I've been wanting to check out Smart Mark Video's Best on the Indies series for quite some time and I figured there'd be no better place to start than with this huge six disc set chronicling Chris Hero's career up to 2011. The main features are two shoot interviews, one conducted in 2003, the other in 2011. All together, it adds up to over 7 hours of interview footage where Chris discusses everything from his training in 1998 all the way through his Independent career in the 2000's up to right before he signed to WWE in 2011.
Disc 1:
2003 Interview
The presentation begins with the first ever shoot interview that SMV did with Hero in 2003 and holy throwback! They start things off discussing how he got into the wrestling business and his childhood/teenage years as a fan. Hero says he got out of wrestling around 9th grade until his senior year when he started watching again which led him to wanting to get into it after graduating high school. His first real training came at Les Thatcher's school despite having some prior, but it was from a guy who didn't know what he was doing. Interesting notes from this area of discussion include the fact that Nigel McGuinness and BJ Whitmer were both at the same training class Hero attended at Les Thatcher's school. That's really cool seeing how far all three guys have come.
IWA Mid-South is the next topic and really, the main topic considering that's where Hero worked prominently in 2000-2003. His feud with Punk is discussed and Hero reveals that their 93 minute 2/3 Falls match is his favorite of their series. I recently watched that match and can attest that it is a must see encounter. Hero talks about his friendship with Punk and tells the same story he would tell years later on the documentary that WWE did on Punk where he brought up the Deftones to start a conversation with Punk only to be shut down with a "Oh yeah? The Deftones suck."
The final portion of this near one hour interview features word assocation, basically. The interviewer names people and Hero tells stories/his experiences with them. Colt Cabana, CM Punk, Mike Quackenbush, Bull Pain, & Ian Rotten are some of the names discussed. The most notable thing for me here was hearing Hero praise CHIKARA's way of setting up feuds/matches and why he thinks it will lead them to success. Considering I've recently binged on CHIKARA and praised them as geniuses in the storytelling department on the Indies, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who thinks this.
2011 Interview
They pick up pretty much right where they left off in 2003 by discussing IWA Mid South and Hero's feud & relationship with CM Punk. The story has changed alot since then as Hero details the hardships that their friendship endured in the mid-2000's. It got so hostile between the two that wouldn't speak to each other backstage and Ian Rotten booked them in a match together and they didn't even discuss it before hand. Then, when they got in the ring, Hero noticed Punk wasn't selling for him which resulted in some stiff shots from both guys. Post match, the two got into a verbal argument backstage which was the first conversation they'd had in some time. The start of their relationship being patched up came during Punk's IWA MS farewell in 2005 where Ian forced Hero to go out and wish him well even though he didn't want to. Hero discusses how they gradually rebuilt their friendship via sporatic texts and random interactions that led to in depth conversations just like the old days. Hero said at this time that they talked at least once a month or so.
To finish off the IWA MS portion, Hero discusses Trik Davis and puts him over as a great worker who never found his full identity and recommends that everyone check out their matches together because he really enjoyed them. Hero's feud with Arik Cannon is also discussed and Hero calls him one of the most misused guys in recent years.
The CHIKARA part of the interview came next and boy was this interesting. It was really intriguing to see how Hero's opinion on Quackenbush changed over the years. That's not to say it changed in a bad way because Hero says he still likes Quack although there are certain things he dislikes about he runs his organization. Several backstage dramas from CHIKARA are discussed such as an issue he & Shane Storm had that led to fake rumors of students feeling untrustworthy of Chris.
Aside from the controversial stuff, Hero spoke highly about several people in CHIKARA such as Hallowicked and Jigsaw whom he says could achieve a ton more if they dropped the masks and went outside of CHIKARA. Hero also praises Vin Gerard's work in CHIKARA and discusses their feud when Vin was wrestling under the Equinox gimmick. One of my favorite moments of this discussion came when Hero perfectly described CHIKARA by saying it's "made for wrestling nerds" (which is likely why I enjoy it's product from 2005-2012 so much). Hero notes that this also makes it hard for CHIKARA to expand their audience.
One name discussed during the CHIKARA talk that I have to mention was Milano Collection AT who Hero got a chance to work several times in 2005-06. He & Claudio had some great matches with Milano & Skayde which were talked about here. Hero mentions how humble Milano was despite having every right to be confident in his abilities. He says Milano even showed up to one of his classes one day and participated in everything that all the students did. Hero talks about how weird it was to technically be teaching Milano. I can only imagine!
This portion of the shoot ends with something I've always wondered - why has Hero not worked for CHIKARA since the final show for 2007? Throughout, Hero discussed the problems that led to him leaving, but here he noted that Quack did ask him to come back for the Anniversario show in 2008 however Hero was already booked and couldn't make it. That was the last time he got a booking offer from CHIKARA and since then, Hero attemped to attend one show in 2011 and even though friends like Claudio were there, he texted Quack asking if it was cool for him to stop by and was met with an undefinitive answer as he said they'd be busy because it was a show day and what not. Hero says he could've went and been welcomed if he kissed Quack's ass, but instead decided to just stay home.
The CHIKARA discussion leads into the CZW discussion eventually as Hero's time as a trainer at CHIKARA came into the limelight. At one point, the CHIKARA and CZW schools merged which leads us to talking about CZW. Topics of note include he & Claudio's time as a goofy team, his matches with "the worst wrestler ever" Justice Pain, and the controversy surrounding his Loser Leaves CZW match with Eddie Kingston in 2007.
Disc 3:
PWG TIME! This section was less detailed than I expected. Considering it's 2011, I guess it wasn't as hyped because it had only been HOT for a few years at that point. Hero talks about Super Dragon momentarily and how people say he's a dick, but once you get to know him you realize that's just how he is. They basically just go through the timeline of Hero's career in PWG with the most interesting stories being that of his heat & feud with Low Ki. I finally got the true story of what happened at All Star Weekend 7 where Hero & Kingston engaged in a shoot brawl after the main event. It turns out that it was indeed real/a shoot and that after the show, it got worse as Low Ki decided to address the entire locker room and called Hero out for being "unprofessional" in how he handled Kingston's mannersims during his post-match promo. This leads to the next set of PWG events, the 2008 Battle of Los Angeles, where Hero & Ki had a classic that saw Hero get his nose busted badly thanks to a vicious soccer kick from Ki. Hero's heat with Ki only grew after this because of how he handled by not asking if he was okay or anything.
Hero's PWG title reign & feud with Human Tornado was briefly discussed however not near as much as I had hoped. The Hero/Tornado feud with Candice LeRae at the forefront was something I wanted to hear alot more about. None the less, they go on to talk about the decision to drop the belt to Bryan Danielson in his farewell match and then they speed onto Hero's match with Akira Tozawa at the 2010 Battle of Los Angeles. This pretty much closes out the PWG portion of the interview. Hero says he loves the promotion and if he could change anything, he might would cut the shows just a tad shorter.
Ring of Honor is up next. Hero first started wrestling for ROH on a regular basis in 2006 during the ROH/CZW war angle. That is obviously the first topic of choice and it's interesting to hear some backstories behind that legendary storyline. After that story was over, the big issue was figuring out how to string the CZW talent like he & Claudio back into ROH storylines because they still wanted to use them. This leads to Sweet & Sour Express being formed. Hero talks about how much fun that was and relives some of the vignettes & promos they did at that time.
The power switch in ROH when Gabe left came up next and it was yet another interesting topic as Hero discusses the night it happened and how he was one of the first people to find out. He says Adam Pearce got in charge and since he knew him, it went well to start with then Hero said that he took it too far and pushed his boundaries which led to some hostility between the two parties which led to a short absence from ROH for Hero as they stopped booking he, Claudio, & company on shows despite the fact that they were cheapest as they were the only ones who drove to the events.
Disc 4:
Fortunately things were worked out and Hero was back around for the HDNet era of ROH. Hero discusses getting the experience of working TV tapings, getting his own theme music done, and all the ups & downs of the HDNet experience. After this, The Kings of Wrestling's tag title run in 2010-11 was touched on. Hero talked about working with The Briscoes, Benjamin & Haas and Future Shock, accidentally calling Kyle by the wrong name in the process which was pretty funny.
The shoot interview closes out with Hero talking about the deaths of several close friends in the wrestling biz as well as being in attendance at a NOAH show when the death of Mitsuhara Misawa occured. JC Bailey & Larry Sweeney are the friends that Hero lost and he talks about the last contact & stuff that he had with them respectively as well as what he thinks could have saved them. Hero says JC was a good guy that just got caught up in the wrong crowd and couldn't beat his demons. He refuses to take the "he was a junkie" route like alot of people do when talking about him. You're missed by many, JC!
Hero gets a bit emotional when talking about Sweeney which is expected considering how closely they worked together. Hell, I didn't even know him and I got emotional just listening to Hero talk about his struggle. It was a tough, but intriguing listen. Thanks for everything, Sweet & Sour, RIP.
Hero's experiences in Japan were a treat to listen to although it certainly had it's sad points, Misawa's death being the main one. Hero was sitting up in the balcony watching the match and saw Misawa get dropped on his head by a backdrop driver. He says he thought it looked vicious, but not extremely horrible. Well, it turned out to be tragic and Hero soon realized such and rushed down to ringside. Hero gives all the details of this devastating series of events. He talks about the way the match was supposed to go and how Go Shiozaki was being positioned to win the tag belts with Misawa to put him over as that next top guy in NOAH. It's crazy to think he was over there when all of this took place.
That pretty much closes out the interview as Hero discussed Japan and also told of his experience attending the Juggalo wrestling extravaganza where he rode in a limo with Jay Briscoe, Terry Funk, Jim Duggan, among others. That was one mixed bag!
Hero sends off by thanking the fans and such. You can tell he really appreciates the support the fans have shown him over the years. This interview was a joy to listen to and just made me an even bigger fan of Chris Hero.
Disc 5 - Matches:
1) Chris Hero vs. CM Punk vs. Colt Cabana - IWA Mid South - 12/8/01
I've heard alot about many of the matches these three had with each other. In singles and multi man format. With that being said, I was looking forward to this. This is REALLY early in their careers however Punk is holding both the IWA MS World & Lightweight titles. There's a few moments of sloppiness early on, but once they got going, it was pretty a tightly executed match up with a number of spots that brought the audience to their feet. Sitout reverse powerbomb off the top turnbuckle, Cabana & Hero tying Punk up in the ropes and double drop kicking a chair into his head, and the one that ended it all with Punk hitting a Pepsi Plunge on Hero ONTO Cabana. Hero touched on this in the shoot on Disc 1 as he said it set up a future match between the two because Punk pinned Cabana instead of Hero. For it's time, it would probably be held as awesome although in this day and age it still holds up quite well. Considering it's early in these men's careers, this could also be viewed as shockingly good because you wouldn't think a group of competitors only 2-3 years into the wrestling biz would be able to put on a match like this.
Match rating - ***1/4
2) Chris Hero vs. Homicide - IWA Mid South: We Are Family - 7/19/03
This was one of those matches that had it's moments however it never really all clicked and meshed together well enough to be considered good. The layout of this match was great, as were many of the things Hero & Homicide did. It just felt like something was missing and it wasn't executed in the way that they intended. Not horrible, just a match that's got a few pieces missing from the puzzle of creating a successful outing.
Match rating - ***
3) Chris Hero vs. B-Boy - IWA MS - 11/20/03
You're going to notice me saying "I've heard a lot about ___" in these match reviews because I've done my research on many of these encounters. This was another one of those which I read a fair bit about on forums such. I heard Hero & B-Boy had a great series of matches however considering that was in 2003, I figured it may be subpar today. Especially when the match started off pretty slow with a crowd that was basically dead. I ended up being dead wrong when it came to what direction that I thought this match would go in. Hero & B-Boy worked one of the smartest matches I've watched recently here. There were multiple call backs, awesome selling, and it told a fantastic story. B-Boy was looking to earn back a victory after being defeated by Hero at TPI earlier in the year. They started off with several lock ups and some mat work. Hero soon began targeting the head of B-Boy with cravats and a vicious knee drop that slammed his head into the mat. It didn't Hero control of the match, in fact, B-Boy would end up gaining the advantage. However, Hero would begin fighting back and immediately return to the head of B-Boy with back drop drivers and eventually a piledrivr among other things. The other callbacks here included the signature moves of each man being countered by the other. For instance, B-Boy went for the facelift early on, but Hero mounted up and cut him off with a clothesline. This built towards the moment of B-Boy eventually hitting the facelift later on in the match. The crowd finally got into this one during the final 6-7 minutes thankfully which made for a pretty awesome closing sequence. This was an extremely good contest that may not have been the most entertaining at times, but the storytelling/psychology and the eventual ending sequence makes this one well worth watching.
Match rating - ****
4) Chris Hero vs. Samoa Joe - IWA MS - 5/29/04
This was a first time meeting between Hero & Joe and you can tell. The crowd was on fire which gave this one a big, epic feel from the get go. "Let's go Hero" chants were met with "Let's go Joe" chants and this went on for a good five minutes or more. Joe & Hero began shoving and exchanging strikes which just got everyone more fired up. This resembled more of a fight than a wrestling match as Joe went to work on Hero with slaps & strikes in the corner and Hero barrells out and takes Joe down before he gets to the ropes to cause seperation. The action here never got dull and it was done perfectly. Both men got their signature stuff in which in turn recieved big pops from the crowd when a move would get countered and what not. I just wish this would have a gotten a bit more time because if it had, this very well could have been a classic. Either way, it's still something I'd definitely recommend checking out.
Match rating - ***3/4
5) Chris Hero vs. Alex Shelley - CZW Iron Man Championship Match - 9/11/04
Both men were extremely young in their careers, especially Shelley, at this point although they were still known for their respective technical skills. Therefore, it's only fitting that we find them battling for the title in CZW made for the "iron men" of the promotion. Considering the title, you'd expect this to go atleast somewhat long, instead it's a pretty basic ten minute encounter that accomplished what it set out to despite not being something worth going out of your way to see. Commentators built it up as a "classic", but it's really just a solid encounter with good mat work from start to finish.
Match rating - **3/4
6) Chris Hero vs. Super Dragon - CZW Iron Man Championship Match - 9/11/04
This was Hero's second title defense of the day. The first was the previous match of this DVD against Shelley. That explains why that match went shorter than expected. None the less, I was hyped for this considering I'm a fan of both guys. Unfortunately, it's not quite what you'd expect. It went too long, the crowd was only into it when Dragon was on the offensive which just so happened to be the opposite of the story of this match. That did make for some good heat for Hero though. I wish Hero & Shelley would've gotten this much time instead because things just weren't clicking here.
Match rating - **1/2
7) Chris Hero vs. Arik Cannon - IWA MS - 8/19/05
I've never been a big Arik Cannon guy despite knowing he has the ability to put on a good match. He was in one of the hottest points of his career at this time. It was 2005 and although they're facing here, Cannon was a part of Hero & Claudio Castagnoli's original Kings of Wrestling stable in CHIKARA around this time. On top of that, this series of matches with Hero in IWA MS was much talked about. So let's see what this is all about. I have no clue during what part of their rivalry this match took place in so I can't give much backstory. Hell, I wish I knew what the backstory was. A pre-match discussion would have been nice for all the bouts on this DVD. That's neither here nor there though. This match was clearly strong style influenced as it was filled with strikes and back drop drivers. They also did a fair share of brawling around the ring and Hero took the brunt of most of that as he got backbody dropped and thrown into chairs in the crowd on several occassions. It was a hardhitting encounter from beginning to end with a nice fighting spirt esque closing sequence. Hero picks up the victory after a stiff punch to the face that dropped Cannon to the mat.
Match rating - ***1/4
Disc 6:
8) Chris Hero vs. Milano Collection AT - CHIKARA - 10/21/05
Hero spoke highly of Milano in the interview and considering I've seen several of the tags they had together with their respective partners in Claudio & Skayde, I can vouch for all that he said about their chemistry. This is the first singles meeting I've seen between the two and I was looking forward to it. I'd say compared to the tag matches they've been invovled in, it was a disappointment, but on it's own, it was a solid, well worked contest. There isn't really much else to say about it aside from that.
Match rating - ***
9) Chris Hero vs. Dick Togo - Ladder Match for the IWA East Coast Heavyweight Championship - 4/5/06
This one caught me off guard for many reasons. First, it's a fucking ladder match which I didn't expect at all. Second, it takes place in a smaller Indy promotion yet both guys still give it everything they have. I really enjoyed this match. It's one of those little hidden gems that I never knew existed until now. Hero & Togo start off with straight up wrestling on the mat before Togo brings the first ladder into play around the five minute mark. He ends up leaning it against the railing and laying Hero on it. Togo gets back in the ring and RUNNING SENTON THROUGH THE ROPES! Togo sends Hero & himself crashing through the ladder. Hero really takes the brunt of some stuff here as he tries to retaliate but ends up going head first into the ladder. The blow ends up busting Hero open and he begans bleeding pretty badly. This was just totally not what I expected (in a good way). I'm not going to run through play by play with everything these guys did because I'm sure you'd rather not read through a list of spots. I'll just say that this was a really good match. As you'd expect from these two, it was well worked and didn't feel *spotty* despite having it's fair share of spots just like any other Ladder match. They were all built towards and well thought/timed out though. There was even a few unique ladder spots that I hadn't seen before which is surprising in this day and age. I'd definitely recommend taking a look at this due to the fact that it's a dream match. Plus, the stipulation adds a whole new dynamic to what both men normally do.
Match rating - ***3/4
10) Chris Hero vs. Claudio Castagnoli - WXW - 5/4/07
As odd as it may sound since I'm a massive fan of both Hero & Claudio, I've never been a fan of their matches against each other. They've always been solid, but I've never walked away from one saying "man, that was awesome" like you'd think when you consider the caliber of wrestler that both these guys are. Well, that all changed with this match because not only did I walk away thinking the previously quoted phrase, I uttered those words in present tense about half-way through the match. I did so simply because man, this was awesome!! It was totally different than any other encounter I've previously seen contested between Hero & Claudio in that it was stiff as hell. It was extremely reminiscent of a Benoit/Regal or Benoit/Finlay match or any combination of the three. The mat work was intense, yet calculated. Both men targeted their opponents' legs and did so without holding anything back. It was one of those matches that will make you think wrestling is just as real as UFC/MMA. The strikes were equally as hard hitting. I just loved everything about this match. They worked the leg the entire bout like I said, with each man getting the advantage at some point in time. The little things like Hero going back to the legs of Claudio to shut down his momentum near the end and lock him in the hangman's clutch to get the victory sealed the deal for me on this one. Fantastic match here that's well worth seeking out. THIS is the definitive Hero/Claudio match, in my opinion. I don't think they can do any better than this which is saying something since I've seen them wrestle multiple times in various promotions.
Match rating - ****
11) Chris Hero vs. Equinox - CHIKARA - 11/17/07
The final match on the set has high implications with Equinox's mask being on the line and Hero's hair being on the line as well. It's Hair vs Mask. It's Lucha De Apuesta. It's CHIKARA and it rules! This is a match I've been wanting to see for a long time because it's 2007 dickish Hero against Equinox who is played by Vin Gerard, one of the most underrated storytellers on the Indies in an eloquently put together storyline. Hero plays his role perfectly here by mocking, toying with, and just beating the shit out of Equinox. He rips a hole in his mask and just stomps him down. Equinox fights back in a valiant effort with the crowd behind him. They have a nice exchange on the outside with an armdrag off the apron into some chairs and an armdrag exchange over the barricade. Equinox's effort to rally ends with him locking Hero in the CHIKARA special. This is a move that Equinox has made Hero tap to in the past so it has alot of significance. Hero somehow gets out of it by kicking Equinox in the face. Hero decides to turn him over and CHIKARA SPECIAL OF HIS OWN! WHAT?! This is the first time Hero has done the CHIKARA special and Equinox is forced to tap out to it in the center of the ring. Equinox is unmasked and Hero reveals him as the fraud luchador he is. Thus begins the evolution of him as Vin Gerard which leads to a CLASSIC match against Fire Ant the following year. Seek that out! I just had to give it a cheap plug. Great match here!
Match rating - ***3/4
Overall thoughts: So, this set was regularly priced at $30 and although I picked it up during a sale so it knocked a few dollars off of it, I can firmly say this is worth 30 bucks. The interview covers every aspect of Hero's career pre-WWE as you can probably tell if you read through my coverage of it. I didn't discuss EVERY SINGLE THING that was talked about because that'd be virtually impossible considering the interviews totaled in at over 7 hours. I just tried to mention stuff that stood out and while there are some things I personally wanted to hear more about, you can't cover it all and they came damn close here. The interview alone is worth $25 which is what you can get it for on Smart Mark Video however, you can pay five extra dollars like I did and get 11 matches. I'd say it's easily worth it with the matches against B-Boy, Samoa Joe, Dick Togo, & Claudio being worth the extra $5 alone. Therefore, I think it's safe to say that this earns a recommendation for me, especially if you're a fan of That Young Knockout Kid.
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