Former WWE Star Worked In Backstage Role At AEW Collision

Could this ex-WWE star be AEW's next hire?

Jun 18, 2023 June 18th, 2023

Former WWE star and much loved veteran of the independent scene, Chris Hero was backstage for last night's premiere of AEW Collision.

Via Fightful Select, Hero was at Collision to undergo a work trial for All Elite Wrestling. While this report doesn't specify the exact role the former Kassius Ohno was operating in, it's presumed that Hero was helping to produce the debut of AEW's new Saturday night show.

Of course, Chris Hero has previous with plentiful names on the AEW roster, from Bryan Danielson, to Claudio Castagnoli, to Samoa Joe, to Christopher Daniels, and obviously to a certain CM Punk.

This news comes hot on the heels of Jimmy Jacobs joining AEW to work as a producer and assist with creative, as Tony Khan seemingly looks to bring in some fresh faces now that AEW has a third weekly show to run.

Just a matter of weeks ago, Chris Hero noted how he very much is not retired from in-ring competition, despite having not wrestled since an April 2020 edition of NXT UK. As the two-time Ring of Honor Tag Team Champion detailed at that time, he was merely waiting for the right opportunity to present itself.

Whether Hero ends up joining AEW on a permanent basis remains to be seen, and likewise it'll be interesting to see whether the 43-year-old laces up his boots for Khan's promotion at some point in the future.

Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.

See more from Andrew