Story by Lauren Ellis
As soon as his entrance music hits, fans of all ages scream and cheer. The current NECW TV Champion Kris Pyro emerges from the curtain and radiates passion and excitement. He feeds off the audience like gas to a flame. Pyro, whose nickname is “The Heat,“ is far from the biggest guy on the NECW roster. However, what he lacks in physical size, he more than makes up for in ring skills and personality. NECW president, Sheldon Goldberg, recently said “Kris Pyro is one of those talents that create an immediate connection with the audience. He’s one of the most popular wrestlers in NECW history.”
Kris was born in New Bedford Massachusetts in 1985. For as long as he can remember, he has been a huge wrestling fan. He grew up admiring wrestlers like Shawn Michael, Ric Flair and Rey Mysterio. Like a lot of kids who watched the sport, he dreamed of one day being in the ring himself performing for fans. In 1999, Pyro made the call and began training in New Bedford under Brickhouse Baker , “Sweet” Scott Ashworth and “Nightmare” Nick Steele – all former NECW stars.
After training, he began wrestling all over New England and joined the NECW roster in November 2008, making his debut at The Toxic Waltz against Brendon Michael Thomas and also facing Brandon Locke in another match that evening.
Pyro showed the audience that night how much heart he had and gained a lot of respect from the fans and his peers. In May 2009, Kris was one of eight men entered into the IRON 8 Championship Tournament. Pyro considers this one of the biggest accomplishments in his career to date. Although he didn’t win that night, he made his mark in NECW. After less than a year in the promotion, “The Heat” beat Ryan Matthews in August 2009 to become the NECW Television Champion. He has been successfully defending his title for the last 8 months taking on any challenger that comes his way.
Kris Pyro’s success is not a coincidence. His arsenal of moves which include “The Afterburn” which is a tilt-a-whirl Headscissors driver and “The Five Star Frog Splash” make him a tough competitor to any of his opponents. His style is very reminiscent of Rey Mysterio’s to which he has been called “The Rey Mysterio of NECW.” When mentioned to Kris his response was, “That is a huge compliment to me considering that Rey is one of my idols and I do think we have a lot of the same style.” “The Heat’s” comparison to Mysterio goes beyond the ring with both men having a huge fan base. Kris calls his “The Ring Of Fire” and quotes “my fans are the ‘The Ring of Fire’, they surround the ring each time I step into it and they know I’m gonna light it on fire when I perform”. He said his fans inspire him each time he performs and in particular his number one fan named Alex who has been going to all of his shows over the last two years.
“Pyro, in a lot of ways, epitomizes the spirit of NECW,” says Sheldon Goldberg. “He is a local kid who worked his way up and paid his dues. Once he had the chance to perform in NECW, and more people finally saw him, he caught on instantly because people identify with him.”
Pyro has already achieved so much in his short time in NECW, but has many more goals to achieve in the company. His future goals include winning the coveted Triple Crown Championship and winning the IRON 8 Tournament. For the kid who grew up dreaming of being like his heroes on TV, he has made a name for himself in NECW and throughout New England. Now kids watch NECW on Comcast on Demand at home and dream of one day being like their hero, Kris Pyro.
