'Making history is a huge honour': Singapore's first WWE wrestler Dante Chen on his journey and what comes next

SINGAPORE: Losing your job is rarely something to laugh about. But for Singaporean professional wrestler Dante Chen, there was something almost amusing about the way he found out his five-year career with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) was coming to an end.

Chen, whose real name is Sean Tan, made history in 2021 when he became the first Singaporean to wrestle for the American professional wrestling giant, which counts Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and John Cena among its former stars. 

Speaking to CNA in an email interview, the 30-year-old said he had already suspected his time with WWE was up. 

"The night before the phone call happened, I knew it was going to happen the following day," he said.

"The way it happened was amusing to me, and I was even surprised I managed to fall asleep that night," said Chen, who now competes under the ring name CHEN. 

He had been scheduled to compete at a live event the following day, only to be told the night before that he was no longer required.

Shortly after his match was cancelled, WWE sent a company-wide message instructing wrestlers who were not booked for the upcoming NXT event to stay away from both the show and WWE's performance centre. 

That struck Chen as unusual, as wrestlers were ordinarily expected to attend NXT Live! events regardless of whether they were competing.

"As I expected, I got the phone call in the evening," he said.

Chen announced his departure from the company in April , bringing an end to a five-year stint during which he competed primarily on NXT, WWE's developmental brand, without securing a full-time move to its main roster.

But his departure has not dampened his wrestling ambitions.

Since leaving WWE, Chen has competed in a tournament