Chris Hero Talks Coaching/Producing For AEW, Says It’s A Work In Progress

Chris Hero discusses his work with AEW.

Hero has been working for AEW on a trial basis in recent weeks, and he recently noted that he did “a little coaching” at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door.

Speaking with John Pollock and Brandon Thurston for POST Wrestling, Hero was asked about coaching in AEW. He responded by emphasized that he enjoys coaching and producing, and he highlighted the different approaches to the job.

“The coaching/producing aspect is something that I really enjoy,” Hero said. “It’s different, like you coach different people different ways. Sometimes, you’re just a note-taker, like, okay, what are these guys doing? Boom, let’s try to make sure that the cameras get it all. Let’s make sure that production knows what’s going on, someone’s coming in through the crowd, that kind of stuff. Then sometimes, it’s a collaborative effort where you’re sitting there with people, and they’re stuck on something, and you’re like, ‘How about this? How about that? Whatever.’ Like I said, it’s a collaboration. I love all of that.

“I feel like there’s so much [in my head] that’s just forcing it’s way out, and I have to control it. You don’t want to annoy people. You want to help and encourage. You don’t want to make them see you and be like [frustrated sigh]. So I did a bit of this when I was in NXT. I was on the headsets a couple times.

Hero then noted that he did some producing with IWC in Pittsburgh, and he described how he gained experience working with talent in a behind-the-scenes capacity.

“Then there’s a group in Pittsburgh called IWC,” Hero said. “Last year, I came in and produced about eight or nine shows, something around there, for them, where I’d write out a format for the whole show, we’d look at all the segments, we’d figure out what’s going on, and then you would go one-on-one with each segment, with each talent, and give them broad strokes of what’s expected from them.

“You let them put stuff together, and then you come back to them later and kind of check back in. There’s some matches [where] there’s really not a lot of direction, and then there’s some where it’s like, ‘We need these things to happen in this way so that we can get where we’re going.’ 

After detailing his work with West Coast Pro, Hero described how this work helped prepare him for his current responsibilities with AEW and Ring of Honor. He then stated that his work behind the scenes will be beneficial when he eventually returns to the ring.

“Working with talent on a show basis, where you’re going matches one to eight or whatever it is, has prepared me for coming in and doing a couple matches for AEW or for Ring of Honor, where I have much less responsibility,” Hero said. “It’s also not my ideas. It’s not something I’m coming up with and trying to convey to the talent. It’s like, ‘Hey, this is what we want. Let them know what we want and help them figure it out.’ Then getting questions from them and seeing if I can find an answer to that, and [going] back and forth.

“I just think when I eventually do come back to the ring and start having matches, this just better prepares me for learning different aspects of pro wrestling and different ways to do things, and not being so set in your one specific way that you would do things 99 out of a 100 times. It’s also trying different things. You never know what extra little thing you do is gonna make such a big difference.”

Hero also described how his methods of being a coach/producer are a work in progress. He noted that there’s no book that talk about this side of the business, so he’s trying to figure it out as he goes.

“It’s all a work in progress. It’s funny,’ Hero said. “As expansive as pro wrestling is, and you can see over my left shoulder, there’s a bookshelf that’s all wrestling books I’ve got, but there’s nothing in there, there’s zero books that talk about the aspect of helping produce a pro wrestling match, and the things you can do and the things that you should do, the things that will prepare you for success.

“So it is taking these lessons that I’ve learned throughout my career, and then also working closely with others in that field to try to figure out what works for them, and then trying something and making sure that you don’t sh— the bed.”

AEW CEO Tony Khan recently noted that he is “chipping away at” Hero when a fan wrote that they wanted to see him wrestle. More information is available here.

The full interview is available here: