Chris Hero

2.1.1. Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South

Hero debuted for IWA Mid-South on July 1, 2000, in a losing effort against Harry Palmer. In his inaugural year, he won the annual Sweet Science 16 tournament (now the Ted Petty Invitational or TPI), defeating Colt Cabana, American Kickboxer, Ace Steel, and Harry Palmer. He also 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. In 2001, he participated in the King of the Deathmatch tournament, losing to Corporal Robinson in a thumbtack deathmatch in the first round.

On October 20, 2001, Hero won the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship from Trent Baker in Charlestown, Indiana. He held the title until December 5, losing it to CM Punk. He regained the title on July 12, 2002, in Clarksville, Indiana, defeating Colt Cabana, but lost it to M-Dogg 20 three months later on October 5. His third reign began on February 7, 2003, in Clarksville, pinning CM Punk in a match lasting over ninety minutes. This reign ended on 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 vacated it, but 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's feud with Arik Cannon intensified. After being eliminated by Cannon in the third round of the 2005 TPI, Hero turned villain, turning on Ian Rotten, his trainees Trik Davis, Mickie Knuckles, and Bryce Remsburg, and destroying 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.

2.1.2. Chikara

Hero's tenure in Chikara saw the formation of significant alliances and rivalries that shaped his independent career.

2.1.3. Combat Zone Wrestling

In May 2002, Hero debuted in CZW, wrestling Ruckus. He later teamed with B-Boy against Nate Hatred and Nick Gage for the CZW Tag Team Championship. Hero returned to CZW in autumn 2003 and became a regular roster member, declaring himself the "Savior" of CZW. On May 1, 2004, he defeated Jimmy Rave to become the promotion's Ironman Champion, holding the title for the longest reign before losing it to B-Boy at Cage of Death on December 11, 2004.

Hero recruited Claudio Castagnoli and Blackjack Marciano as his "Few Good Men". Marciano's departure left Hero and Castagnoli as a tag team, the "Kings of Wrestling". On September 10, 2005, they defeated the Tough Crazy Bastards (Necro Butcher and Toby Klein) to become the CZW Tag Team Champions. They defended the title in a prolonged feud with Eddie Kingston and the BLKOUT faction. Although they lost the title to Eddie Kingston and Joker in February 2006, the feud with BLKOUT continued.

On May 13, 2006, Hero ceded his spot in the Best of the Best tournament to CZW World Heavyweight Champion Ruckus, in exchange for a title shot. When Ruckus won, Hero immediately used his shot to win the CZW World Heavyweight Championship. He successfully defended it against Claudio Castagnoli and Necro Butcher. At the Chri$ Ca$h Memorial Show, Eddie Kingston accepted Hero's open challenge and pinned him for the title. On October 14, 2006, the Kings of Wrestling won the "Last Team Standing" tournament, defeating Team Masturbation (Beef Wellington and Excalibur), the BLKOUT (Ruckus and Human Tornado), and a makeshift team of Justice Pain and the Human Tornado, becoming two-time CZW Tag Team Champions.

With Castagnoli's impending departure for WWE, the Kings of Wrestling lost the CZW World Tag Team Championship to the BLKOUT's Sabian and Robbie Mireno on November 11, 2006. On April 7, 2007, at Out with the Old, in With the New, Hero faced long-time rival Eddie Kingston in a Loser Leaves Town match. Hero was defeated after a spinning back fist from Kingston, and delivered a farewell speech to the CZW crowd. CZW owner John Zandig publicly thanked Hero for his contributions, including his role in the "war" with Ring of Honor.

Hero made a return to CZW more than three years later on June 12, 2010, losing to Egotistico Fantastico. Three years after that, on December 14, 2013, Hero returned to CZW at Cage of Death XV to unsuccessfully challenge Drew Gulak for the CZW World Heavyweight Championship.

2.1.4. Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

Hero wrestled sporadically for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2003 and 2004. He regularly traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, for tapings of TNA Xplosion, though he never appeared on pay-per-view. He was featured on card #22 of a Pacific-released TNA trading card set.

2.1.5. Pro Wrestling Guerrilla

Hero's first appearance for the southern California promotion PWG was at the January 2004 Tango and Cash Invitational tournament, which aimed 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, but lost to B-Boy and Homicide in the third. Eight months later, he returned, losing to Super Dragon. At the 2005 All Star Weekend - Night One, Hero defeated Chris Sabin. Later that night, he challenged Christopher Daniels for his TNA X Division Championship, but Daniels defeated him the next night. At Zombies (Shouldn't Run), Daniels refused to put the title on the line, defeating Hero in a non-title match.

At After School Special, Hero became a target for Joey Ryan, who sought to prove his technical wrestling superiority. However, Scott Lost interfered, helping Ryan win. This led to a match between Hero and Lost at the subsequent show, which Hero won. On February 4, 2008, at Card Subject to Change 2, Hero and Claudio Castagnoli challenged Super Dragon and Davey Richards for the tag team championship, but lost in a 50-minute match. Hero also competed in the 2006 Battle of Los Angeles, losing to Genki Horiguchi in the first round. He and Castagnoli entered the Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament but lost to the Briscoes in the first round. They were on the winning side of an 8-man tag match on the second night, joined by the Trailer Park Boyz (Josh Abercrombie and Nate Webb).

In September 2007, Hero began 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, and Bryan Danielson in the semi-finals. In the finals, Hero was defeated by Low Ki in a unique match with only the top rope attached due to damage. Though his title was not on the line, Low Ki became the number one contender, but signed with WWE before he could challenge Hero.

Hero successfully defended the title in a three-way match against Human Tornado and the returning Colt Cabana on February 21, 2009, at Express Written Consent, and defeated Cabana in a singles match on April 12 at One Hundred. On May 22, 2009, at the Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament, Hero defeated Joey Ryan to retain the PWG World Championship. Ryan then attacked Hero, claiming he had "three more months bitch!" (referring to Ryan's own record as the longest-reigning PWG champion). On July 31 at Threemendous II, Hero defeated Ryan in a Guerrilla Warfare match, ensuring that on August 17, he officially became the longest-reigning PWG Champion of all time. His record reign of 425 days ended on September 4, 2009, at Guerre Sans Frontières, when Bryan Danielson defeated him.

Following the loss of his title, Hero decided to revert to his former moveset to reclaim it, defeating El Generico on October 2 at Against the Grain with a Hero's Welcome, rather than his signature elbow strikes. As Danielson vacated the World Championship after signing with WWE, the 2009 Battle of Los Angeles was held to determine a new champion. Hero opted to use his rematch clause after the tournament, but at Seven on July 30, 2010, he was defeated by the defending champion Davey Richards. On September 4, Hero entered the 2010 Battle of Los Angeles, defeating Christopher Daniels in the first round. The next night, Hero defeated Akira Tozawa and Brandon Gatson to reach the finals, where he was defeated by Joey Ryan.

After the tournament, Hero was granted another shot at the PWG World Championship in a four-way match involving Brandon Gatson, Claudio Castagnoli, and Joey Ryan, after Davey Richards was 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, the Kings of Wrestling suffered an upset loss to the Nightmare Violence Connection (Akira Tozawa and Kevin Steen). 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) for the title, but failed to win. Hero made an unadvertised return to PWG four months later on December 10, 2011, losing to Willie Mack, and then delivered a farewell speech to the fans, signaling his departure.

2.1.6. Ring of Honor (First Stint)

Hero's initial run in ROH was characterized by the dramatic CZW invasion storyline and the resurgence of the Kings of Wrestling.

2.1.7. International Promotions (Pre-WWE)

Hero expanded his reach internationally, becoming a regular in several European wrestling promotions, most notably Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) in Essen, Germany. He has wrestled in sixteen different countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States.

In April 2007, Hero competed in the first King of Europe Cup as a representative of CZW. He defeated Claudio Castagnoli in the first round before losing to Doug Williams in the quarterfinals. On May 6, 2007, Hero won wXw's prestigious "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 participated in during 2007. Hero reached the final of the two-night tournament, losing to PWA Queensland regular Esteban Molina. Along the way, he defeated Mason Childs (whom he had lost to in the 2007 final), Mark Davis, and Blakestone to reach the finals. In 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 reached an agreement with the Noah front office and was granted a stay at their dojo after the tour, training alongside Richie Steamboat. He returned to Noah for the June 2009 tour, again staying at the dojo. During this stay, Hero was present at the event where his idol, Mitsuharu Misawa, tragically died during the main event match. In January 2010, Hero and Claudio Castagnoli entered the Global Tag League but lost all three of their matches. Hero and Castagnoli returned to Noah on November 19, 2010, for a three-week 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 participate in the 2011 Global Tag League, winning two out of their seven round-robin matches and finishing seventh out of eight teams.

On March 13, 2010, Hero debuted for the American promotion Evolve at Evolve 2: Hero vs. Hidaka, losing to Ikuto Hidaka in the main event. In October 2011, Spradlin participated in the first season tapings of Wrestling Retribution Project, where he performed as Chris Hyde.

2.2.1. Florida Championship Wrestling

In June 2011, both Spradlin and Claudio Castagnoli had a private tryout with WWE. While Castagnoli was immediately signed to a developmental contract, Spradlin's contract was delayed when elevated testosterone/epitestosterone levels 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 came up with the name himself, wanting the initials "K.O."; "Ohno" was inspired by speed skater Apolo Ohno and the Japanese surname `大野<sub>Ōno</sub><sup>Japanese</sup>`, as well as the sound of "Oh no!" from the audience after his elbow strikes. Spradlin debuted as Ohno at an FCW house show that same evening, losing to Xavier Woods. Ohno made his FCW television debut on March 11, introducing 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. On May 13, Ohno faced his friend Claudio Castagnoli (Claudio Castagnoli) in an FCW TV match which ended in a no contest after an accidental referee bump led to intervention from other wrestlers.

2.2.2. NXT (First Stint)

When WWE rebranded its developmental territory FCW into NXT, Ohno debuted on the July 4 episode of the rebooted NXT, defeating Mike Dalton. He adopted a gimmick of a methodical wrestler who takes pleasure from inflicting pain and knocking out opponents, famously stating, "My name's Kassius, and I hurt people." Ohno began a feud with Richie Steamboat in September; Steamboat defeated Ohno twice (via disqualification and a cradle), but Ohno conducted successful post-match assaults. 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 Barreta 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 began 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, defeating 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, as Ohno was distracted by 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, who replied by stating that while he had followed Regal's footsteps, Regal's career lacked a legacy, leading to Regal again assaulting Ohno. In the following weeks, Ohno and Regal continued to attack each other while on commentary. The rivalry 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, and 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, Spradlin was released from WWE, ending his first stint with the company. After his release, he expressed enjoyment of his 21 months with WWE and stated his intention to continue his independent career, including international dates. The split was reportedly on "good terms," with Hero indicating the door was open for a future return to WWE.

2.3.1. Various Promotions

On November 16, 2013, Spradlin returned to the independent circuit under his Chris Hero ring name, defeating Shane Helms at a Pro Wrestling Syndicate event. The following day, he debuted for Dragon Gate USA, unsuccessfully challenging Johnny Gargano for the Open the Freedom Gate Championship. During this match, Gargano humorously channeled Triple H by attempting a Pedigree, which Hero immediately countered, a subtle jab at his former employer, WWE. On November 30, Hero debuted 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 appeared for Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW), losing to Tim Donst. On January 10, 2014, Hero returned to Evolve, losing to Ricochet. On February 23, Hero defeated A. R. Fox to win the Evolve Championship, becoming the first two-time winner of the title. 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 event. On June 6, 2014, Hero debuted at Tommy Dreamer's House of Hardcore, losing to A.J. Styles.

On June 13, 2014, Hero defeated Jeckles the Jester in San Francisco, California, 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 an "Infinity Gauntlet" charity event for ALS, raising 3.44 K USD. After re-signing with WWE, Hero wrestled his final independent match on January 28, 2017, losing to Zack Sabre Jr. at Evolve 77.

2.3.2. Pro Wrestling Noah (Second Stint)

In April 2014, Hero returned to Japan's Pro Wrestling Noah to participate in the 2014 Global Tag League, teaming with Colt Cabana under the team name "Big in U.S.A.". The team finished last in their block with a record of two wins and four losses but received the Technique Award for their efforts. From October 18 to November 8, Hero took part in Noah's 2014 Global League, finishing with a record of four wins and three losses, failing to advance from his block, but earning the Puroresu Kakutōgi DX Award.

In April 2015, Hero returned to Noah with Cabana for the 2015 Global Tag League. They finished with a record of three wins and two losses, tying for second in their block and missing the finals. Notably, they 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. They also received the Global Tag League Outstanding Performance Award and the Technique Award for 2015. From October 16 to November 6, Hero participated in Pro Wrestling Noah's 2015 Global League, finishing with a record of four wins and three losses. He had a chance to advance to the finals but was eliminated after losing to Naomichi Marufuji in the main event. On December 23, 2015, Hero and Cabana again challenged K.E.S. for the GHC Tag Team Championship at Noah's 15th-anniversary show, Destiny 2015, but were unsuccessful.

2.3.3. Return to Ring of Honor

On December 14, 2013, Hero made a brief return 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, due to interference from The Decade. On February 21 at the 12th Anniversary Show, Hero unsuccessfully challenged Cole for the ROH World Championship. A rematch under Ringmaster's Challenge rules on March 8 also saw Cole retain. 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.

2.3.4. Return to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla

Hero returned to PWG on December 20, 2013, at the first night of All Star Weekend X, unsuccessfully challenging Adam Cole for the PWG World Championship. In August 2014, Hero 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 reached the finals before being submitted by Zack Sabre Jr. in a three-way elimination match also involving Mike Bailey. Hero made his PWG farewell at Mystery Vortex IV in December 2016, where he and JT Dunn, billed as Death By Elbow, lost to reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly).

2.4.1. NXT (Second Stint)

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 an 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.

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. Ohno attempted to calm Itami, and later 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 escalated, leading to a match on the July 26 episode of NXT, which Ohno won by disqualification after Itami deliberately fouled him. 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 requested a match with the undefeated Lars Sullivan from general manager William Regal. At NXT TakeOver: WarGames, Ohno was defeated by Sullivan. On the January 24 episode of NXT, Ohno had a backstage encounter with Velveteen Dream that ended with Ohno shoving Dream to the ground, leading to a match against Dream at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia where Ohno lost.

Ohno was subsequently presented as a figurative "gatekeeper" in NXT, often facing new or returning talent and showing signs of a heel turn. At NXT TakeOver: WarGames, he was called out by Matt Riddle, who challenged him to an impromptu match, in which Ohno 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 this, Ohno continued wrestling on NXT live events. On April 10, 2019, Ohno wrestled the recently signed Kushida in his NXT debut match. With WWE's partnership with Evolve Wrestling, Ohno was announced for Evolve 115, 116, and 118. At Evolve 115, he failed to defeat Fabian Aichner for the Evolve Championship.

2.4.2. NXT UK

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. 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 he was soon confirmed to be part of the releases that took place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Spradlin himself further confirmed this on Twitter, posting a picture of his Kassius Ohno boots alone in the ring, followed by a video confirming the return of Chris Hero.