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'''Chris Spradlin''' (born December 24, 1979) is an [[United States|American]] [[Professional wrestling|professional wrestler]], better known by his [[ring name]], '''Chris Hero'''. He is a mainstay of many independent wrestling [[professional wrestling promotion|promotions]], including [[Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South|IWA Mid-South]], [[Juggalo Championship Wrestling]], [[Ring of Honor]], [[Pro Wrestling Guerrilla]], and [[Jersey All Pro Wrestling]] as well as [[Pro Wrestling NOAH]] in [[Japan]]. He also known from his time in [[Combat Zone Wrestling]] and [[Chikara (professional wrestling)|CHIKARA]], where he was the co-head trainer of the CHIKARA Wrestle Factory. |
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'''Chris Spradlin''' (born December 24, 1979) is a ''' |
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== FAGGOT == |
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==Professional wrestling career== |
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== DOLT == |
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===Early career and training=== |
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After graduating from [[Northmont High School]] in [[Clayton, Ohio]], Chris decided to [[train]] as a [[Professional wrestling|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. Chris's initial training in [[Middletown, Ohio]] was under the supervision of a small time promoter named Gary Goffinet. Chris 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 [[Brian Woermann|Matt Stryker]], Hero underwent further training at Les Thatcher's [[Cincinnati, Ohio]]-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 [[List of professional wrestling terms#S|professional wrestling school]]. |
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As Spradlin wrestled wearing a "[[Wifebeater (shirt)|wifebeater]]" [[T-shirt]], he began using the ring name "Wife Beater". He continued to use the Wife Beater [[List of professional wrestling terms#G|character]] until a women's group, offended by the gimmick, organized a boycott of a show Spradlin was wrestling on in [[Platteville, Wisconsin]]. The character was discussed on the talk show ''[[Politically Incorrect]]'', although Spradlin was not mentioned by name. After Spradlin was booked for a series of family-friendly shows for NWA West Virginia / Ohio, he changed his ring name to "Chris Hero". He wrestled his last matches as Wife Beater in 2000. |
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== EATER OF SHIT == |
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In 2000, Hero began working for the [[Indiana]]-based Independent Wrestling Association Mid South, where he received supplementary training from [[Ian Rotten]]. In the following years, Chris spent a great deal of time working with [[Tracy Smothers]] on IWA Mid South shows and he credits Smothers with being a mentor of his. In October 2002, Hero attended the [[Blue Bloods]] Wrestling Camp, operated by [[English people|English]] wrestlers [[David Taylor]], [[William Regal]] and [[Northern Irish]] wrestler [[Dave Finlay]]. In July 2003, [[Chikara Pro Wrestling|CHIKARA]] brought in Jorge "Skayde" Rivera from [[Último Dragón]]'s Toryumon Gym in Mexico City to teach some special lucha libre clinics. Hero took part in the training sessions and was able to add an entirely new style to his repertoire. Chris has attended "Skayde" sessions in [[Minnesota, Pennsylvania]] and [[Mexico]] City from 2003 until 2006. |
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== INVENTER OF THE USA BUMSTYLE == |
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===Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South=== |
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Hero debuted for [[Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South|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]], [[American Kickboxer]], [[Ace Steel]] and Harry Palmer), and unsuccessfully challenged [[Sabu (wrestler)|Sabu]] for the [[NWA World Heavyweight Championship]] at ''Bloodfeast 2000''. Hero engaged in [[feud (professional wrestling)|feuds]] with the Suicide Kid, American Kickboxer, Mark Wolf and the Rugby Thug. |
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On October 21, 2001 in [[Charlestown, Indiana]], Hero won the [[IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship]] from the Rugby Thug. He held the title until December 5 of that year, when he lost to [[CM Punk]]. He regained the title on July 12, 2002, in [[Clarksville, Indiana]], defeating Colt Cabana, and lost it to [[Matt Cross|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. |
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''' |
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During the fall of 2005, Hero and [[Arik Cannon]] continued their feud that had started years before in IWA-MS. At the end of it, Hero became a [[heel (professional wrestling)|villain]] 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]] in the finals. |
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===CHIKARA=== |
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In May 2002, at [[Chikara Pro Wrestling|CHIKARA's]] inaugural event, Hero teamed with [[CM Punk]] and [[Colt Cabana]] calling themselves the Gold Bond Mafia to face The Black T-Shirt Squad: Reckless Youth, [[Michael Spillane|Mike Quackenbush]] and Don Montoya. |
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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 Swiss Money Holding to a 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 [[turn (professional wrestling)|turned]] on Quackenbush and formed an alliance with Claudio Castagnoli and Arik Cannon. He later refered to the trio as "[[Kings of Professional Wrestling|The Kings of Wrestling]]". Hero's faction feuded with Quackenbush's and his allies for the entirety of 2005. At the closing of the CHIKARA "season", Arik Cannon departed from the group, leaving Hero and Claudio as the remaining "Kings of Wrestling". At the open of the 2006 CHIKARA "season", Hero and Claudio defeated Equinox and Hydra, Sumie Sakai and RANMARU, the North Star Express, Hallowicked and Delirious, and finally Team Dragondoor to become the first CHIKARA [[Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas|Campeonatos de Parejas]]. On November 17, 2006 at a Chikara show in Reading Pennsylvania, Hero & Castagnoli lost the Chikara tag titles to Team F.I.S.T ([[Icarus (wrestler)|Icarus]] & [[Gran Akuma]]) in a 2 out of 3 falls match. Following the match, Hero and Team F.I.S.T turned on Claudio and engaged in a beat down, beginning a new feud. 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 didn't want Hero on their team. Instead they went on to recruit [[Chuck Taylor (wrestler)|Chuck Taylor]] as a new member of the Kings of Wrestling. |
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On the other hand, Chris Hero had his sights set on other things when he returned to CHIKARA in March 2007. After [[Claudio Castagnoli]] successfully defeated numerous opponents, and seemed focused on getting his revenge on his former partner, Hero decided he wanted to win back the control of Claudio. 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 special referee for the contest. Chris Hero won the match, forcing Castagnoli back under the control of Hero. Hero faced "Lightning" Mike Quackenbush at CHIKARA's May 26 'Aniversario?' show in a match that was two years in the making. Hero suffered losses to Quackenbush (5/26/07), Lince Dorado (7/21/07), El Pantera (8/5/07), Equinox (8/17/07) and Claudio Castagnoli (9/22/07) all via the CHIKARA Special. 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, PA on 11/16/07, Hero snapped and tore apart Equinox's mask. Leonard F. Chikarason intervened and scheduled Hero and Equinox for a Lucha de Apuesta (Mask vs. Hair) to take place the following evening in Hellertown, PA. 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 luchadore 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. |
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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. |
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===Combat Zone Wrestling=== |
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In December 1999, Hero debuted in [[Combat Zone Wrestling]], wrestling [[Ruckus (wrestler)|Ruckus]] in a match. He wrestled a second match later that year that "also ended in a debacle".{{Fact|date=December 2008}} 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 Claudio 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 titles and defended them in an ongoing feud with Eddie Kingston and the rest of the BLK OUT faction. While Hero and Claudio dropped the titles to [[Eddie Kingston]] and [[Joker (wrestler)|Joker]] in February 2006, the feud with BLK OUT continued. |
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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 Down with the Sickness 4-Ever, 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 three other teams in a one night tournament at the CZW show "Last Team Standing" to become 2 time CZW Tag Team Champs. They defeated Team Masturbation (Beef Wellington & Excalibur) in the first round, the BLKOUT ([[Ruckus (wrestler)|Ruckus]] and [[Human Tornado]]) in the second round, and the makeshift team of [[Justice Pain]] amd the [[Human Tornado]] (subbing for Pain's partner in the H8 Club, [[Nick Gage]], who left the building before the match). |
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On Saturday April 7, 2007, at Combat Zone Wrestling's ''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 [[Professional wrestling attacks#Spinning Back Fist|spinning back fist]] from Kingston and post match made a leaving 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]]. |
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===Ring of Honor=== |
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{{Cleanup|date=December 2008}} |
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During a large portion of 2006, Hero feuded with the entire [[Ring of Honor]] promotion. It started when he issued a challenge to ROH at CZW's Cage of Death 7 in December 2005. Hero then challenged and lost a match for the [[ROH World Championship]] on January 14 at "Hell Freezes Over" in [[Philadelphia]], to then champion, [[Bryan Danielson]]. He, along with [[Necro Butcher]], had been attending various Ring of Honor events, which would usually involve he and Necro getting kicked out after excessive heckling or harassing of a Ring of Honor wrestler, in the middle of a match. With this feud, it seemed that Hero had become a villain. The feud came to a head at the former [[ECW Arena]] on March 11 in Philadelphia, where both promotions' locker rooms were in a double header (ROH's "Arena Warfare" and CZW's "When 2 Worlds Collide"). The event was named "Arena Warfare" as both locker rooms were expected to cause chaos throughout the event. This was inspired after Hero, Necro Butcher, and the CZW locker room invaded ROH's 4th Anniversary show on February 25. Although Chris Hero was not in attendance at "Arena Warfare" (according to Danielson, he was in Mexico with Claudio Castagnoli), CZW proved to come out on top in the end. After the ROH main event did not go as planned, the CZW locker room took on [[Samoa Joe]] and [[BJ Whitmer]]. This resulted in an all out brawl between the Ring of Honor locker room and the Combat Zone locker room, and Whitmer being tortured by the Combat Zone roster after the Ring of Honor roster was chased away. The Combat Zone roster proceeded to destroy the ring ROH had set up, and chase Ring of Honor out of "their house". |
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Hero and Necro Butcher came to ROH's "Best in the World" event in [[New York]] on March 25 to answer a challenge made by [[Adam Pearce]]. They proceeded to beat him down, but in a surprising turn of events Chris Hero's long time tag partner, friend, and pupil Claudio turned on both Necro and Hero by saving Pearce. The next weekend, March 30 through April 1, in [[Detroit]] and [[Chicago]], Hero and Necro again caused a disruption during the ROH shows. They ran in each night, beating down and injuring ROH Commissioner [[Jim Cornette]] as well as Whitmer and Pearce. They also finally got the attention of Joe, who personally declared war on CZW in Detroit. On April 22, ROH's 100th show in Philadelphia featured a battle between Team ROH (Joe, Whitmer and Pearce) against Team CZW (Hero, Necro and [[Super Dragon]]). |
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Hero walked into ROH's 100th show in their home at the National Guard Armory, and proclaimed that he wasn't a stranger to being up against overwhelming odds, and he wasn't a stranger to being "the everyman". He stood in the CZW bleachers in the crowd and declared that these people were "his army". The team of Hero, Necro Butcher, and Super Dragon went on to win the ROH vs. CZW main event in an extremely chaotic match. Adam Pearce of team ROH was pinned after Claudio turned on ROH and helped Hero deliver the Hero's Welcome on Pearce for the pin. Claudio hugged Hero and went on to celebrate with Zandig, Team CZW, and the CZW section of the crowd who were chanting "match of the year!". |
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Hero led Team CZW into the Cage of Death at Ring of Honor's Death Before Dishonor IV. This was the first time Cage of Death was featured in a show outside of CZW. Hero had teased that he had made a deal with a mystery fifth man, which he stated would be a "deal with the devil". This led to rampant speculation as to whether or not the fifth man was someone from ROH jumping ship. Homicide had been a likely candidate, due to a recent storyline involving his frustration with the company. However, their fifth man 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. Two days later on their Newswire, ROH stated that the war with CZW was over, thanks to Homicide. |
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In August 2006, the [[ROH World Tag Team Championship|Ring of Honor tag title belts]] were stolen and later returned 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 titles 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, Chris Hero had been made a full time ROH Wrestler. However, the KoW lost the belts to [[Christopher Daniels]] and [[Matt Sydal]] on November 25. |
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KOW had what looks like their last match on December 23 in Manhattan when they, with super agent [[Larry Sweeney]] in their corner, were defeated by the Briscoe Brothers. After the match, Claudio 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 Claudio was not included in them. Then, when Hero was forced to choose between staying with Claudio or going with Sweeney, he shook Claudio's hand but left with Sweeney. |
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Since this, Hero has found relative success in singles competition, with notable feuds including [[Nigel McGuinness]] and the Briscoe Brothers. Hero is described by Sweeney as 'the best athlete in Ring of Honor today', and he is the most high-profile member of [[Sweet 'N' Sour Incorporated]], Sweeney's stable that includes Hero, Tank Toland, Bobby Dempsey and [[Sara Del Rey]]. He had challenged for the ROH World Title in a losing effort against then champion [[Nelson Erazo|Homicide]], and briefly reformed the Kings of Wrestling in another losing attempt at winning the [[ROH World Tag Team Championship]]. |
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At ''Survival of the Fittest 2007'', Hero single handedly eliminated Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, Claudio Castagnoli, [[Rocky Romero]] and [[Human Tornado]] to win the Survival of the Fittest tournament. For winning, Hero would be granted a shot at the ROH Heavyweight Championship at a time of his choosing. He chose to challenge the current champion, [[Nigel McGuinness]], at ''Glory by Honor VI: Night One''. Despite a badly torn biceps sustained a week prior and being on the injury list, McGuinness reluctantly accepted and was able to retain the title. On June 27, 2008 in Dayton, Ohio 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 and despite interference from former Sweet N'Sour Inc. team mate Brent Albright. On July 26, 2008 Hero and fellow Sweet N'Sour Inc. team mate Go Shiozaki were defeated by Roderick Strong and Naomichi Marafuji when Strong pinned Hero with a big boot/Cradle Backbreaker combination. On August 2, 2008 in New York City, Hero pinned Delirious. |
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===Pro Wrestling Guerrilla=== |
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Chris Hero also wrestles for [[Pro Wrestling Guerrilla]], based in [[southern California]]. His first appearance was at the [[Pro Wrestling Guerrilla tournaments#Tango & Cash Invitational|Tango & Cash Invitational]] tournament to determine the first ever [[PWG World Tag Team Championship|PWG Tag Team Champions]]. He and his partner [[CM Punk]] defeated [[William Welch|The Messiah]] and [[Christopher Daniels]] in the first round, and the Thomaselli Brothers in the second round, but lost to [[B-Boy]] and [[Nelson Erazo|Homicide]] in the third round. He made his next appearance nine months later in a hard hitting match 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. However, a few months later 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 [[Joseph Meechan|Joey Ryan's]] targets to prove he is the best technical wrestler. Hero seemed to be out-wrestling Ryan in the match, so [[Scott Lost]] came out to help Ryan win. Hero would defeat Lost at the next show. At ''Card Subject to Change 2'', Hero teamed up with [[Claudio Castagnoli]] to challenge Super Dragon and [[Davey Richards]] for the tag team championship. They wrestled for 55 minutes, but Dragon and Richards were able to win after Richards hit the Shooting Star Press on Claudio. Hero also competed in the [[Pro Wrestling Guerrilla tournaments#Battle of Los Angeles 2006|Battle of Los Angeles 2006]], but lost to [[Genki Horiguchi]] in the first round. Most recently Hero appeared with regular tag team partner Claudio Castagnoli in PWG's DDT 4 Tag Team Title Tournament. They 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). |
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He recently completed a heated feud with The Human Tornado, culminating in Hero capturing the PWG World Championship in a Guerrilla Warfare steel cage match. Hero competed in the 2008 Battle of Los Angeles defeating Necro Butcher in a crazy brawl in the first round, he then defeated Scott Lost in an exciting second round match and in the semi-finals of the tournament Hero was able to defeat tournament favorite Bryan Danielson. In the finals of the tournament Hero was defeated by [[Brandon Silvestry|Low Ki]] in an intense match which saw Low Ki bust open Hero's nose with a vicious soccer kick early on, the match took place with only the top rope attached as the other ropes had been damaged in the previous match. Hero's belt was not on the line in this tournament thus he is still champion even after suffering a loss, Low Ki is currently the number one contender for the PWG World Championship. |
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===Outside the States=== |
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Chris has become a regular for several European wrestling promotions, most notably being the wXw federation located in Essen, Germany. He has wrestled in fourteen different countries across the world: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Scotland, Spain and Switzerland. |
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In April 2007, Chris 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 (wrestler)|Doug Williams]]. Hero recently won the German-based promotion Westside Xtreme Wrestling's prestigious international competition event, the "16 Carat Gold Tournament", defeating Ares in the finals. |
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Hero also returned to Australia to wrestle for the PWA Queensland promotion, competing in their annual "Rise Of The Warriors" tournament, which he also competed in 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. |
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===Total Nonstop Action Wrestling=== |
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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 ''[[Xplosion]]'' tapings. Although he never appeared on pay per view he is featured on card #22 of the Pacific released TNA trading card set. |
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==In wrestling== |
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*'''Finishing moves''' |
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:*'''''Hero's Welcome''''' ([[Cutter (professional wrestling)#Rolling cutter|Rolling cutter]], sometimes with a [[Professional wrestling holds#Hammerlock|hammerlock]]) |
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:*'''''[[Superhero|Super Hero]]'s Welcome''''' / '''''Death is Welcome''''' ([[Cutter (professional wrestling)#Elevated cutter|Lifting]] [[Cutter (professional wrestling)#Rolling cutter|rolling cutter]]) |
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:*'''''Hero's Welcome Championship Edition''''' ([[Professional wrestling holds#Scoop|Wrist–lock scoop lift]] dropped into a [[Piledriver (professional wrestling)#Scoop slam piledriver|scoop slam piledriver]]) |
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:*'''''Hangman's Clutch''''' ([[Professional wrestling holds#STF|Inverted cravate STF]]) |
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:*'''''Hangman's Clutch II''''' ([[Professional wrestling holds#Crossface|Inverted cravate crossface]]) |
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:*'''''Hangman's Clutch III''''' ([[Professional wrestling holds#Three-quarters face lock|Inverted cravate]] / [[Leglock#Legbar|Standing leg grapevine]] combination) |
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:*'''''Hangman's Clutch Facebuster''''' ([[Professional wrestling holds#Three-quarters face lock|Spinning cravate hold]] into [[Facebuster#Sitout facebuster|sitout facebuster]]) |
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:*'''''[[Professional_wrestling_holds#Rivera_Cloverleaf|Rivera Cloverleaf]]''''' – Innovated; Named in tribute to his trainer Jorge "Skayde" Rivera |
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:*'''''[[Rubik's Cube]]''''' ([[Professional_wrestling_throws#Electric_chair_driver|Electric chair driver]]) |
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:*'''''Hero Stomp''''' ([[Professional wrestling aerial techniques#Diving double foot Stomp|Diving double foot stomp]]) |
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:*'''''Rolling Elbow''''' ([[Professional wrestling attacks#Discus|Discus]] [[Professional wrestling attacks#Elbow smash|elbow smash]]) - sometimes with a "loaded" elbow pad |
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*'''Signature moves''' |
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:*[[Professional wrestling holds#Three-quarter facelock|Cravate]] |
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:*''Cravate Buster'' ([[Neckbreaker#Corkscrew neckbreaker|Three–quarter facelock corkscrew neckbreaker]]) |
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:*''Cravate Countdown'' ([[Professional wrestling throws#Guillotine drop|Standing three–quarter facelock dropped into a sitout position]]) |
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:*''Cravate Cutter'' ([[Professional wrestling aerial techniques#Diamond Dust|Second rope diving front flip three–quarter facelock bulldog]]) |
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:*''Cravate–O–Clasm'' ([[Professional wrestling throws#Iconoclasm|Three–quarter facelock iconoclasm]]) |
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:*''Cravate–Plex'' ([[Suplex#Cravate suplex|Three–quarter facelock side suplex]]) – Innovated |
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:*''Hero DDT'' ([[DDT (professional wrestling)#Snap DDT|Snap DDT]]) |
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:*''Hero Sandwich I'' ([[Professional wrestling aerial techniques#Frog splash|Frog splash]] [[Professional wrestling aerial techniques#Diving elbow drop|elbow drop]]) |
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:*''Hero Sandwich II'' ([[Professional wrestling holds#Scoop|Scoop lift]] spun into a [[Backbreaker#Side slam backbreaker|side slam backbreaker]]) |
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:*''Hero Sidekick'' ([[Professional wrestling attacks#Big boot|Running arched big boot]] to a cornered opponent) |
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:*''[[Russ Abbot]]'' (Hero performs a [[leapfrog]], crawls between opponent's legs, rolls over the opponent and performs a [[Pinfall (professional wrestling)#Roll-up|schoolboy]]) |
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:*''Topé con Hero'' ([[Professional wrestling aerial techniques#Suicide|Topé con Hilo]]) |
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:*''[[Tracy Smothers]]'' ([[Professional wrestling attacks#Palm strike|Rapid double palm strikes]] to the chest of an opponent in the corner) |
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:*[[Stunner (professional wrestling)#Osaka stunner|Inverted suplex stunner]] |
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:*[[Professional wrestling throws#Gutbuster|Gutbuster]] |
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:*Backward roll into a [[Professional wrestling attacks#Corkscrew senton|standing corkscrew senton]] |
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:*[[Professional wrestling holds#Lady of the Lake|Johnny Saint special]] |
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:*[[Powerbomb#Inverted powerbomb|Inverted]] [[Powerbomb#Crucifix powerbomb|crucifix powerbomb]] |
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:*[[Professional wrestling attacks#Double foot stomp|Standing double foot stomp]], sometimes followed by a [[Professional wrestling attacks#Senton|senton]] |
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:*[[Moonsault#Standing moonsault|Standing moonsault]] |
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:*[[Professional wrestling throws#Alabama slam|Double leg slam]] |
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:*[[Backbreaker#Double knee backbreaker|Double knee backbreaker]] |
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:*[[Professional wrestling holds#Stretch Plum|Modified dragon sleeper]] |
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:*[[Professional wrestling aerial techniques#Springboard|Springboard]] [[Professional wrestling attacks#Back Elbow|back elbow smash]] |
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:*[[Piledriver#Texas Piledriver|Indian Deathlock Piledriver]] |
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*'''[[Music in professional wrestling|Theme music]]''' |
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**"[[A Certain Shade of Green]]" by [[Incubus (band)|Incubus]] |
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**"[[Dead and Bloated]]" by [[Stone Temple Pilots]] |
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**"[[L.A]]" by [[Murs]] |
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**"[[Formed a Band]]" by [[Art Brut]] |
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**"[[Holding Out For A Hero]]" by [[Bonnie Tyler]] |
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**"[[My Hero (song)|My Hero]]" by [[Foo Fighters]] |
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**"[[It's A Bird, It's A Plane]]" by [[Ralph Cardall]] |
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**"[[Kryptonite (song)|Kryptonite]]" by [[3 Doors Down]] |
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**"[[Nobody's Real]]" by [[Powerman 5000]] |
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**"[[Rock and Roll (Gary Glitter song)|Rock And Roll Part II]]" by [[Gary Glitter]] |
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**"'''''[[Requiem for a Tower]]" by [[Clint Mansell]]''''' |
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===Wrestlers trained by Hero=== |
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{| |
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| valign=top | |
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* Aero |
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* Amasis |
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* Ares |
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* Orange Cassidy |
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* [[Claudio Castagnoli]] |
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* Trik Davis |
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* Tim Donst |
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* Fire Ant |
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* [[Gran Akuma]] |
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* Vin Gerard |
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* Drew Gulak |
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| valign=top | |
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* Hallowicked |
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* [[Danny Havoc]] |
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* Hydra |
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* Icarus |
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* [[Jigsaw (wrestler)|Jigsaw]] |
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* Vries Kastelein |
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* [[Eddie Kingston]] |
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* [[Mickie Knuckles]] |
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* Chris Kole |
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* Lince Dorado |
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* Ophidian |
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| valign=top | |
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* Adam Polak |
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* Marc Roudin |
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* Ravage |
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* Bryce Remsburg |
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* Emil Sitoci |
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* Soldier Ant |
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* Shane Storm |
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* [[Larry Sweeney]] |
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* Andy Sumner |
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* Worker Ant |
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| valign=top | |
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|} |
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==Championships and accomplishments== |
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[[Image:Chris Hero 4.jpg|thumb|right|Hero as one-half of the [[Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas|CHIKARA Campeonatos de Parejas]] and [[CZW World Tag Team Championship|CZW World Tag Team Champions]] in 2006.]] |
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*'''Alternative Championship Wrestling''' |
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:*ACW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) |
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*'''[[Chikara Pro Wrestling|CHIKARA]]''' |
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:*[[Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas|CHIKARA Campeonato de Parejas]] ([[Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas#Title history|1 time]]) – with [[Claudio Castagnoli]] |
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*'''Coliseum Championship Wrestling''' |
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:*CCW Heavyweight Championship (3 times) |
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:*CCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with John Caesar |
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*'''[[Combat Zone Wrestling]]''' |
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:*[[CZW World Heavyweight Championship]] ([[CZW World Heavyweight Championship#Title history|1 time]]) |
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:*[[CZW Iron Man Championship]] ([[CZW Iron Man Championship#Title history|1 time]]) |
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:*[[CZW World Tag Team Championship]] ([[CZW World Tag Team Championship#Title history|2 times]]) – with Claudio Castagnoli |
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*'''Garage Professional Wrestling''' |
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:*GPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.titlehistories.com/Garage_Professional_Wrestling.htm | title=Garage Professional Wrestling Title Histories| accessdate=2008-07-11|publisher=titlehistories.com}}</ref> |
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*'''Hard Core Wrestling''' |
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:*HCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Danny Blackheart |
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*'''Impact Championship Wrestling''' |
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:*ICW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) |
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*'''Independent Wrestling Association East-Coast''' |
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:*IWA East-Coast Heavyweight Championship (1 time) |
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*'''[[Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South]]''' |
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:*[[IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship]] ([[IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship#Title history|4 times]]) |
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:*[[Ted Petty Invitational|IWA Mid-South Sweet Science 16]] winner ([[Ted Petty Invitational#2000 Sweet Science Sixteen|2000]]) |
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:*IWA Mid-South Strong Style winner (2005) |
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*'''[[National Wrestling Alliance]]''' |
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:*NWA VW/OH Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) |
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*'''NSWA''' |
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:*NSWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) |
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*'''[[Pro Wrestling Guerrilla]]''' |
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:*[[PWG World Championship]] ([[PWG World Championship#Title history|1 time]], current) |
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*'''[[Pro Wrestling Illustrated]]''' |
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:*PWI ranked him # '''49''' of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the world in the [[PWI 500]] in 2007 |
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*'''[[Ring of Honor]]''' |
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:*[[ROH World Tag Team Championship]] ([[ROH World Tag Team Championship#Title history|1 time]]) – with [[Claudio Castagnoli]] |
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:*Survival of the Fittest winner (2007) |
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*'''Unified Championship Wrestling''' |
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:*UCW Television Championship (1 time) |
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*'''Violent Championship Wrestling''' |
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:*VCW Tag Team Championship (2 times) |
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:*VCW Triple Threat Championship (2 times) |
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*'''westside Xtreme wrestling''' |
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:*wXw World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.titlehistories.com/Westside_Xtreme_Wrestling.htm | title=Westside Xtreme Wrestling Title Histories | accessdate=2008-07-11|publisher=titlehistories.com}}</ref> |
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:*wXw 16 Carat Gold Tournament Winner 2007 |
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:*wXw Tag Team Championship – with Marc Roudin<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/wxw-germany/ | title=Westside Xtreme Wrestling | accessdate=2008-07-06|publisher=onlineworldofwrestling.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.titlehistories.com/Westside_Xtreme_Wrestling.htm | title=Westside Xtreme Wrestling Title Histories | accessdate=2008-07-11|publisher=titlehistories.com}}</ref> |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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==External links== |
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{{Portal|Professional wrestling|break=yes}} |
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*[http://www.thechrishero.com The Official Chris Hero Website] |
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*[http://www.myspace.com/thechrishero Chris Hero's MySpace] |
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*[http://www.bodyslamming.com/other/chrishero.html Chris Hero at Bodyslamming.com] |
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*[http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2006/06/20/1643562.html SLAM! Sports: ''Not just another Hero''] |
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*[http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/c/chris-hero.html Chris Hero at OWW.com] |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hero, Chris}} |
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[[Category:1979 births]] |
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[[Category:American professional wrestlers]] |
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[[Category:Living people]] |
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[[Category:People from Dayton, Ohio]] |
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[[bg:Крис Хироу]] |
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[[es:Chris Spradlin]] |
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[[ja:クリス・ヒーロー]] |
Revision as of 23:55, 8 January 2009
Chris Hero | |
---|---|
Born | Dayton, Ohio | December 24, 1979
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Wife Beater Chris Hyro Chris Hero |
Billed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
Billed weight | 240 lb (110 kg) |
Billed from | Metropolis |
Trained by | Dory Funk, Jr. Ian Rotten Les Thatcher Tracy Smothers Dave Taylor Fit Finlay William Regal Jorge "Skayde" Rivera |
Debut | September 12, 1998 |
Chris Spradlin (born December 24, 1979) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Chris Hero. He is a mainstay of many independent wrestling promotions, including IWA Mid-South, Juggalo Championship Wrestling, Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, and Jersey All Pro Wrestling as well as Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan. He also known from his time in Combat Zone Wrestling and CHIKARA, where he was the co-head trainer of the CHIKARA Wrestle Factory.
Professional wrestling career
Early career and training
After graduating from Northmont High School in Clayton, Ohio, Chris 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. Chris's initial training in Middletown, Ohio was under the supervision of a small time promoter named Gary Goffinet. Chris 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, Hero underwent further training at Les Thatcher's Cincinnati, Ohio-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 a "wifebeater" T-shirt, 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 of a show Spradlin was wrestling on in Platteville, Wisconsin. The character was discussed on the talk show Politically Incorrect, although Spradlin was not mentioned by name. After Spradlin was booked for a series of family-friendly 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-based Independent Wrestling Association Mid South, where he received supplementary training from Ian Rotten. In the following years, Chris spent a great deal of time working with Tracy Smothers on IWA Mid South shows and he credits Smothers with being a mentor of his. In October 2002, Hero attended the Blue Bloods Wrestling Camp, operated by English wrestlers David Taylor, William Regal and Northern Irish wrestler Dave Finlay. In July 2003, CHIKARA brought in Jorge "Skayde" Rivera from Último Dragón's Toryumon Gym in Mexico City to teach some special lucha libre clinics. Hero took part in the training sessions and was able to add an entirely new style to his repertoire. Chris has attended "Skayde" sessions in Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Mexico City from 2003 until 2006.
Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South
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, American Kickboxer, Ace Steel and Harry Palmer), and unsuccessfully challenged Sabu for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at Bloodfeast 2000. Hero engaged in feuds with the Suicide Kid, American Kickboxer, Mark Wolf and the Rugby Thug.
On October 21, 2001 in Charlestown, Indiana, Hero won the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship from the Rugby Thug. He held the title until December 5 of that year, when he lost to CM Punk. 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-MS. At the end of it, Hero became a villain 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 in the finals.
CHIKARA
In May 2002, at CHIKARA's inaugural event, Hero teamed with CM Punk and Colt Cabana calling themselves the Gold Bond Mafia to face The Black T-Shirt Squad: Reckless Youth, Mike Quackenbush 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 Swiss Money Holding to a 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 refered to the trio as "The Kings of Wrestling". Hero's faction feuded with Quackenbush's and his allies for the entirety of 2005. At the closing of the CHIKARA "season", Arik Cannon departed from the group, leaving Hero and Claudio as the remaining "Kings of Wrestling". At the open of the 2006 CHIKARA "season", Hero and Claudio defeated Equinox and Hydra, Sumie Sakai and RANMARU, the North Star Express, Hallowicked and Delirious, and finally Team Dragondoor to become the first CHIKARA Campeonatos de Parejas. On November 17, 2006 at a Chikara show in Reading Pennsylvania, Hero & Castagnoli lost the Chikara tag titles to Team F.I.S.T (Icarus & Gran Akuma) in a 2 out of 3 falls match. Following the match, Hero and Team F.I.S.T turned on Claudio and engaged in a beat down, beginning a new feud. 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 didn't want Hero on their team. Instead they 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 successfully defeated numerous opponents, and seemed focused on getting his revenge on his former partner, Hero decided he wanted to win back the control of Claudio. 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 special referee for the contest. Chris Hero won the match, forcing Castagnoli back under the control of Hero. Hero faced "Lightning" Mike Quackenbush at CHIKARA's May 26 'Aniversario?' show in a match that was two years in the making. Hero suffered losses to Quackenbush (5/26/07), Lince Dorado (7/21/07), El Pantera (8/5/07), Equinox (8/17/07) and Claudio Castagnoli (9/22/07) all via the CHIKARA Special. 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, PA on 11/16/07, Hero snapped and tore apart Equinox's mask. Leonard F. Chikarason intervened and scheduled Hero and Equinox for a Lucha de Apuesta (Mask vs. Hair) to take place the following evening in Hellertown, PA. 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 luchadore 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.
Combat Zone Wrestling
In December 1999, Hero debuted in Combat Zone Wrestling, wrestling Ruckus in a match. He wrestled a second match later that year that "also ended in a debacle".[citation needed] 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 Claudio 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 titles and defended them in an ongoing feud with Eddie Kingston and the rest of the BLK OUT faction. While Hero and Claudio dropped the titles to Eddie Kingston and Joker in February 2006, the feud with BLK OUT 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 Down with the Sickness 4-Ever, 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 three other teams in a one night tournament at the CZW show "Last Team Standing" to become 2 time CZW Tag Team Champs. They defeated Team Masturbation (Beef Wellington & Excalibur) in the first round, the BLKOUT (Ruckus and Human Tornado) in the second round, and the makeshift team of Justice Pain amd the Human Tornado (subbing for Pain's partner in the H8 Club, Nick Gage, who left the building before the match).
On Saturday April 7, 2007, at Combat Zone Wrestling's 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 leaving 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.
Ring of Honor
During a large portion of 2006, Hero feuded with the entire Ring of Honor promotion. It started when he issued a challenge to ROH at CZW's Cage of Death 7 in December 2005. Hero then challenged and lost a match for the ROH World Championship on January 14 at "Hell Freezes Over" in Philadelphia, to then champion, Bryan Danielson. He, along with Necro Butcher, had been attending various Ring of Honor events, which would usually involve he and Necro getting kicked out after excessive heckling or harassing of a Ring of Honor wrestler, in the middle of a match. With this feud, it seemed that Hero had become a villain. The feud came to a head at the former ECW Arena on March 11 in Philadelphia, where both promotions' locker rooms were in a double header (ROH's "Arena Warfare" and CZW's "When 2 Worlds Collide"). The event was named "Arena Warfare" as both locker rooms were expected to cause chaos throughout the event. This was inspired after Hero, Necro Butcher, and the CZW locker room invaded ROH's 4th Anniversary show on February 25. Although Chris Hero was not in attendance at "Arena Warfare" (according to Danielson, he was in Mexico with Claudio Castagnoli), CZW proved to come out on top in the end. After the ROH main event did not go as planned, the CZW locker room took on Samoa Joe and BJ Whitmer. This resulted in an all out brawl between the Ring of Honor locker room and the Combat Zone locker room, and Whitmer being tortured by the Combat Zone roster after the Ring of Honor roster was chased away. 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 on March 25 to answer a challenge made by Adam Pearce. They proceeded to beat him down, but in a surprising turn of events Chris Hero's long time tag partner, friend, and pupil Claudio turned on both Necro and Hero by saving Pearce. The next weekend, March 30 through April 1, in Detroit and Chicago, Hero and Necro again caused a disruption during the ROH shows. They ran in each night, beating down and injuring ROH Commissioner Jim Cornette as well as Whitmer and Pearce. They also finally got the attention of Joe, who personally declared war on CZW in Detroit. On April 22, ROH's 100th show in Philadelphia featured a battle between Team ROH (Joe, Whitmer and Pearce) against Team CZW (Hero, Necro and Super Dragon).
Hero walked into ROH's 100th show in their home at the National Guard Armory, and proclaimed that he wasn't a stranger to being up against overwhelming odds, and he wasn't a stranger to being "the everyman". He stood in the CZW bleachers in the crowd and declared that these people were "his army". The team of Hero, Necro Butcher, and Super Dragon went on to win the ROH vs. CZW main event in an extremely chaotic match. Adam Pearce of team ROH was pinned after Claudio turned on ROH and helped Hero deliver the Hero's Welcome on Pearce for the pin. Claudio hugged Hero and went on to celebrate with Zandig, Team CZW, and the CZW section of the crowd who were chanting "match of the year!".
Hero led Team CZW into the Cage of Death at Ring of Honor's Death Before Dishonor IV. This was the first time Cage of Death was featured in a show outside of CZW. Hero had teased that he had made a deal with a mystery fifth man, which he stated would be a "deal with the devil". This led to rampant speculation as to whether or not the fifth man was someone from ROH jumping ship. Homicide had been a likely candidate, due to a recent storyline involving his frustration with the company. However, their fifth man 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. Two days later on their Newswire, ROH stated that the war with CZW was over, thanks to Homicide.
In August 2006, the Ring of Honor tag title belts were stolen and later returned 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 titles 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, Chris Hero had been made a full time ROH Wrestler. However, the KoW lost the belts to Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal on November 25.
KOW had what looks like their last match on December 23 in Manhattan when they, with super agent Larry Sweeney in their corner, were defeated by the Briscoe Brothers. After the match, Claudio 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 Claudio was not included in them. Then, when Hero was forced to choose between staying with Claudio or going with Sweeney, he shook Claudio's hand but left with Sweeney.
Since this, Hero has found relative success in singles competition, with notable feuds including Nigel McGuinness and the Briscoe Brothers. Hero is described by Sweeney as 'the best athlete in Ring of Honor today', and he is the most high-profile member of Sweet 'N' Sour Incorporated, Sweeney's stable that includes Hero, Tank Toland, Bobby Dempsey and Sara Del Rey. 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 Survival of the Fittest tournament. For winning, Hero would be granted a shot at the ROH Heavyweight Championship at a time of his choosing. He chose to challenge the current champion, Nigel McGuinness, at Glory by Honor VI: Night One. Despite a badly torn biceps sustained a week prior and being on the injury list, McGuinness reluctantly accepted and was able to retain the title. On June 27, 2008 in Dayton, Ohio 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 and despite interference from former Sweet N'Sour Inc. team mate Brent Albright. On July 26, 2008 Hero and fellow Sweet N'Sour Inc. team mate Go Shiozaki were defeated by Roderick Strong and Naomichi Marafuji when Strong pinned Hero with a big boot/Cradle Backbreaker combination. On August 2, 2008 in New York City, Hero pinned Delirious.
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
Chris Hero also wrestles for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, based in southern California. His first appearance was at the Tango & Cash Invitational tournament to determine the first ever PWG Tag Team Champions. He and his partner CM Punk defeated The Messiah and Christopher Daniels in the first round, and the Thomaselli Brothers in the second round, but lost to B-Boy and Homicide in the third round. He made his next appearance nine months later in a hard hitting match 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. However, a few months later 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 to prove he is the best technical wrestler. Hero seemed to be out-wrestling Ryan in the match, so Scott Lost came out to help Ryan win. Hero would defeat Lost at the next show. At Card Subject to Change 2, Hero teamed up with Claudio Castagnoli to challenge Super Dragon and Davey Richards for the tag team championship. They wrestled for 55 minutes, but Dragon and Richards were able to win after Richards hit the Shooting Star Press on Claudio. Hero also competed in the Battle of Los Angeles 2006, but lost to Genki Horiguchi in the first round. Most recently Hero appeared with regular tag team partner Claudio Castagnoli in PWG's DDT 4 Tag Team Title Tournament. They 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).
He recently completed a heated feud with The Human Tornado, culminating in Hero capturing the PWG World Championship in a Guerrilla Warfare steel cage match. Hero competed in the 2008 Battle of Los Angeles defeating Necro Butcher in a crazy brawl in the first round, he then defeated Scott Lost in an exciting second round match and in the semi-finals of the tournament Hero was able to defeat tournament favorite Bryan Danielson. In the finals of the tournament Hero was defeated by Low Ki in an intense match which saw Low Ki bust open Hero's nose with a vicious soccer kick early on, the match took place with only the top rope attached as the other ropes had been damaged in the previous match. Hero's belt was not on the line in this tournament thus he is still champion even after suffering a loss, Low Ki is currently the number one contender for the PWG World Championship.
Outside the States
Chris has become a regular for several European wrestling promotions, most notably being the wXw federation located in Essen, Germany. He has wrestled in fourteen different countries across the world: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Scotland, Spain and Switzerland.
In April 2007, Chris 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. Hero recently won the German-based promotion Westside Xtreme Wrestling'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, which he also competed in 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.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
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 Xplosion tapings. Although he never appeared on pay per view he is featured on card #22 of the Pacific released TNA trading card set.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Hero's Welcome (Rolling cutter, sometimes with a hammerlock)
- Super Hero's Welcome / Death is Welcome (Lifting rolling cutter)
- Hero's Welcome Championship Edition (Wrist–lock scoop lift dropped into a scoop slam piledriver)
- Hangman's Clutch (Inverted cravate STF)
- Hangman's Clutch II (Inverted cravate crossface)
- Hangman's Clutch III (Inverted cravate / Standing leg grapevine combination)
- Hangman's Clutch Facebuster (Spinning cravate hold into sitout facebuster)
- Rivera Cloverleaf – Innovated; Named in tribute to his trainer Jorge "Skayde" Rivera
- Rubik's Cube (Electric chair driver)
- Hero Stomp (Diving double foot stomp)
- Rolling Elbow (Discus elbow smash) - sometimes with a "loaded" elbow pad
- Signature moves
- Cravate
- Cravate Buster (Three–quarter facelock corkscrew neckbreaker)
- Cravate Countdown (Standing three–quarter facelock dropped into a sitout position)
- Cravate Cutter (Second rope diving front flip three–quarter facelock bulldog)
- Cravate–O–Clasm (Three–quarter facelock iconoclasm)
- Cravate–Plex (Three–quarter facelock side suplex) – Innovated
- Hero DDT (Snap DDT)
- Hero Sandwich I (Frog splash elbow drop)
- Hero Sandwich II (Scoop lift spun into a side slam backbreaker)
- Hero Sidekick (Running arched big boot to a cornered opponent)
- Russ Abbot (Hero performs a leapfrog, crawls between opponent's legs, rolls over the opponent and performs a schoolboy)
- Topé con Hero (Topé con Hilo)
- Tracy Smothers (Rapid double palm strikes to the chest of an opponent in the corner)
- Inverted suplex stunner
- Gutbuster
- Backward roll into a standing corkscrew senton
- Johnny Saint special
- Inverted crucifix powerbomb
- Standing double foot stomp, sometimes followed by a senton
- Standing moonsault
- Double leg slam
- Double knee backbreaker
- Modified dragon sleeper
- Springboard back elbow smash
- Indian Deathlock Piledriver
- Theme music
- "A Certain Shade of Green" by Incubus
- "Dead and Bloated" by Stone Temple Pilots
- "L.A" by Murs
- "Formed a Band" by Art Brut
- "Holding Out For A Hero" by Bonnie Tyler
- "My Hero" by Foo Fighters
- "It's A Bird, It's A Plane" by Ralph Cardall
- "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down
- "Nobody's Real" by Powerman 5000
- "Rock And Roll Part II" by Gary Glitter
- "Requiem for a Tower" by Clint Mansell
Wrestlers trained by Hero
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Championships and accomplishments
- Alternative Championship Wrestling
- ACW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Coliseum Championship Wrestling
- CCW Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
- CCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with John Caesar
- CZW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- CZW Iron Man Championship (1 time)
- CZW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Claudio Castagnoli
- Garage Professional Wrestling
- GPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[1]
- Hard Core Wrestling
- HCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Danny Blackheart
- Impact Championship Wrestling
- ICW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Independent Wrestling Association East-Coast
- IWA East-Coast Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
- IWA Mid-South Sweet Science 16 winner (2000)
- IWA Mid-South Strong Style winner (2005)
- NWA VW/OH Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NSWA
- NSWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- PWG World Championship (1 time, current)
- PWI ranked him # 49 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the world in the PWI 500 in 2007
- ROH World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Claudio Castagnoli
- Survival of the Fittest winner (2007)
- Unified Championship Wrestling
- UCW Television Championship (1 time)
- Violent Championship Wrestling
- VCW Tag Team Championship (2 times)
- VCW Triple Threat Championship (2 times)
- westside Xtreme wrestling
References
- ^ "Garage Professional Wrestling Title Histories". titlehistories.com. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ "Westside Xtreme Wrestling Title Histories". titlehistories.com. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ "Westside Xtreme Wrestling". onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
- ^ "Westside Xtreme Wrestling Title Histories". titlehistories.com. Retrieved 2008-07-11.