UPDATE: Kassius “Chris Hero” Ohno will now be returning to his former ring name of Chris Hero, and he’s already been announced for upcoming appearances for a number of indy wrestling promotions. PWG announced on Twitter that Hero will be competing for the company as part of their All Star Weekend on December 10.
PWS in New Jersey announced Chris Hero vs. Hurricane Helms for their November 16 event.
A number of other indy promotions are also reportedly looking to book Hero as well, so he likely won’t have trouble finding bookings for a while.
In addition, the term Kassius Ohno was trending on Twitter after news broke of his WWE release.
ORIGINAL: WWE has cut ties with developmental wrestler Kassius Ohno, real name Chris Spradlin.
Spradlin was informed of his contractual release from the organization while getting ready to begin training Friday morning at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. He had recently returned to WWE NXT after he was held off TV for some time. His final NXT appearance was a loss to The Wyatt Family’s Luke Harper, which aired last Wednesday on NXT.
After news surfaced of his departure, Pro Wrestling Syndicate announced on Facebook that as Chris Hero, he will face “Hurricane” Helms at their next event taking place on Saturday, November 16 in Rahway New Jersey. Pro Wrestling Guerrilla also jumped on the news via Twitter, confirming him for their All-Star Weekend 10 events in California in December.
We reported in July that Spradlin had issues with management over his weight and physique, which put his promising career on hold. He recently returned to the ring, and in his final televised appearance, lost to Luke Harper—airing on this week’s episode of WWE NXT.
Ohno had been signed to WWE Developmental in 2012. He debuted in the wrestling business in 1998 and was trained by the likes of Les Thatcher and Dory Funk Jr. and became a notable worker in Ring of Honor, NOAH, CHIKARA, IWA Mid-South, and CZW.
Spradlin has yet to comment on his release on Twitter.
