Chris Hero is back.
Chris Hero will return to the ring on November 17 when he faces Timothy Thatcher at West Coast Pro's Whiplash.
Speaking on the Masked Man Show, Hero explained his decision to get back in the ring.
"I never felt like I wasn't going to have another match. There was never a point in me where I felt like, 'Well, I'm done.' That would be why I got a little irritated when people were like, 'Yeah, he retired.' Just go to my Twitter and see what I'm doing or listen to one of these interviews where everybody asks me the same thing," he said.
Hero said that he refused to travel during the pandemic for the obvious health and safety concerns.
"I had some offers. They weren't bad offers, but I didn't want something that I would say 'yeah' to. I wanted something where I would say, 'Fuck yes. Of course.' I had to really be in love with the idea, and I just didn't feel it. There wasn't anything presented to me where I was like, 'I had to do this.' I would get opportunities that were pretty good, but it was short notice. I've been out. I need to get my body back in shape, my brain back in shape, and the landscape of independent wrestling; who was doing what, where would I fit in. It took me a while," he admitted.
He continued, "My journey here was working backstage at Ring of Honor before the hiatus and they got bought. I did five months or so of those tapings working behind the scenes, refamiliarizing myself with the talent, learning stuff on the other side of the curtain. There was a group I had roots with in Pittsburgh, IWC, I did a signing and a seminar. I was like, 'How about I write up formats for the show, we have a production meeting on the phone, let me get with each match and talk with them,' and work on developing them from show to show."
Hero said he did eight shows of producing with IWC and would do the same thing with West Coast Pro Wrestling.
"I did the same thing with West Coast last year. Came in for a signing and seminar, and I felt there was something special about it. They just had their fifth anniversary, they're a young company, I got to know the owner Scott Bregante and kept in touch. I presented the same thing, 'I can work with these guys.' You go to these shows as an older wrestler and people are like, 'Did you see that? Can you watch that?' You really only have so much capacity. I can get in there deep, we can watch a ten minute match, and we can spend an hour talking about it, but that's not what everybody wants. Sometimes, they only want a thing or two. For me to really dig my claws in, I have to be there consistently and get someone's number and check in over time and build relationships. I presented him with this, and he thought, 'I don't think we need that at this time.' Six months later, he came back around, 'I'm interested, let's see what you can do.' Scott let me come in, he brought me up to a show just to watch and hang out, and we'd talk about stuff, but I was too excited at that show. I just grabbed the microphone. 'I'm going to be the matchmaker.' An on-screen role to lend my credibility, not that they aren't credible, but to facilitate matches, and then behind the scenes, I'm like, 'Here is your time, here is the order,' going through rehearsals," said Hero.
Hero said he took pride in helping talent on their journey, mentioning Titus Alexander now wrestling in Pro Wrestling NOAH.
He concluded by saying, "Eventually, what came through was, 'I want to get back in the ring, how can we do it, how can we make people care about it.' My fear, this whole time I've been out, is that I'll come back, and then I'm just back. I want it to be special and I want it to be a moment. The wrestling cycle turns so quickly now, and I didn't want to get run over by that cycle. I wanted to leave a footprint. It was very special to me and something I gave a 'fuck yes' to."
This will mark Hero's first match since the April 2, 2020 episode of NXT UK when he competed in the WWE NXT United Kingdom Title #1 Contendership Battle Royal.
Fightful will have results from the event following its conclusion.
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