Indie Guys You Need To Know: Chris Hero

Chris Is Awesome - Music Video by Her69Eyes (via TheChrisHero)

More than perhaps any other wrestler on the independent level, Chris Hero is a performer who has continuously and deliberately evolved during his years on the circuit.  He has wrestled all over the world and held titles in nearly every promotion in which he's competed.  If you watch Chris Hero matches from 2000, 2005, 2007 and 2009, you will see four very different Chris Heros.  This is due in large part to Hero's continued training throughout his career.  In his early career, he was very much a product of old-school trainers and wrestlers like Les Thatcher and Tracy Smothers, fused with the early-2000s midwest indie aesthetic.  After training under Jorge Rivera, Hero began to adopt more of a lucha/European wrestling style and teamed regularly with Claudio Castagnoli.  During the first half of his career, he was known for having endless variations of the cravate.  For a time, Hero played an athletic and flashy comedic heel.  In the past couple of years, Hero's working relationship with Japan's Pro Wrestling NOAH has led to him training extensively at their dojo, and developing an offense that is more focused on strikes.  His current persona of "That Young Knockout Kid" is a much more focused and aggressive wrestler. 

Although many fans have paid more attention of late to the evolution of his ring gear than to the evolution of Hero as a wrestler, his emerging as one of the most well-rounded wrestlers on the indie scene today cannot be ignored.  When PWG releases their "Guerre Sans Frontiers" event on DVD, his world title match against Bryan Danielson must be in consideration for match of the year.  He's in the best shape of his career and consistently having the best matches of his career, and the sky is the limit for Chris Hero.

After the jump, please enjoy a video of Hero on an episode of "Border Security", an Australian reality show that follows the work of Australian Customs and Immigration officers.

Chris Hero on Border Security: Australia's Front Line (via wordsbig80s)