Chris Hero, real name Chris Spradlin, finally returned to WWE earlier this week when he debuted at the NXT tapings to confront Shinsuke Nakamura. Hero re-debuted under his old NXT moniker, Kassius Ohno. Hero first signed for WWE in February 2012 and was famously supposed to be one of the original members of The Shield before WWE shelved him in place of Roman Reigns. Hero was later released in 2013 while Reigns has gone on to main event Wrestlemania.
Hero returned to the independent circuit after his release from WWE and impressed with performances across the indies from EVOLVE and wXw to Dragon Gate USA, so much so that WWE re-signed him. Hero is set to grace NXT once again with rumours that he has been earmarked as Samoa Joe’s replacement. It looks like the time has finally come for Chris Hero to show the WWE fans and management what they missed out on the first time.
But, before we get to that, let’s get to know Chris Hero a little better.
5: The Wife Beater
Before he became Chris Hero, Chris Spradlin started off his pro wrestling career under the shocking name of “The Wife Beater”, a name that PG-WWE certainly won’t approve of. Spradlin decided to use the name to drum up controversy and notoriety to make a name for himself. With an equally shocking name for his finishing move – The Domestic Violence – Spradlin ran into trouble just a few months after he started using the name after a women’s group found out about it.
The group organized a protest at an indie show that Spradlin was booked on and the incident was even mentioned on Bill Maher’s show, Politically Incorrect. Thankfully, Spradlin later changed his name to Chris Hero after a booker at a family-friendly show in Ohio refused to book him until he changed his name. And so, Chris Hero was born....
4: He was trained by an array of legends
Chris Hero began training to wrestle in his native Ohio, way back in 1998 under the legendary Les Thatcher, who’s also helped train Dean Ambrose, Umaga, Charlie Haas, Jamie Noble and Nigel McGuiness amongst others. Hero also spent time in Florida training under Dory Fuk Jr. who is one of the pioneers of modern pro wrestling. He also spent a great deal of time in the early 2000’s wrestling under Tracy Smothers, who he now considers one of his mentors.
Hero has also trained under boxing coach marshall Kaufmann and British wrestling legend Johnny Saint. Speaking about Britain, he spent time there in 2002 at the Blue Bloods Wrestling Camp learning under William Regal, Dave Finlay and Dave Taylor. In 2003, Hero took clinics in lucha libre under Jorge Rivera, who was also a trainer at Ultimo Dragon’s gym in Mexico.
3: He’s wrestled all over the world
Chris Hero was influenced by wrestling styles from all over the world. He can go anywhere from technical wrestling to throwing an opponent off-guard with his lucha libre abilities though the style he prefers most is influenced by the Japanese strong style.
Apart from WWE, Ring of Honor and TNA, Hero has also wrestled all over the American indies from EVOLVE and Dragon Gate USA to CZW. He’s also competed in lucha libre matches down in Mexico. Hero has also spent time in Japan wrestling for Pro Wrestling NOAH.
Overall, Hero has competed in pro wrestling matches in sixteen different countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.
2: His release from WWE the first time around
CM Punk had earmarked Chris Hero to lead the version of The Shield that he had initially conceptualised. WWE later went with Roman Reigns instead while Hero later got released in 2013. But why was a talent of Chris Hero’s calibre released?
The rumours surrounding the departure suggest that WWE had a problem with Hero’s burgeoning weight even though the man himself has rebuffed the claims. Only WWE and Chris Hero will know the real reason behind the departure since he’s as heavy as ever right now. Similar accusations of a lazy work ethic and skipping workouts have also been rebuffed by Hero.
1: A world-record holder
Chris Hero holds the record for the world’s longest ever pro-wrestling match. The match came for Canadian promotion Smash Wrestling. Hero came up with an intriguing concept for a charity match – he’d wrestle 30 minutes for every $500 raised. The eventual tally came to $3,440. It led to Hero wrestling a 3-hour and 10-minute gauntlet match against 9 separate opponents.
The match ended when Tarik, who Hero had already beaten thrice on the night, hit Hero with the Smash Wrestling Championship belt to pin him.
The record for the longest match in WWE is held by Bruno Sammartino and Waldo von Erich who wrestled an 81-minute draw at Madison Square Gardens.
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