Chris Hero Chris Spradlin ( December 24 , 1979 ) is an American professional wrestler , better known by his ring name Chris Hero . He is currently signed to WWE , workin on its developmental territory NXT Wrestling , under the ring name Kassius Ohno . Hero was previously a mainstay of many independent wrestling promotions , including Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and Ring of Honor as well as Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan . He is also known from his time in Independent Wrestling Association Mid - South , Combat Zone Wrestling and Chikara , where he was the co - head trainer of the Chikara Wrestle Factory . Hero is also a former three - time world champion having held the CZW World Heavyweight Championship , the PWG World Championship and the wXw World Heavyweight Championship . Professional wrestling career . Early career and training . After graduating from Northmont High School in Clayton , Ohio , Spradlin decided to train as a professional wrestler in the summer of 1998 . After undergoing some initial training in Middletown , Ohio , Spradlin debuted on September 12 , 1998 in Xenia , Ohio wrestling Shawn " HeartThrob " Halsey in the Unified Championship Wrestling promotion . Spradlin ' s initial training in Middletown was under the supervision of a small time promoter named Gary Goffinet . Spradlin trained for a little while alongside his friend , Adam Ghazee , under a wrestler by the name of Bo Dacious . Bo had trained previously under Charlie Fulton at the Monster Factory . At the suggestion of Matt Stryker , Spradlin underwent further training at Les Thatcher ' s Cincinnati - based HWA Main Event Wrestling Camp between May 1999 and November 1999 . In December 1999 , he traveled to Ocala , Florida to train under Dory Funk , Jr . at the Funkin ' Conservatory professional wrestling school . As Spradlin wrestled wearing 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 on which Spradlin was wrestling 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 Dave Taylor , William Regal and Northern Irish wrestler Dave Finlay . In July 2003 , Chikara brought in Skayde 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 . He attended Skayde sessions in Minnesota , Pennsylvania and Mexico City between 2003 and 2006 . Independent Wrestling Association Mid - South ( 2000 – 2007 ) . 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 20 , 2001 in Charlestown , Indiana , Hero won the IWA Mid - South Heavyweight Championship from the Trent Baker . 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 ( 2002 – 2007 ) . On May 25 , 2002 , at Chikara ' s inaugural event , Hero teamed with CM Punk and Colt Cabana , calling themselves the Gold Bond Mafia , in a losing effort against The Black T - shirt Squad of 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 Swi $ $ Money Holding ( Claudio Castagnoli and Ares ) to a 30 - minute time limit draw , eliminating both teams from the tournament . In July 2004 , Hero moved to Pennsylvania to work alongside Mike Quackenbush at the Chikara Wrestle Factory . In April 2005 , the school moved from Allentown , Pennsylvania to the former ECW Arena in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . The school was renamed the CZW / Chikara Wrestle Factory and became operated by Quackenbush , Hero and Jorge " Skayde " Rivera . In February 2005 , the SuperFriends made it to the finals of Chikara ' s three day , thirty - two team tournament , the Tag World Grand Prix . Late in the match , Hero turned on Quackenbush and formed an alliance with Claudio Castagnoli and Arik Cannon . He later referred to the trio as " The Kings of Wrestling " . 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 Castagnoli as the remaining " Kings of Wrestling " . At the opening of the 2006 Chikara " season " , Hero and Castagnoli defeated Equinox and Hydra , Sumie Sakai and RANMARU , the North Star Express ( Ryan Cruz and Darin Corbin ) , Incoherence ( Hallowicked and Delirious ) , and finally Team Dragondoor ( Skayde and Milano Collection A . T . ) to become the first Chikara Campeones de Parejas . On November 17 , 2006 at the Chikara show " Brick " in Reading Pennsylvania , Hero and Castagnoli lost the Chikara tag titles to Team F . I . S . T ( Icarus and Gran Akuma ) in a 2 out of 3 falls match . Following the match , Hero and Team F . I . S . T turned on Castagnoli and engaged in a beat down . This was done due to Castagnoli signing a developmental deal with the World Wrestling Entertainment . Upon Chikara ' s season return in February , King of Trios , Hero was scheduled to be teaming with his Team F . I . S . T partners to enter the tournament . However , Hero was booked to make his Pro Wrestling Noah debut in Japan , so it was stated that F . I . S . T . did not want Hero on their team and instead went on to recruit Chuck Taylor as a new member of the Kings of Wrestling . On the other hand , Chris Hero had his sights set on other things when he returned to Chikara in March 2007 . After Claudio Castagnoli , who had been released by WWE prior to making his debut for them , 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 Castagnoli . At Chikara ' s April ' Rey De Voladores ' tournament Chris Hero faced Claudio Castagnoli in a non - tournament match in which the winner would gain control of the loser . Mike Quackenbush was special referee for the contest . Chris Hero won the match , forcing Castagnoli back under the control of Hero . The following month Hero , Castagnoli and Larry Sweeney joined forces with Icarus , Gran Akuma and Chuck Taylor to re - form the Kings of Wrestling as a superstable . Hero faced " Lightning " Mike Quackenbush at Chikara ' s May 26 ' Aniversario ? ' show in a match that was two years in the making . Quackenbush won the match with his new submission maneuver , the " Chikara Special " , a move that Lince Dorado , El Pantera , Equinox and Claudio Castagnoli . all used to defeat Hero during the summer of 2007 . Many suggested that Hero was affected by a curse and was unable to break the hold . Following another upset loss to Equinox , this time a tag match in Reading , Pennsylvania on November 16 , 2007 , Hero snapped and tore apart Equinox ' s mask . Leonard F . Chikarason intervened and scheduled Hero and Equinox for a " Mascara contra Caballera " ( Mask vs . Hair ) to take place the following evening in Hellertown , Pennsylvania . With moments remaining in the match , Equinox managed to apply the Chikara Special , only to have Hero counter out of it and lock on a Chikara Special of his own . Equinox tapped out and was forced to unmask . Hero pointed out , to the crowd , that the man behind the mask was Vin Gerard , a luchador impostor . Previously , Vin had attended the Chikara Wrestle Factory and trained under both Hero and Quackenbush . It was not until Gerard was unable to break through and gain bookings on Chikara shows that he decided to create a false identity in order to wrestle for Chikara . In late 2007 , Hero vacated his spot as a head trainer at the Chikara Wrestle Factory . His spot was assumed by his student and former partner , Claudio Castagnoli . On December 9 , 2007 , at " Stephen Colbert > Bill O ' Reilly " Hero lost a feud ending match against Castagnoli and has not returned to the company since . Combat Zone Wrestling ( 2002 – 2007 , 2010 ) . In December 2002 , Hero debuted in Combat Zone Wrestling , wrestling Ruckus in a match . He wrestled a second match later that year teaming with B - Boy against Nate Hatred and Nick Gage , in a match that ended in a debacle . 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 Castagnoli 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 BLKOUT faction . While Hero and Castagnoli dropped the titles to Eddie Kingston and Joker in February 2006 , the feud with BLKOUT continued . On May 13 , 2006 , Chris Hero was scheduled to take part in the Best of the Best tournament . However , Hero gave his spot to the CZW World Heavyweight Champion , Ruckus , who promised him a title shot in return . When Ruckus won the Best of the Best tournament , Hero came out and immediately used his title shot to win the CZW World Heavyweight Championship . Hero successfully defended it against Claudio Castagnoli and Necro Butcher . At the Chri $ Ca $ h Memorial Show , 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 Team Masturbation ( Beef Wellington and Excalibur ) in the first round , the BLKOUT ( Ruckus and Human Tornado ) in the second round , and the makeshift team of Justice Pain and the Human Tornado ( subbing for Pain ' s partner in the H8 Club , Nick Gage , who left the building before the match ) in a one night tournament at the CZW show " Last Team Standing " to become two - time CZW Tag Team Champions . After news broke that Castagnoli would be leaving for the WWE , he and Hero dropped the CZW World Tag Team Titles to the BLKOUT of Sabian and Robbie Mireno on November 11 , 2006 . On Saturday April 7 , 2007 , at " Out with the Old , in With the New " show , Hero would face long time , heated rival Eddie Kingston in a match where the loser would be forced to leave Combat Zone Wrestling . Hero was defeated following a spinning back fist from Kingston and post match made a farewell speech to the CZW crowd . Following this CZW owner John Zandig came out and thanked Hero for all he had done for CZW , including the war with Ring of Honor . More than three years later , on June 12 , 2010 , Hero made a return to CZW , in a losing effort against Egotistico Fantastico . Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ( 2003 – 2004 ) . Hero wrestled off and on for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2003 and 2004 . He traveled alongside Nate Webb and Dave Prazak to Nashville , Tennessee on a weekly basis at the urging of Bill Behrens . Hero wrestled on several " TNA Xplosion " tapings . Although he never appeared on pay per view he is featured on card # 22 of the Pacific released TNA trading card set . Pro Wrestling Guerrilla ( 2004 – 2011 ) . Chris Hero also wrestles for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla , based in southern California . His first appearance was at the January 2004 Tango and 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 eight months later in a losing effort against Super Dragon . At the 2005 " All Star Weekend – Night One " , Hero defeated Chris Sabin . Later in the night , Hero came out and challenged Christopher Daniels for his TNA X Division Championship . Daniels accepted and defeated Hero the next night . A few months later , however , at " Zombies ( Shouldn ' t Run ) " , Daniels refused to put the title on the line against Hero and defeated him in a non title match . At " After School Special " , Hero became one of Joey Ryan ' s targets , so that Ryan could prove that he was the best technical wrestler ; however , Hero seemed to be out - wrestling Ryan in the match , so Scott Lost came out and helped Ryan win . As a result of the interference , Hero had a match with Lost at the next show , and defeated him . On February 4 , 2008 , at " Card Subject to Change 2 " , Hero teamed up with Claudio Castagnoli to challenge Super Dragon and Davey Richards for the tag team championship , but failed to win in a 50 - minute match . Hero also competed in the 2006 Battle of Los Angeles , but lost to Genki Horiguchi in the first round . Hero appeared with regular tag team partner Claudio Castagnoli in PWG ' s " DDT 4 " Tag Team Title Tournament , but lost in the first round to the Briscoes . They were on the winning side of an 8 - man tag on the second night of the weekend as they were joined by the Trailer Park Boyz ( Josh Abercrombie and Nate Webb ) . In September 2007 Hero entered a heated feud with The Human Tornado after saving Candice LeRae from her abusive pimp at the second night of the 2007 Battle of Los Angeles . The feud culminated on July 6 , 2008 , at " Life During Wartime " in a Guerrilla Warfare steel cage match , where Hero defeated Tornado to become the new PWG World Champion . Hero competed in the 2008 Battle of Los Angeles defeating Necro Butcher in the first round , Scott Lost in the second round , and Bryan Danielson in the semi - finals . In the finals of the tournament Hero was defeated by Low Ki , in a match with only the top rope attached , as the other ropes had been damaged in the previous match . Hero ' s title was not on the line , but Low Ki was named the number one contender to his title following the match . Ki ended up signing with the World Wrestling Entertainment and leaving PWG before he could challenge Hero for the title . Hero went on to successfully defend the title in a 3 - way against Human Tornado and the returning Colt Cabana on February 21 , 2009 , at " Express Written Consent " and on April 12 at " One Hundred " he defeated Cabana in a singles match . On May 22 , 2009 , at " DDT4 " , Hero defeated Joey Ryan to retain the PWG title . After the match Ryan was holding the belt and offered Hero a handshake , but then out of nowhere he knocked him out with it and said " I got three more months bitch ! " ( referring to Ryan being the longest reigning PWG champ of all time ) and left . On July 31 at " Threemendous II " Hero defeated Ryan in a Guerrilla Warfare match to ensure that on August 17 he became the longest reigning PWG Champion of all time . On September 4 , 2009 , at " Guerre Sans Frontières " Bryan Danielson defeated Hero to end his reign at 425 days . Following the loss of his title , Hero decided to return to his roots in order to regain it , and defeated El Generico on October 2 at " Against the Grain " with a " Hero ' s Welcome " , instead of using his various elbow strikes . After Danielson was forced to vacate the World Title , due to signing with the World Wrestling Entertainment , the Title was put up for grabs at the 2009 Battle of Los Angeles , however , Hero opted not to enter the tournament in order to use his rematch clause in a one - on - one match against the new Champion . Hero finally received his rematch for the PWG World Championship on July 30 , 2010 , but was defeated by defending champion Davey Richards . On September 4 Hero entered the 2010 Battle of Los Angeles , defeating Christopher Daniels in his first round match . The following night Hero defeated Akira Tozawa and Brandon Gatson to make it to the finals , where he was defeated by Joey Ryan . After the tournament Hero was granted another shot at the PWG World Championship , when he and the three other Battle of Los Angeles semifinalists , Brandon Gatson , Claudio Castagnoli and Joey Ryan , were placed in a four – way match to determine a new champion , after Davey Richards had been stripped of the title . However , on October 9 , 2010 , at " The Curse of Guerrilla Island " , Hero ' s long time tag team partner Claudio Castagnoli defeated him for the PWG World Championship . At the following event on December 11 , 2010 , Hero and Castagnoli unsuccessfully challenged ¡ Peligro Abejas ! ( El Generico and Paul London ) for the PWG World Tag Team Championship . On March 4 , 2011 , Hero and Castagnoli entered the 2011 " DDT 4 " tournament , defeating the Cutler Brothers ( Brandon and Dustin Cutler ) in their first round match . However , in the semifinals of the tournament the Kings of Wrestling suffered an upset loss against the Nightmare Violence Connection ( Akira Tozawa and Kevin Steen ) , when Tozawa rolled Hero up for the win . On May 27 , during the first night of " All Star Weekend 8 " , Hero unsuccessfully challenged Castagnoli for the PWG World Championship . Hero received another shot at the PWG World Championship on July 23 at PWG ' s eighth anniversary show , but was again defeated by Castagnoli . On August 20 , after both Hero and Castagnoli were eliminated from the 2011 Battle of Los Angeles in the first round , they challenged PWG World Tag Team Champions , The Young Bucks ( Matt and Nick Jackson ) , to a match for the title . The match , which took place later that same evening , saw the Kings of Wrestling once again fail to win the PWG World Tag Team Championship . Hero made an unadvertised return to PWG four months later on December 10 , losing to Willie Mack , and afterwards held a farewell speech to the fans in attendance . Ring of Honor ( 2006 – 2012 ) . During a large portion of 2006 , Hero feuded with the entire Ring of Honor promotion , which began when he issued a challenge to ROH at CZW ' s " Cage of Death 7 " in December 2005 . Hero then challenged and lost a match for the ROH World Championship on January 14 at " Hell Freezes Over " to the champion , Bryan Danielson . He , along with Necro Butcher , had been attending various Ring of Honor events , which usually involved them getting kicked out after harassing of Ring of Honor wrestlers in the middle of a match . During the feud Hero portrayed a villain in ROH , while still a fan favorite in CZW . On February 25 Hero , Necro Butcher , and the CZW locker room invaded ROH ' s " Fourth Anniversary Show " , before being chased away by Samoa Joe and the ROH locker room . The feud came to a head on March 11 , when both promotions were in the same place , to co - promote an evening during which ROH held " Arena Warfare " and CZW " When 2 Worlds Collide " . Although Hero was not in attendance at " Arena Warfare " , CZW came out on top , after the CZW locker room took on Samoa Joe and B . J . Whitmer , after Joe and Whitmer had just had match . This resulted in an all out brawl between the Ring of Honor locker room and the Combat Zone locker room , and the Combat Zone roster proceeded to destroy the ring ROH had set up , and chase Ring of Honor out of " their house " . Hero and Necro Butcher came to ROH ' s " Best in the World " event in New York on March 25 to answer a challenge made by Adam Pearce , but instead attacked him . Hero ' s long time tag partner and pupil Claudio Castagnoli turned on both Necro and Hero by saving Pearce . The next weekend , Hero and Necro again caused a disruption during the ROH shows . They attacked ROH Commissioner Jim Cornette as well as Whitmer and Pearce . They also finally got the attention of Joe , who personally declared war on CZW . On April 22 , ROH ' s 100th show in Philadelphia featured a battle between Team ROH ( Joe , Whitmer and Pearce ) and Team CZW ( Hero , Necro and Super Dragon ) . The team of Hero , Necro Butcher , and Super Dragon went on to win the ROH vs . CZW main event , after Castagnoli revealed his allegiance to Hero and CZW by first attacking Samoa Joe and then helping Hero pin Pearce for the win . On July 15 at ROH ' s " Death Before Dishonor IV " Hero led Team CZW into the Cage of Death for a five - on - five main event against Team ROH . Hero had teased that he had made a deal with a mystery fifth man , who turned out to be Hero ' s hated rival Eddie Kingston . Although ROH ' s surprise fifth man Bryan Danielson turned on Samoa Joe in an effort to incapacitate Joe before their title match , Team ROH finally put CZW away when Homicide arrived in the Cage and pinned Nate Webb for the win . The following day on their Newswire , ROH stated that the war with CZW was over , thanks to Homicide . Despite being forced out of ROH , Hero invaded the promotion ' s first two shows in the United Kingdom in August and was defeated by Colt Cabana in a singles match and Cabana , Nigel McGuinness and Robbie Brookside in a six - man tag team match where he teamed with Castagnoli and Chad Collyer . In August 2006 , the Ring of Honor Tag Team Title belts were stolen from champions Austin Aries and Roderick Strong . Hero revealed on his LiveJournal that he and Castagnoli were the culprits and would be challenging for the titles on September 16 . They defeated Aries and Strong at " Glory By Honor V Night 2 " to become the Ring of Honor tag team champions . ROH then announced that by winning the belts , Hero had been made a full - time ROH wrestler . After it was announced that Castagnoli had signed a developmental deal with the WWE , the Kings of Wrestling lost the belts to Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal on November 25 at " Dethroned " . On December 22 at " International Challenge " Larry Sweeney made his ROH debut and assisted Hero and Castagnoli defeat the Briscoe Brothers . The following night in Manhattan at " Final Battle 2006 " the Kings of Wrestling had their final match together when they , with Larry Sweeney in their corner , were defeated by the Briscoe Brothers in a rematch . After the match , Castagnoli announced that he was no longer going to World Wrestling Entertainment , and would remain in ROH as one half of the Kings of Wrestling . Sweeney then said he and Chris Hero had big plans for 2007 , but Castagnoli was not included in them . Then , when Hero was forced to choose between staying with Castagnoli or going with Sweeney , he shook Castagnoli ' s hand but left with Sweeney . Hero has since found relative success in singles competition , with notable feuds including Nigel McGuinness and the Briscoe Brothers . Hero was described by Sweeney as " the best athlete in Ring of Honor today " , and was the most high - profile member of Sweet ' N ' Sour Incorporated , Sweeney ' s stable that included Hero , Tank Toland , Bobby Dempsey and Sara Del Rey , with whom he held the unofficial Intergender World Tag Team Championship . He had challenged for the ROH World Title in a losing effort against then champion Homicide , and briefly reformed the Kings of Wrestling in another losing attempt at winning the ROH World Tag Team Championship . At " Survival of the Fittest 2007 " , Hero single handedly eliminated Austin Aries , Roderick Strong , Claudio Castagnoli , Rocky Romero and Human Tornado to win the Survival of the Fittest tournament . As his prize , Hero was granted a shot at the ROH Heavyweight Championship at a time of his choosing . He chose to challenge the reigning champion , Nigel McGuinness , at " Glory by Honor VI : Night One " . Despite a badly torn biceps sustained a week prior , McGuinness accepted the challenge . Hero managed to force McGuinness to tap out , but the match was restarted after the referee noticed that McGuinness had reached the ropes . After the restart McGuinness made Hero tap out and retained his title in controversial fashion . On June 27 , 2008 , Hero pinned FIP World Champion Roderick Strong in a non - title bout with an assist from Sweeney . On June 28 , 2008 , Hero ' s winning streak continued when he defeated Pelle Primeau in a Light ' s Out Match with an assist from Larry Sweeney and Sara Del Rey , despite interference from former Sweet N ' Sour Inc . team mate and later turn coat Brent Albright . On July 26 , 2008 , Hero and fellow Sweet N ' Sour Inc . team mate Go Shiozaki were defeated by Roderick Strong and Naomichi Marufuji when Strong pinned Hero with a big boot / cradle backbreaker combination . During late 2008 Hero began wearing a more traditional wrestling attire and adopted a new finishing maneuver in the " Rolling Elbow " , while being dubbed " That Young Knockout Kid " by his manager Larry Sweeney , who ended up leaving the company in April 2009 . After returning from a tour of Pro Wrestling Noah in early 2009 , Hero began using a loaded elbow pad , which he claimed to have gotten as a gift from Mitsuharu Misawa , to knock out his opponents and win matches . On May 8 , 2009 , Hero was defeated by the ROH World Champion Jerry Lynn in a match for the title . On July 25 , 2009 , in Toronto , Canada , Hero scored what could be considered the biggest win of his career when he pinned Lance Storm in a grudge match that was one year in the making . During much of 2009 , Hero rekindled an old feud with Eddie Kingston , whom he defeated in a singles match on September 26 at " Glory By Honor VIII : The Final Countdown " . On December 19 , 2009 , at Final Battle 2009 , ROH ' s first live pay - per - view , Kingston defeated Hero in a " Fight Without Honor " . Later in the evening , after the Briscoe Brothers had defeated Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards for the ROH World Tag Team Championship , Hero reunited with his Kings of Wrestling partner Claudio Castagnoli and together they attacked the new champions and then posed with their Tag Team Titles . The two would adopt Shane Hagadorn as their manager and Sara Del Rey as an associate . On April 3 , 2010 , at The Big Bang ! Hero and Castagnoli defeated the Briscoes to win the ROH World Tag Team Championship for the second time . At the following pay - per - view , Death Before Dishonor VIII , on June 19 Hero and Castagnoli successfully defended their titles against the Briscoes in a No Disqualification match . In July Ring of Honor announced the return of Tag Wars , where twelve tag teams would compete in three blocks to determine , which three would get to challenge the Kings of Wrestling in the final Ultimate Endurance match . On August 28 the Kings of Wrestling defeated The Dark City Fight Club ( Jon Davis and Kory Chavis ) , The All Night Express ( Kenny King and Rhett Titus ) and the Briscoes in the Ultimate Endurance match to win the 2010 Tag Wars and retain the ROH World Tag Team Championship . At the following pay – per – view , Glory By Honor IX on September 11 , the Kings of Wrestling picked up a major victory by defeating Wrestling ' s Greatest Tag Team ( Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin ) in a non – title match . On December 18 at Final Battle 2010 the Kings of Wrestling ended their feud with the Briscoe Brothers in a six - man tag team match , where Jay , Mark and their father Mike defeated Hero , Castagnoli and Shane Hagadorn . On January 4 , 2011 , Hero and Castagnoli became the longest reigning ROH World Tag Team Champions by breaking the previous record of 275 days , set by the Briscoe Brothers . On February 26 at 9th Anniversary Show , Hero and Castagnoli successfully defended the ROH World Tag Team Championship against The All Night Express . On April 1 at Honor Takes Center Stage , the Kings of Wrestling lost the ROH World Tag Team Championship to Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin , ending their reign at 363 days . On May 7 at " Revolution Canada " Hero unsuccessfully challenged ROH World Champion Eddie Edwards for his title , losing to him via referee stoppage . The Kings of Wrestling received their rematch for the ROH World Tag Team Championship on August 13 at the first " Ring of Honor Wrestling " tapings under the Sinclair Broadcast Group banner , but were unable to regain the belts from Haas and Benjamin . This would mark the team ' s final ROH appearance as the following month it was reported that Castagnoli had signed a contract with WWE . On December 23 at Final Battle 2011 , Hero returned to ROH to accept the Roderick Strong Invitational Challenge , losing to Strong after interference from his manager , Truth Martini . On January 4 , 2012 , ROH announced that Hero had signed to make his official return to the promotion at the January 20 event in Philadelphia . At the event , Hero was defeated by Michael Elgin . International circuit . Hero has become a regular for several European wrestling promotions , most notable being the westside Xtreme wrestling ( wXw ) federation based in Essen , Germany . He has wrestled in sixteen different countries across the world : Australia , Austria , Belgium , Canada , England , France , Germany , Italy , Japan , Mexico , the Netherlands , Peru , Scotland , Spain , Switzerland , and of course the United States . In April 2007 , 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 in the quarterfinals . On May 6 , 2007 , Hero won wXw ' s prestigious international competition event , the " 16 Carat Gold Tournament " , defeating Ares in the finals . Hero also returned to Australia to wrestle for the PWA Queensland promotion , competing in their annual " Rise of the Warriors " tournament , in which he also competed in 2007 . Hero made it all the way to the final of the tournament , which lasted two nights , losing to PWA Queensland regular , Esteban Molina . Along the way , he defeated Mason Childs , whom he lost to in the final of the 2007 tournament , Mark Davis , and Blakestone to get to the finals . The previous year , he defeated Kyote , Damian Slater , and Ryan Eagles to advance to the finals . In January 2009 , Hero returned to Japan for Pro Wrestling Noah . He came to an agreement with the Noah front office and was granted a stay at the dojo after the tour . He trained alongside Richie Steamboat and made his way back to the U . S . after five weeks abroad . Hero returned to Noah for the June 2009 tour and stayed , once again , at the dojo . During this stay , Hero wrestled at the event where one of his idols , Mitsuharu Misawa , died during the main event match . In January 2010 Hero and Claudio Castagnoli entered the Global Tag League , but ended up losing all three of their matches . Hero and Castagnoli returned to Noah on November 19 , 2010 , for a three week long tour . The team went undefeated in tag team matches , before being defeated on December 5 , the final day of the tour , by Takuma Sano and Yoshihiro Takayama in a match for the GHC Tag Team Championship . The Kings of Wrestling returned to Noah in April 2011 to take part in the 2011 Global Tag League , where they managed to win two out of their seven round robin matches , finishing seventh out of eight teams in the block . Other promotions . Chris Hero also wrestled for Juggalo Championshit Wrestling ( JCW ) and was featured on JCW Volume 2 , losing to Hyzaya , while using a gimmick of an anti - hero with a Superman shirt with an X over Superman ' s traditional logo . In November 2006 , he wrestled Josh Daniels in the main event of MXW Pro Wrestling ' s Capital Collision in Albany , New York . On March 13 , 2010 , Hero made his debut for Evolve Wrestling at " Evolve 2 : Hero vs . Hidaka " , losing to Ikuto Hidaka in the main event of the evening . In October 2011 , Spradlin took part in the first season tapings of Wrestling Retribution Project , where he performed as Chris Hyde . WWE . Florida Championship Wrestling / WWE NXT ( 2012 - 2013 ) . In June 2011 , both Spradlin and Claudio Castagnoli had a private tryout with WWE . While Castagnoli was instantly signed to a developmental contract , Spradlin ' s contract was delayed for failing a drug test for steroids , but Spradlin has a naturally elevated testosterone / epitestosterone level . Eventually , Spradlin signed a contract in February 2012 and was assigned to WWE ' s developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling ( FCW ) . Spradlin wrestled his last WWE match on October 24 , 2013 before his release from NXT . Return to NXT ( 2016 – present ) . In December 2016 , it was reported that Spradlin was heading back to WWE . Spradlin , once again billed as Kassius Ohno , made his return at the January 5 , 2017 , NXT tapings , confronting NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura at the end of the live show . The following day , Ohno defeated Andrade Almas at a NXT house show in his return match