Training; early career (1998–2000) After graduating from
Northmont High School in
Clayton, Ohio, Spradlin decided to train as a
professional wrestler in the summer of 1998. After undergoing some initial training in
Middletown, Ohio, Spradlin debuted on September 12, 1998 in
Xenia, Ohio 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-based HWA Main Event Wrestling Camp between May 1999 and November 1999. In December 1999, he traveled to
Ocala, Florida 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, he began using the ring name "Wife Beater". He held the title until December 5 of that year, when he lost to
CM Punk. 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 and
Ares) to a 30-minute time limit draw, eliminating both teams from the tournament. In July 2004, Hero moved to
Pennsylvania to work alongside Mike Quackenbush at the Chikara Wrestle Factory. In April 2005, the school moved from
Allentown, Pennsylvania to the former
ECW Arena in
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. 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 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 (WWE). Upon Chikara's season return in February,
King of Trios, 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, 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, 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 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. 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 came out and thanked Hero for all he had done for CZW, including the war with
Ring of Honor. 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 in 2003 and 2004. He traveled alongside Nate Webb and Dave Prazak to
Nashville, Tennessee on a weekly basis at the urging of Bill Behrens. Hero wrestled on several
TNA Xplosion tapings. Although he never appeared on pay per view, he was featured on card #22 of the Pacific released TNA trading card set. and the
Thomaselli Brothers in the second round, but lost to B-Boy and
Homicide 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. 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 in the first round. Hero appeared with regular tag team partner Claudio Castagnoli in PWG's
Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament, 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). at the
2008 Battle of Los Angeles 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 in the semi-finals. 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, 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 and Brandon Gatson 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) 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 (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 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 on January 14 at
Hell Freezes Over, but could not win the title. He, along with
Necro Butcher, 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 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 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 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 and
Robbie Brookside in a six-man tag team match where he teamed with Castagnoli and
Chad Collyer. In August 2006, the
Ring of Honor Tag Team Title belts were stolen from champions
Austin Aries and
Roderick Strong. Hero revealed on his
LiveJournal 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 and
Matt Sydal 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 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, to knock out his opponents and win matches. On May 8, 2009, Hero was defeated by the ROH World Champion
Jerry Lynn 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 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. 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), 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.,
Sara Del Rey and Chris Hero as
the Kings of Wrestling in August 2012|left|303x303px 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 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 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, but was again defeated.
International promotions (2007–2016) as the
Kings of Wrestling on
Pro Wrestling Noah's European Navigation tour in 2011. Hero became a regular for several European wrestling promotions, most notable being the
Westside Xtreme Wrestling (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. 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. 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 in a match for the
GHC Tag Team Championship. 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 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 K.E.S. (
Davey Boy Smith Jr. and
Lance Archer). 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 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 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 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 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,
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.
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/
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 (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 that same evening, losing to
Xavier Woods. 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 for the
FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship.
NXT (2012–2013) When WWE
rebranded 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 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 after Regal saved
Tyson Kidd 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 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 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 to determine the number one contender to the NXT Championship, where he and
Corey Graves were eliminated by
Bray Wyatt. The following week Ohno and Graves teamed up to take on
Luke Harper and Erick Rowan for the
NXT Tag Team Championship 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, Ohno 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 Ohno 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, 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 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 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 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. In June 2015, Hero wrestled for three consecutive hours against 17 opponents in a fundraiser for
ALS. 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 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 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. 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).
Return to WWE (2016–2020) NXT (2016–2019) from
Keith Lee in April 2018|thumb|251x251px 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 at the end of the live show. The following day, Ohno defeated
Andrade "Cien" Almas at a
NXT house show in his return match. Ohno returned to NXT television on February 22, 2017, saving
No Way Jose and confronting
Bobby Roode. 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 debut at
NXT TakeOver: Orlando in an eight-person tag team match, teaming with
Tye Dillinger,
Roderick Strong, and
Ruby Riott against
SAnitY, replacing an injured No Way Jose, being on the losing side of the team. In May 2017, 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 for a match with the undefeated
Lars Sullivan. At
NXT TakeOver: WarGames, Ohno was defeated by Sullivan. At
NXT TakeOver: WarGames, he was called out by
Matt Riddle, 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 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. Ohno 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 reported that Hero had begun working for
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a
coach. In July 2025, it was reported that Hero had officially signed with the promotion in a full-time role. ==Other media==