Singapore’s First WWE Star Dante Chen Returns To The Ring Where It All Began
I've been following CHEN - formerly known as WWE's Dante Chen and born Sean Tan - for close to a decade, from his earliest days competing in Singapore Pro Wrestling (SPW) to the moment he left home to pursue his dream in the United States.
Through Kick To The Gut, the local wrestling podcast I co-host, I had a front-row seat watching his journey unfold. Seeing him develop from a young Singaporean wrestler with big ambitions to the country’s first WWE Superstar truly brought me a sense of patriotic pride. He’s one of us and he made it!
After five years on the WWE developmental roster NXT, CHEN was unfortunately released from his contract earlier this year. Seeing the news broke my heart, but I was nonetheless proud of his accomplishments.
So, when I reconnected with him this week at an east-side industrial building, ahead of his huge homecoming match, there was a certain sense of familiarity. But the man who greeted me with a firm handshake was no longer the young wrestler I remembered.
Now 30, CHEN carries himself with the confidence of someone who has spent years navigating the demanding world of professional wrestling. There's a maturity in the way he speaks about his career, the people who shaped him, and the opportunities ahead. His experiences in NXT, performing in front of audiences overseas, and sharing a locker room with big names in wrestling have clearly left their mark.
We sat down at ringside in the SPW training facility, a fitting place to revisit the journey that brought him here. From his beginnings in Singapore to the realities of life in WWE, we spoke about the lessons he picked up along the way and what it means to step into a Singapore ring after more than five years away.
But before any of that, there was something more personal to discuss: coming home.
I’ve followed CHEN’s wrestling career since he was a teenager, dating back to the early 2010s. IMAGE: FARHAN SHAFIE
A homecoming five years in the making
For CHEN, returning to Singapore to wrestle was never a question of if, but when. “Coming back to Singapore for wrestling was always inevitable to me,” he shares.
Yet, when the opportunity finally became reality, it carried an emotional significance he didn't anticipate. When CHEN left Singapore to pursue his WWE career, he didn't get the opportunity to announce his departure or say goodbye to the local wrestling community.
This time, he gets to do that in person, by stepping back into the ring. It's a full-circle moment for a wrestler whose journey began in the local scene, where he spent years honing his craft before earning an opportunity that few Singaporeans in the industry have ever received.
While the occasion is undoubtedly a celebration, CHEN is returning as a very different performer. “I would be surprised about how much I've grown mentally,” he says, reflecting on the person who left Singapore five years ago. “I feel like I'm always a kid. I feel like I've never grown up.”
There's something rather fitting about that sentiment. Despite travelling the world and experiencing a career that once seemed like a distant childhood ambition, he still sees himself as the same kid who fell in love with wrestling.
The difference is that he now has the experience to understand what it takes to keep that dream alive.
Learning to control the controllable
Being signed to WWE is an achievement many aspiring wrestlers spend their entire careers chasing. For CHEN, it meant leaving Singapore and immersing himself in an environment where the expectations were higher and every aspect of his craft was scrutinised.
His time in NXT, WWE's developmental system, gave him the opportunity to approach wrestling in a more structured way. Before joining the company, he was largely experimenting in the ring, trying different things and figuring out what worked.
At WWE, the emphasis was on learning to refine individual skills. “They are very big on being coachable, being able to take what they are teaching you and applying it to your craft,” he says.
It was an environment where he found himself alongside a generation of wrestlers who would go on to become major names. Among his contemporaries were Bron Breakker, Grayson Waller, Carmelo Hayes and Tony D'Angelo. Meanwhile, CHEN took on a different role, developing his skills as he gained experience working with wrestlers on the rise.
His WWE journey also taught him a valuable lesson in managing expectations. CHEN felt he was at his peak in 2024. However, towards the tail end of his run, he recognised the company had its priorities and certain performers were positioned for bigger opportunities. “I was just being realistic about it,” he explains.
It was an honest assessment of a competitive business, rather than an expression of bitterness. CHEN understood that his career would have to continue evolving, whether that happened within WWE or beyond it.
That ability to adapt is something he traces back to an unexpected source: his National Service experience. Before pursuing wrestling full-time, CHEN completed his studies and expected to enter a polytechnic of his choice. When he didn't receive any of his preferred placements, he enlisted into the army within two weeks. It was a turning point that taught him to deal with circumstances beyond his control.
He recalls advice from John Cena, who regularly reminded those around him to “control the controllable”. “If you worry too much about things that are out of your control, then you're practically stressing over something that you shouldn't be,” CHEN says.
It's a lesson that has stayed with him through the uncertainty of a wrestling career, where opportunities, bookings and career trajectories aren't always within a performer's control.
From Singapore to the world
Life in the United States meant learning how to stay connected to home while pursuing a career far away. For CHEN, that came through regular phone calls, keeping up with Singapore's wrestling scene and making time to visit friends and family.
He became an unofficial ambassador for Singapore among his colleagues in Florida. The first thing people would associate with Singapore, he jokes, was the movie "Crazy Rich Asians". It was a small but amusing reminder of how far he had travelled from home and how much of Singapore he carried with him.
His experiences wrestling internationally have also given him a broader appreciation of how different audiences connect with the sport. Having performed in North America and Japan, CHEN says the backstage wrestling culture shares similar expectations of professionalism and respect.
The bigger differences lie in the audiences. In Japan, he observed that fans tend to be particularly passionate and vocal about their feelings towards wrestling. In North America, audiences are more drawn to a wrestler's character and showmanship.
These experiences helped shape his understanding of professional wrestling. Now, he hopes to bring some of that knowledge back to the local scene.
Giving back to the scene that raised him
Having spent years wrestling in a single country and promotion, CHEN remembers wondering how much further Singapore wrestling could develop. Returning with an international perspective has only reinforced his belief that there's still plenty of room for growth.
One of the most practical ways to improve the local scene is through greater exposure to international talent and experience. “It's as simple as bringing my experience back here to share with everyone, to improve the competition among the roster,” he says.
He sees potential in SPW's ability to reach out to the wider wrestling community and attract established performers to its shows. The ambition, however, is not simply to bring in bigger names for the sake of putting on a spectacle. It's about creating an environment where local wrestlers can continue learning and eventually find opportunities beyond Singapore.
For aspiring wrestlers, CHEN's advice is to understand that the profession involves far more than what happens inside the ring. Before leaving Singapore, he was balancing school and work while keeping his long-term ambitions firmly in sight. That meant making different choices. “It’s going to the gym when all your friends are going out for dinner,” he says.
He also highlights the importance of looking after one's body, managing time, paying attention to appearance and learning how to communicate with people. “There are so many aspects to wrestling,” he explains. “Making sure what your end goal is, it's very important, and you need to constantly have that in your line of sight.”
The match, the mentor and the meaning of coming home
On 13 Nov 2026, at SPW Onslaught, CHEN will return to the Singapore ring for the first time in more than five years. His opponent is The Statement, a familiar face who has been part of his wrestling journey inside and outside the ring.
The two have spent years alongside one another, sometimes as partners and at other times as opponents. Their relationship extends beyond professional wrestling, making this especially meaningful.
“He's going to experience how much I've changed and have grown as a wrestler,” CHEN explains. “But at the same time, I'm going to have to experience how much he's changed as well.”
It's a meeting between two performers who have grown up in the same wrestling scene, now reunited after taking very different journeys.
And CHEN's own journey is far from over.
Now a free agent, he's open to exploring opportunities wherever they may arise, whether that means returning to a major promotion or building his career independently.
But his immediate priority is refreshingly straightforward: more wrestling. His biggest goal is to be immersed in the profession, to have more matches in a year, and to simply stay busy doing what he loves.
And there's little time to rest after his homecoming. For a travelling wrestler, the constant movement can be more challenging than the matches. “It's always one day at a time,” he says. “You can't be too concerned about what's five steps ahead; just focus on what's right in front of you, tackle that and proceed on to the next.”
Perhaps this is the most fitting way to describe where CHEN finds himself today. He has spent years chasing a dream, adapting to setbacks and learning to navigate a business where the next opportunity is never guaranteed.
When I ask what he wants to say to Singaporeans pursuing their own dreams, his answer is simple: “Don't let the doubters get to your head. Focus on your end goal. If you put enough time and effort into it, you will reach it.”
Five years ago, CHEN left Singapore without properly saying goodbye. Now, he returns as a former WWE Superstar and a more experienced wrestler with a story that has come full circle. This time, he gets to thank the people who were there from the beginning in the best way he knows how: inside the ring.
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