Chris Hero has a new role in the world of pro wrestling.
Hero started wrestling in 1998 through 2020, where he worked for several promotions and found great success. Throughout his in-ring career, he won the PWG World Title, IWA Mid-South Heavyweight title, EVOLVE Championship, wXw World Championship, and the CZW Championship. He also had a memorable run as a tag team with Claudio Castagnoli as Kings of Wrestling, where they won gold in ROH, Chikara, and CZW.
The promotion has held shows since 2018 in California, where the top champion is Titus Alexander. Past champions of the promotion include some notable names such as AJ Gray and Jacob Fatu.
At Saturday’s show, Masha Slamovich defeated Sandra Moore to become their inaugural Women’s Champion after winning the finals of the tournament. Fans can watch West Coast Pro shows on IndependentWrestling.TV.
Hero last wrestled a match at a set of tapings for the WWE NXT UK brand in Midlands, England, on March 6 & 7, 2020, before he was one of the names to be released from WWE that April due to budget cuts.
Eddie Kingston and Chris Hero have been beloved by wrestling fans but the two just can’t get along.
For years, Kingston fought for every inch of turf he could get in the wrestling industry. It has finally paid off with his AEW run. Chris Hero is someone fans rooted for during his time on the indies and Ring of Honor. Ultimately, his two NXT runs didn’t pan out the way he hoped.
Eddie Kingston Details Chris Hero Beef
Eddie Kingston spoke to GiveMeSport’s Louis Dangoor and he shared why he and Chris Hero don’t see eye-to-eye.
“They know that I’m going to go out there and be a pro and they know that I’m not going to go out there and go into business for myself and hurt them or bury them. They know I’m not going to do that. Whatever I say in that moment is reality, but after, I don’t care. I’ve known a lot of these guys (in AEW) for over 10 years. They know how I am and they know I’m not going to do anything to hurt anybody. Everything I do is for the company. Have I had people on the Independents (be mad), yeah. Chris Hero, me and him don’t like each other, there were a lot of things said by both of us where we were giving each other shots. We were letting each other say things and went, ‘I’ll remember that when we’re in the ring.'”
Earlier this year, Kingston admitted to Wrestling Observer Radio that Chris Hero did help train him early in his career. Somewhere along the line things went south.
Kingston is preparing for a showdown with CM Punk at Full Gear on Nov. 13. Ahead of the match, Kingston penned a piece on the Player’s Tribune, detailing his struggles with mental health.
The past 18 months have had a huge impact on the professional wrestling scene internationally. Stars that would usually travel for much of the year have now had to work either local shows or be forced to semi-retire for the foreseeable future.
With the potential of the pandemic now getting to a somewhat controlled point, with vaccines being rolled out across the major hubs of independent wrestling, there’s a good chance that some of the biggest names on the indie scene will be able to work internationally once again.
Here are 5 of the names we want to see making the rounds again on the US, European and Australian scenes towards the end of the year and into 2022.
Chris Hero returns to the Indies?
Before Chris Hero re-signed with WWE back in 2017 as Kassius Ohno, he was regarded as one of the very best performers on the independent circuit. The Knockout Artist moved to NXT UK during his last stint with WWE, and he has a wealth of experience on the UK scene overall.
Chris Hero has not wrestled since March 2020 for the NXT UK brand, so a return to the UK independents, where he was a major star for PROGRESS and Rev Pro, would be more than welcome later this year.
Match we NEED to see: Chris Hero vs PROGRESS World Champion Cara Noir
Chelsea Green
The former WWE NXT Superstar was released from the company earlier this year and has been extremely active on social media. Recent appearances on Ring of Honor and IMPACT have shown that she is more than ready to get back out on the circuit, and there’s a ton of fantastic independent companies that could use the talents of Green.
GCW looks like it could be a great fit for Chelsea at some point; with her fiance Matt Cardona having just won the Game Changer Wrestling title, she could be brought in as part of a ‘GCW Universe’ stable to bring even more heat to the jacked Champion.
Match we NEED to see: Chelsea Green vs Mickie James
Charli Evans
The Medusa Complex (Charli Evans and NXT UK Superstar Millie McKenzie) were one of the most intriguing acts on the UK independent scene before the pandemic. McKenzie has since signed for WWE; however, Charli Evans is still an incredible performer in her own right. The Australian star has helped build PWA Black Label, Deathmatch Down Under and Newcastle Pro Wrestling in 2021.
There’s still a wealth of opportunities for Evans on the UK circuit, with the former Pro Wrestling: EVE Tag Team Champion (along with Millie) looking like an ideal fit for the next generation of UK talents such as Lizzy Evo, Kanji, Gisele Shaw and Mercedez Blaze.
Match we NEED to see: Charli Evans vs PROGRESS Women’s Champion Kanji
Drew Parker
Drew Parker was a promising UK performer when he made the jump to Japan. That was several years ago, and the Deathmatch specialist has proven that the expectation levels were right for the current GCW Ultraviolent and BJW Death Match Heavyweight Champion.
There is a renaissance of Deathmatch wrestling across the globe (although we Deathmatch fans would say it never went away). Parker could be a mainstay with the likes of TNT Wrestling in the UK, who have a wealth of Deathmatch talent on their roster and seem to be cornering the market on the style in the United Kingdom.
Match we NEED to see: Drew Parker vs TNT Extreme Division Champion Clint Margera
Mickie James
One of the most important performers in Women’s wrestling history is back on the free market and looking to prove once again why she is up in the pantheon of greats. Not that Mickie James needs to prove anything, but the former WWE Women’s Champion could be a fantastic fit on both the European and Australian indie scenes.
With the aforementioned current crop of Women’s talent in the UK, James could be having some blow-away matches against some of the EVE, Rev Pro and PROGRESS talent. Gisele Shaw looks like she would be a top draw opponent for Mickie, with the Rev Pro Women’s Champion building herself up as the Quintessential performer on the UK circuit right now.
Match we NEED to see: Mickie James vs Revolution Pro Women’s Champion Gisele Shaw
Former WWE star Chris Hero better known to WWE fans as Kassius Ohno was backstage at ROH’s latest Best In The World PPV event.
According to John Pollock of Post Wrestling, the former NXT star was working as an agent on the event, though his status beyond the show is not known yet.
When asked about his presence, ROH COO Joe Koff confirmed that Hero was backstage and said: “Chris was there and is always home at Ring of Honor.”
Kassius Ohno is a wrestling veteran who has been part of the industry for over two decades. He has worked for promotions such as Chikara, CZW, PWG and more during his long career.
Hero has had a couple of stints with WWE. His last run with the company started in 2016. He stayed with the promotion until 2020, before being released during the coronavirus budget cuts last year.
He has an extensive history with ROH. His relationship with the promotion began during the 2006 CWZ invasion angle. He went on to have a long stint in the company and won multiple titles.
The ROH Best In The World event saw multiple big title changes including the crowning of a new world champion. You can check out a list of the titles that changed hands during the show here.
Chris Hero had been silent since his release from WWE in April earlier this year which made a lot of people wonder if we have seen the last of the former NXT star in the ring and if he is planning to hang his boots after the abrupt ending to his NXT tenure.
However, the veteran recently provided an update on his status and the former ROH star confirmed that he is far from being done with wrestling.
Hero made a post on the WrestlingGenius subreddit where he confirmed that he is far from done wrestling and he claimed that he will come back when “the circumstances and situations are right”:
“Before anyone asks or infers, I am far from done wrestling. If I wanted to hang it up and coach/produce I could have a job tomorrow. I’ve turned down a number of companies in the last 6 months- not because they’ve been terrible offers or anything but because I’m just not ready.
I will come back when the circumstances and situations are right. Trust me, it *kills* me to not be out there doing what I love. The time will come and when it does it will be spectacular. In the meantime, I appreciate all of your patience. Take care & stay safe!”
Chris Hero who made his wrestling debut back in 1998 has wrestled for many promotions such as ROH, Impact Wrestling, PWG and more.
He started his second run with WWE in 2016. He returned as Kassius Ohno and was positioned as the gatekeeper of NXT, helping establish younger stars in the roster. He was released from his contract in April as part of the coronavirus budget cuts.
The annual wXw 16 Carat Gold Tournament has become one of the most prestigious events in today’s Independent wrestling scene and some of the biggest perfumers in the industry have won the 16 man competition. Former winners include Chris Hero, El Generico, Tommy End, Zack Sabre Jr and Sami Callihan.
This year’s iteration begins on March 10th in Oberhausen, Germany. The full event will be available to view in full on wXw’s on demand: www.wxw-wrestling.com/pages/media/wxwnow.php
wXw have now announced the first round matches for the 3 day event and they are:
When it was announced that Chris Hero had re-signed with WWE and would be returning to NXT it created a chasm across the Independent wrestling scene, both in the United States and Europe.
After his original departure from WWE back in 2013, Hero toured the world performing for numerous promotions big and small and establishing himself as quite possibly the best independent wrestler on the planet. What is truly astonishing is the quality and variety of matches that Chris Hero had in 2016; from his bouts in UK based Revolution Pro against Tomohiro Ishii and Katsuyori Shibata, his show stealing PROGRESS bouts against Mark Andrews and Marty Scurll, his PWG tag bout alongside Tommy End against Fenix & Pentagon Jr through to his EVOLVE matches with Dick Togo, Timothy Thatcher, Zack Sabre Jr……and Matt Riddle.
One of Hero’s biggest draws was that he seemed just as happy performing in front of thousands of fans as he did in front of a smaller crowd, eager to help as many promotions as possible gain traction and build their fan base.
Before I started writing this I saw a tweet from a very small UK based promotion stating that Matt Riddle would be performing for them in April against Josh Bodom, himself an up and coming star on the UK scene. Counter this with Riddle’s other matches so far in 2017 in the UK for the likes of Rev Pro and PROGRESS and you can see why I drew the comparison to Hero, he appears to be working for independents big and small.
Now, Riddle has only been wrestling for around 3 years and while he is not quite at the caliber of a Chris Hero just yet, he certainly has all of the tools to get there. Ever since his departure from UFC Riddle has taken to Pro Wrestling at an astonishing rate, earning him comparisons to the likes of Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar. His natural charisma and ability to read is what established him as a star in EVOLVE.
Riddle’s temperament seems to be the same as Hero’s, he wants to work for as many companies as possible, get as much experience as he can and build his brand globally. As I mentioned before the hole that Chris Hero left in the Independent scene was substantial. Indie companies desperately need a performer that can come in and elevate both your company and the stars on your roster Matt Riddle looks set to be the man to fill those boots with his willingness to work in diverse matches against a litany of different opponents.
Anyone looking to attend PROGRESS’ annual Super Strong Style 16 event may well now be out of luck. PROGRESS tend to always sell out on their Electric Ballroom tickets but in is likely a company record the 3 day event sold out in less than an hour.
Super Strong Style 16 is a tournament usually set over 2 days (this years is over 3) that features some of the best Independent talents from the UK and beyond. The 2016 iteration featured arguably the best match in company history when Mark Andrews took on Chris Hero in a thrilling bout.
The PROGRESS Pivotshare on demand service has a wealth of content and is certainly worth a look: demandprogress.pivotshare.com
– During a recent appearance on The Kevin Gill Show, Kassius Ohno (Chris Hero) gave his thoughts about longtime friend Kevin Owens holding the top title on the RAW brand, the WWE Universal Championship.
“I was happy for him and the journey that he’s been on,” he said. “But also I was happy for wrestling. I was happy because it’s different and it’s a new direction. I think everybody’s sick of the same old. Sometime you’ve just got to go in a different direction and they did.”
– SmackDown star James Ellsworth is pushing for a spot in th eRoyal Rumble and is encouraging fans to use the hashtag #EllsworthRumble to show support. Ellsworth is currently involved in a romantic storyline with Carmella.
EVOLVE have announced that Chris Hero’s bout for the company will be at EVOLVE 77 which takes place January 28th in San Antonio, Texas. Hero’s opponent will be top UK performer Zack Sabre Jr.
To commemorate the fantastic run that Hero has had with the company EVOLVE have released his Mercury Rising 2016 bout with ZSJ on Youtube (check this out below).
– Jim Ross posted a new blog on his website and discussed the development of Braun Strowman. Ross thought the WWE had done a good job of separating Strowman from the pack but thinks he may still have some areas he could improve in. Here is an excerpt from J.R.’s blog post.
Hopefully Strowman’s evolution with continue to conceal his inexperience especially his ‘selling’ skill set. WWE has done a good job in separating the big man from the pack and now we will see how he adds to the company’s faith in him by getting better each day in some area of his profession.
J.R. also discussed Dolph Ziggler’s heel turn and Jeff Jarrett’s return to TNA Wrestling. You can check out the full post by clicking here.
Chris Hero made his NXT return at Thursday night’s TV tapings from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. (Full Results). He’s back using his old NXT ring name, Kassius Ohno.
After a match for the 1/25 episode that saw Tajiri and Shinsuke Nakamura take on Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode, Ohno’s entrance video played and he came out wearing a suit. He entered the ring, signaled that he wants Nakamura’s NXT Championship and left the ring.
Our live correspondent was under the impression that the tag team match was a dark match, so we’ll see if this airs on the show. Either way, Ohno is a big addition to the NXT roster and has done tremendous work on the independent scene since his last run back in 2013.
Here are the results from this past weekend’s EVOLVE 75 event:
Jeff Cobb b. Fred Yehi – Cobb took the pinfall win after hitting the Tour of the Islands
Jaka & Chris Dickinson b. Darby Allin & Peter Kaasa – Jaka and Dickinson took the win via pinfall
Ethan Page b. Dick Togo – Page took the pinfall win in a hard hitting bout with the legend Togo
Chris Hero b. DUSTIN – Hero gained the pinfall victory after hitting a Gotch Piledriver
Matt Riddle b. Ricochet – Riddle locked in the Bro Mission to make Ricochet tap and secure the victory
Tracy Williams b. Drew Gulak – Williams took the submission win with a Crossface, after the bout Gulak officially declared that he will be leaving the company
On Sunday, f4wonline broke the news that Chris Hero is returning to WWE soon, “barring any last minute changes.” We recently heard Hero was undergoing his WWE medical exams and Ryan Satin followed up with a report stating he’d most likely be returning to NXT using his previous Kassius Ohno moniker. Hero has since responded to the reports with this tweet:
I can't help but to be disappointed by irresponsible journalism.
Chris Hero will be returning to WWE soon, according to Dave Meltzer of f4wonline.com.
Hero has been a standout performer on the independent scene since his release from NXT back in late 2013, where he worked as Kassius Ohno. He wrestled for Evolve and Beyond Wrestling this weekend and gave somewhat of a ‘farewell’ speech at Saturday night’s Evolve show.
The 36-year-old is rumored to be returning to the NXT brand.
Here are the results from EVOLVE 74, the show took place in New York City’s La Boom venue:
Drew Gulak defeated Jaka via the submission (Dragon Sleeper).
DUSTIN b. Chris Dickinson via pinfall.
Brian Cage defeated Darby Allen via countout when Cage threw Allen out into the crowd.
Cody Rhodes beat Ethan via pitfall after hitting his Crossrhodes finisher.
Jeff Cobb defeated Matt Riddle. After the match, Stokely Hathaway invited Cobb to be a part of the Dream Team but Cobb refused, rather opting for a shot at the Evolve Championship instead which is held by Timothy Thatcher.
EVOLVE Tag Team Champions Catch Point (Fred Yehi & Tracy Williams) defeated Peter Kaasa & Ricochet via crossface submission.
Dick Togo def. Chris Hero by pinfall with the diving senton.
The final two EVOLVE shows of 2016 will taking place this weekend. Both shows will be available to watch on the FloSlam.tv network and the cards are as follows:
EVOLVE 74
EVOLVE Tag Team Championship Match
Catch Point of Tracy Williams & Fred Yehi (c) vs. Ricochet & Peter Kaasa
Special Challenge Match
Cody vs. Ethan Page w/ The Gatekeepers
Special Attraction Match
Chris Hero vs. Dick Togo
Matt Riddle vs. Jeff Cobb
Drew Gulak vs. Jaka
Darby Allin vs. Brian Cage
DUSTIN vs. Chris Dickinson
Here are the results from Night 1 of the Co-branded Revolution Pro and New Japan Pro Wrestling Global Wars events.
Marty Scurll b. Jushin Thunder Liger – Scurll took the win after applying the Crossface Chickenwing
Honma b. Sha Samuels – Honma gained the pinfall victory after hitting a Kokeshi from the top rope
Yuji Nagata b. Pete Dunne – Nagata took the pinfall win after a hard fought back and forth match with the UK standout Dunne
Chris Hero b. Tomohiro Ishii – In what was undoubtably the match of the night, Hero took the pinfall after hitting a Gotch style piledriver
Will Ospreay b. Bushi – Ospreay took the win after hitting the OsCutter
Naito, Evil & Sanada b. Trent Seven, Tyler Bate & David Starr – Evil took the victory for his team by pinning David Starr
Katsuyori Shibata b. Zack Sabre, Jr. – Shibata hit a PK to take the pinfall victory and become the Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion. Chris Hero appeared after the match and challenged Shibata for the belt.
Here are the results from the third and final night of PWG’s annual BOLA Tournament:
BOLA Tournament Quarter Final Matches
Trevor Lee b. Dalton Castle – Trevor Lee took the win via pinfall after hitting a Canadian Destroyer
Ricochet b. John Bennigan – Ricochet hit the 630 splash to advance in the tournament
Marty Scurll b. Cody Rhodes – Scurll hit a low blow and followed with a quick roll up to secure the pinfall victory
Mark Andrews b. Chris Hero – Andrews reversed a cradle attempt to take the victory in a rematch from PROGRESS’ Super Strong Style 16 tournament
Mark Haskins b. Kyle O’Reilly – Haskins took the win via submission
Will Ospreay b. Zack Sabre Jr – Ospreay took the win after reversing a European Clutch into a pinfall
PWG Tag Team Title Match:The Young Bucks (c) b. Pentagon Jr & Fenix
BOLA Tournament Semi-Final Matches
Trevor Lee b. Mark Andrews – Lee took the win after hitting a small package driver
Marty Scurll b. Mark Haskins – Scurll took the submission win after applying the Crossface Chickenwing
Will Ospreay b. Ricochet – Ospreay hit the OsCutter to win via pinfall in this Best of the Super Juniors rematch
10 Man Tag:Jushin Thunder Liger, Chuck Taylor, Jeff Cobb, Tommy End & Cedric Alexander b. Tommaso Ciampa, Sami Callihan, Matt Riddle, Pete Dunne & Brian Kendrick – Liger hit the Brainbuster on Pete Dunne to secure the pinfall win for his team
Marty Scurll b. Will Ospreay & Trevor Lee – Ospreay is the first to be eliminated after a Chickenwing/Stomp combination from both Scurll and Lee. Scurll wins the tournament by making Lee tap to the Chickenwing.
Revolution Pro have announced that on August 12th Chris Hero will be taking on ‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll. Hero and Scurll recently headlined PROGRESS Chapter 31 in a Match of the Year Candidate and this bout looks set to follow suit.
The main event for the York Hall show in August is Will Ospreay vs Vader.
EVOLVE has announced that Cody Rhodes vs. Johnny Gargano has been pulled from the 8/19 EVOLVE 66 event in Joppa, MD due to Gargano having a prior commitment. Cody’s new opponent for that night will be Zack Sabre Jr.
EVOLVE also announced that Cody’s opponent for EVOLVE 67 on 8/20 in Brooklyn will be Chris Hero.
They issued the following today:
July 5th: Johnny Gargano is now unable to attend the August 19th event due to another commitment. We apologize for having to change the scheduled Cody Rhodes vs. Johnny Gargano match. We will push this match back to September. This means that Cody needs a new opponent for his first post-WWE match. We’ve lined up one of the best going today….
July 5th: Cody Rhodes vs. Zack Sabre Jr. is now set for EVOLVE 66 on August 19th in Joppa, MD! This first-time-ever match will be a true test for both athletes.
July 5th: We all saw Cody Rhodes’ list on Twitter. Chris Hero’s name was on it. On August 20th, Cody can cross Hero off the list. It will be Cody Rhodes vs. Chris Hero on August 20th at EVOLVE 67 in Brooklyn, NY. This event has a special 3pm belltime so you can make it a double header with NXT at the Barclays Center that night!