-born professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In NJPW, he is the second and current leader of the ...
in a three-way elimination match also involving Mike Bailey. Ohno left PWG in December 2016 after signing again with WWE. His farewell match in PWG took place at Mystery Vortex IV, where Hero and JT Dunn, billed as Death By Elbow, lost to reDRagon ( Bobby Fish and
Kyle O'Reilly Kyle Richard Thomas Greenwood (born March 1, 1987), better known by his ring name Kyle O'Reilly, is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Paragon (professio ...
).


Return to WWE (2016–2020)


NXT (2016–2019)

In December 2016, it was reported that Spradlin had re-signed with WWE. Spradlin, once again billed as Kassius Ohno, made his return at the January 5, 2017 ''NXT'' tapings, confronting then NXT Champion
Shinsuke Nakamura is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Nakamura is known for his time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former 3-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, with his first rei ...
at the end of the live show. The following day, Ohno defeated Andrade "Cien" Almas at a ''NXT''
house show A house show (also commonly called a live event) is a professional wrestling event produced by a major Professional wrestling promotion, promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in o ...
in his return match. Ohno returned to NXT television on February 22, 2017, saving No Way Jose and confronting
Bobby Roode Robert Francis Roode Jr. (born May 11, 1976) is a Canadian retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is a Producer (professional wrestling), producer and was formerly an in-ring performer. Roode is known ...
. On the March 15 episode of ''NXT'', Ohno faced Roode for the NXT Championship in a losing effort. On the March 29 episode of ''NXT'', Ohno defeated Elias Samson in a Loser Leaves NXT match. Ohno made his
NXT TakeOver NXT TakeOver was a series of periodic professional wrestling events produced by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE for its NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand division. The first TakeOver was simply titled NX ...
debut at NXT TakeOver: Orlando in an eight-person tag team match, teaming with Tye Dillinger, Roderick Strong, and Ruby Riott against
SAnitY Sanity (from ) refers to the soundness, rationality, and health of the human mind, as opposed to insanity. A person is sane if they are rational. In modern society, the term has become exclusively synonymous with ''compos mentis'' ( and ). The ...
, replacing an injured No Way Jose, being on the losing side of the team. Ohno entered a program with Hideo Itami after Itami began causing a scene in the locker room following his loss to then-NXT Champion Bobby Roode at NXT TakeOver: Chicago, during which Ohno tried to calm down Itami. Concerned with Itami's actions, Ohno saved Oney Lorcan from a post-match attack by Itami on the June 7 edition of ''NXT''. After weeks of trying to help Itami, tensions became too high and Ohno and Itami faced off on the July 26 episode of ''NXT'', where Ohno won after Itami got himself disqualified. The two concluded their feud on the September 6 episode of ''NXT'', when Ohno defeated Itami in a No Disqualification match. On the November 8 episode of ''NXT'', Ohno asked general manager
William Regal Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as the vice-president of Global Talent Development. He is also known for ...
for a match with the undefeated Lars Sullivan. At NXT TakeOver: WarGames, Ohno was defeated by Sullivan. On the January 24 episode of ''NXT'' Ohno had a backstage encounter with Velveteen Dream that ended with Ohno shoving Dream to the ground. This led to a match against Dream at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia where Ohno lost. Ohno was subsequently presented as a figurative "gatekeeper" in NXT while showing signs of a
heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...
turn. At NXT TakeOver: WarGames, he was called out by
Matt Riddle Matthew Fredrick Riddle (born January 14, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he is the reigning MLW World Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He ...
, who challenged him to an impromptu match, in which he lost in only eight seconds. At the December 5 edition of ''NXT'', Ohno attacked Riddle after his match against the debuting Punishment Martinez, cementing his heel turn. At NXT TakeOver: Phoenix, Ohno faced Riddle in a rematch, which he lost. Following him "leaving" NXT, Ohno continued wrestling on NXT live events. On April 10, 2019, Ohno wrestled the recently signed Kushida, in his debut match for NXT. With WWE's partnership with Evolve Wrestling, Hero was announced for Evolve 115, 116 and 118. At Evolve 115, he failed to defeat Fabian Aichner for the Evolve Championship.


NXT UK (2019–2020)

Following his loss to Matt Riddle at TakeOver, Ohno stated on NXT's weekly show that he would be leaving NXT. On February 22, 2019, Ohno debuted at WWE's United Kingdom brand
NXT UK ''NXT UK'' was a professional wrestling television programme that was produced exclusively in the United Kingdom by the American promotion WWE. It aired on BT Sport and 5Action (previously known as Paramount Network). In the United States, the ...
event in Coventry, UK. There it was announced that Ohno was now an active wrestler on NXT UK. The following night, February 23, he cut a promo at NXT UK Coventry, reading an apology off his phone for Ashton Smith. Later, he was defeated by Travis Banks. On March 20, 2019, Kassius Ohno defeated Ashton Smith. On April 16, 2020, Ohno's WWE.com profile was moved to the alumni section and was soon confirmed to be part of the releases that took place due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Spradlin himself would further confirm this, as he took to Twitter where he posted a picture of his Kassius Ohno boots alone in the ring followed by a video confirming the return of Chris Hero.


All Elite Wrestling (2023–present)

On June 26, 2023, it was announced that Hero has signed with
All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...
as a coach. On July 27, it was announced that Hero would become a producer with All Elite Wrestling.


Other media

Spradlin appeared on Australian program '' Border Security: Australia's Front Line'' in 2010, a weekly television documentary program that details real and potential immigration and custom infringements at airports and seaports across Australia. On December 18, 2008, Spradlin had entered Australia under a tourist visa, which does not permit participating in paid or unpaid performances, even though he was planning to perform, defending his PWG World Championship in the PWA Queensland wrestling show the next day. Spradlin cooperated with the immigration officials and after four hours was permitted to leave the airport and enter the country after the event organiser agreed to sponsor him on an entertainment visa, which was approved by immigration. Spradlin also appeared in a music video for the song "The Ballad of Moose Bruce" by Indie band Born Ruffians. The video features Hero performing his signature moves the
rolling Rolling is a Motion (physics)#Types of motion, type of motion that combines rotation (commonly, of an Axial symmetry, axially symmetric object) and Translation (geometry), translation of that object with respect to a surface (either one or the ot ...
elbow The elbow is the region between the upper arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and t ...
and
moonsault A moonsault, moonsault press, or back flip splash is a Professional wrestling aerial techniques, professional wrestling aerial technique. It was innovated by Mando Guerrero. Much of its popularity in both Puroresu, Japanese and professional wrestl ...
in slow motion. Spradlin, going by the ring name Chris Hero, appears on WWE Home Video's ''CM Punk – Best in the World'' DVD documentary, where he talks about competing against CM Punk during their independent circuit days. Spradlin, as Kassius Ohno, made his WWE video game debut as a playable character in ''
WWE 2K18 ''WWE 2K18'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K (company), 2K. It is the nineteenth instalment in the WWE 2K, WWE game series (fifth under the ''WWE 2K'' banner) and a follow-up to ''WWE 2K17''. It wa ...
'', and subsequently appears in its sequels ''
WWE 2K19 ''WWE 2K19'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K. It was released worldwide on October 9, 2018, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the twentieth game in the ''WWE'' series, th ...
'' and
WWE 2K20 ''WWE 2K20'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K. It was released worldwide on October 22, 2019, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the twenty-first installment of the ...
.


Personal life

Spradlin is a fan of
hip hop music Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...
and
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
, the latter of which has been the inspiration for much of his ring attire. He is engaged to fellow professional wrestler Rachael Ellering.


Championships and accomplishments

* AAW: Professional Wrestling Redefined **Jim Lynam Memorial Tournament (2016) * All Pro Wrestling ** APW Worldwide Internet Championship ( 1 time) *Alternative Championship Wrestling **ACW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * Chikara **
Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas The Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas (''Chikara Tag Team championship'') was a professional wrestling Tag team (professional wrestling), tag team championship (professional wrestling), championship contested for in the Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pe ...
( 1 time) – with
Claudio Castagnoli Claudio Castagnoli ( ; born 27 December 1980) is a Swiss professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Death Riders and a former AEW World Trios Championship, AEW World Trios Champion. He also per ...
** Tag World Grand Prix (
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
) – with Claudio Castagnoli *
Combat Zone Wrestling Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion founded in 1999 by John Zandig. Commonly associated with the 2000s hardcore wrestling genre, early CZW shows showcased a brand of wrestling dubbed by the p ...
** CZW Iron Man Championship ( 1 time) ** CZW World Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) **
CZW World Tag Team Championship The CZW World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship, world tag team Championship (professional wrestling), championship owned and copyrighted by the Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) professional wrestling promoti ...
( 2 times) – with Claudio Castagnoli **Last Team Standing (2006) – with Claudio Castagnoli *Coliseum Championship Wrestling **CCW Heavyweight Championship (3 times) **CCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with John Caesar *
DDT Pro-Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name is an initialism of Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's original name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the p ...
** Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship ( 1 time) *Discovery Wrestling ** Discovery Awards (1 time) *** Match of the Year (2015) – * Evolve ** Evolve Championship ( 1 time) *Grand Pro Wrestling **GPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Hard Core Wrestling **HCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Danny Blackheart *Impact Championship Wrestling **ICW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *
Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South Independent Wrestling Association (IWA) Mid-South (also known as IWA Mid-South, IWA-MS, and IWA Mid South Wrestling) was an American Independent circuit, independent professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in J ...
** IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship ( 4 times) **Strong Style Tournament (2005) ** Sweet Science Sixteen (
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
) ** Ted Petty Invitational (
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
) *IWA East Coast **IWA East Coast Heavyweight Championship (2 times) * Juggalo Championship Wrestling ** JCW Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Claudio Castagnoli * NWA West Virginia / Ohio **NWA WV/OH Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Northern States Wrestling Alliance **NSWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Los Angeles, California. As of 2024, it is on an extended hiatus. It was created by pro wrestlers Disco Machine, Excalibur, Scott Lost, Joey Ryan, Super ...
**
PWG World Championship The PWG World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) professional wrestling promotion. It was introduced in 2003 as the PWG Championship. The inaugural champion was Frankie Kazarian. The c ...
( 1 time) *''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...
'' **PWI ranked him No. 36 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the
PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...
in 2011 * Pro Wrestling Noah **Global League Puroresu Kakutōgi DX Award (2014) **Global Tag League Outstanding Performance Award (2015) – with
Colt Cabana Scott Colton (born May 6, 1980), better known by the ring name Colt Cabana, is an American professional wrestler, color commentator, and podcaster. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a wrestler and as a coach, and he performs the same ...
**Global Tag League Technique Award (2014, 2015) – with Colt Cabana *
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...
**
ROH World Tag Team Championship The ROH World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship, world tag team championship contested for in the United States, American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). The current champions are D ...
( 2 times) – with Claudio Castagnoli **
Survival of the Fittest "Survival of the fittest" is a phrase that originated from Darwinian evolutionary theory as a way of describing the mechanism of natural selection. The biological concept of fitness is defined as reproductive success. In Darwinian terms, th ...
(
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
) ** Tag Wars Tournament (2010) – with Claudio Castagnoli **Undisputed World Intergender Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Sara Del Rey1 *SoCal Uncensored Awards **Match of the Year (2008) vs.
Low Ki Brandon Silvestry (born September 6, 1979) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Low Ki. He is known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, TNA Wrestling, Ring of Honor and Major ...
at '' PWG 2008 Battle of Los Angeles – Stage Two'', November 2, 2008
**Match of the Year (2009) vs.
Bryan Danielson Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs on a part time basis. He is also known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under t ...
at ''PWG Guerre Sans Frontières'', September 4, 2009
*Unified Championship Wrestling **UCW Television Championship (1 time) *Violent Championship Wrestling **VCW Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Porno the Clown **VCW Triple Threat Championship (2 times) *
Westside Xtreme Wrestling Westside Xtreme Wrestling, commonly shortened to wXw, is a German professional wrestling promotion based in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. wXw has been one of the leading professional wrestling promotions in Germany, and most of its event ...
** wXw World Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** wXw Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Marc Roudin ** 16 Carat Gold Tournament (2007, 2014) *''
Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...
'' ** Tag Team of the Year (2010) with Claudio Castagnoli *Xtreme Intense Championship Wrestling **XICW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Other achievements **Jeff Peterson Cup (2007) 1Championship not officially recognized by
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...
.


''Luchas de Apuestas'' record


References


External links

*
2017 Archive
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hero, Chris 1979 births 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers All Elite Wrestling personnel American male professional wrestlers Living people American professional wrestling announcers Professional wrestlers from Ohio American professional wrestling trainers Sportspeople from Dayton, Ohio Evolve Champions ROH World Tag Team Champions PWG World Champions CZW World Heavyweight Champions Ironman Heavymetalweight Champions CZW Iron Man Champions WXw Unified World Wrestling Champions WXw World Tag Team Champions CZW World Tag Team Champions WXw 16 Carat Gold Tournament winners