Despite having not wrestled in over three years, Chris Hero insists he hasn’t hung up his boots just yet.
Over the course of a career that has lasted for over two decades, Hero has wrestled in promotions all over the world including ROH, Pro Wrestling NOAH, CZW, and Pro Wrestling Guerilla. His work on the independent scene earned him a reputation as one of the greatest indy wrestlers of his generation.
He also had two stints in WWE under the name Kassius Ohno. His first run in the promotion from 2011-2013 saw him working in NXT with little success. He left the company on good terms, preferring to return to the independents.
He returned to the company in 2016, again as part of the developmental brand. This time, he had high-profile programs with the likes of KENTA – then known as Hideo Itami – Keith Lee, and Matt Riddle.
In 2019, he moved to the NXT UK brand where he remained until he was released from his contract in 2020. His last match so far saw him unsuccessfully taking part in a Battle Royal to determine the number one contender for the NXT UK Championship.
Chris Hero would have a “week-long celebration” if he retired
While he hasn’t wrestled since that bout, Hero recently explained to Fightful that if he had retired, we would know it.
“If I was retired there would have been some kind of a celebration, a ceremony, a festival. A week long, month-long thing.
“No, I’m not retired. I’m currently inactive. I just can’t stay away from wrestling in any way. So as I bide my time and wait for the right thing to come back for and start having matches again.
“I have kept pretty active. I’ve done a bunch of seminars, I’ve done signings, of course. Then I kind of dabbled into the world of producing.
“It’s funny, we use this term producing, but it’s kind of like directing. Directing is probably a better [term], but I’m not going to start calling myself a director.”
Currently, Hero is working as the matchmaker for indie promotion West Coast Pro in the US. During the same interview, he said that “wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“That wasn’t even supposed to happen. I just kind of felt it. Scott and I had been talking, you know, leading up to the show.
“We had some ideas, and man, the first half of the show was going, I was feeling good and I went and talked to Scott and I was like, ‘Hey, I’m about to run up after the intermission. Should I let the ring announcer know?’ He’s like, ‘No, don’t.”
H/T to Fightful for the above transcription.