Sean Tan Li Hao (born January 20, 1996) is a Singaporean professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE where he performs on the NXTbrand, under the ring nameDante Chen. He is best known for being the first Singaporean and Southeast Asian wrestler to sign with the WWE.[3][4]
Early life
Sean Tan Li Hao was born in Singapore on January 20, 1996.[5] Tan grew up in Woodlands.[6] As a child, his elder brother introduced him to WWE video games, sparking his interest in professional wrestling.[7] Tan attended Assumption English School for secondary education and later earned a certificate in Business at ITE College West.[6] From 2015 to 2017, Tan served in the Singapore Army.[8][9] After completing his military service, he earned a diploma in Health Management and Promotion from Republic Polytechnic in 2020.[10]
Professional wrestling career
Singapore Pro Wrestling (2013–2021)
Early career and Onslaught (2013–2016)
Tan joined Singapore Pro Wrestling (SPW) in January 2013, as a trainee after running into SPW founder Andruew Tang at a gym.[11] Tan trained under SPW founders Tang and Vadim Koryagin, debuting as Trexxus on 31 January at SPW New Year Rumble against Sebastian Turini after just 4 weeks of training. This set the national record for the fastest debut, which stood for over 9 years until Varun Khanna broke it in 2022.[12] His parents were initially unsupportive, believing wrestling was too violent, they eventually came around after seeing his dedication and passion.[8] In 2014, Trexxus teamed with Tang to form Onslaught. The duo won the inaugural SPW Tag Team Championship by defeating MK & Affi at SPW: Breakthrough.[13] Onslaught defended their title against Bit Man and Ho Ho Lun at SPW Prove 3. However, on 10 May 2015, they relinquished the championships due to Trexxus's national service commitments.[9] The duo were joined by Destroyer Dharma, who become an ally of Trexxus.[14]
SPW Southeast Asian Champion (2017–2018)
In January 2017, Trexxus defeated his former tag partner Tang at SPW Unchained In Changi to become the youngest SPW Southeast Asian Champion at 21.[15] In 2017, Trexxus retained his SPW Championship by defeating Jason Lee in March, Masahiro Takanashi in October, and EK Baki in December.[16] In February 2018, Trexxus faced Lokomotiv, but was disqualified after striking him with the title belt. GM Carl Hella restarted the match as a chairs match, where Lokomotiv defeated Trexxus to win the SEA Championship.[17]
Championship pursuits and final feuds (2018–2021)
In 2018, Trexxus teamed with Tang and Aiden Rex to defeat the trio of Pete Dunne, Wolfgang and Mark Davis in a 3 on 3 match.[18] In his final years in SPW, he chased the SPW SEA Championship many times, participating in rivalries with Aiden Rex and The Statement.[19] At SPW Atonement, Trexxus attempted to reclaim the SEA Championship in a four-way match against Jake de Leon, Lokomotiv, and Tang, but Tang won. In 2019, Trexxus teamed with Tang and Da Butcherman to face Cima, Shaolin Monk, and Kenny Omega, but later that year, he and Butcherman lost to Tang in a three-way SEA title match..[20][21] In February 2020, Trexxus faced Aiden Rex in his final live SPW match.[22] At SPW Prove: Alive & Kicking #1, Dharma turned on Onslaught, teaming with Aiden Rex to defeat Tang and Trexxus.[23] Trexxus's final SPW match came behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2021, he lost a Title vs. Career match to The Statement, ending his nearly 9-year run in SPW.[24][25]
WWE (2021–present)
In 2019, Tan was invited for WWE tryouts in Shanghai, alongside Andruew Tang, and Alexis Lee. During the tryout, Tan appeared on WWE social media stating he wanted to one day be a WWE Hall of Famer.[26] He was recruited immediately after the tryouts, and given permission to complete his studies. Although he graduated in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he only moved to Orlando, Florida in mid-2021.[27]
NXT (2021–present)
Tan debuted on September 22, 2021 on the NXTbrand under the ring name Dante Chen, winning his first match against Trey Baxter on the newly renamed show, NXT 2.0 . Dante Chen debuted on the 205 Livebrand on 1 October 2021, winning his first match on the show and second in WWE against Malik Blade. Chen was absent from WWE television for 4 months due to a leg injury and his father's passing.[28] After returning in 2022, Chen was attacked by Duke Hudson, thus starting a feud with him.[29] He feuded with Hudson during the first months of 2022,[30] ultimately losing in their singles match.[31] Chen made his debut on NXT Level Up against Javier Bernal in March 2022.[32] Chen continued on NXT Level Up, participating in a feud with Bodhi Hayward, where he won the first match in March, and lose the second in April.[33][34] Over the course of April and May, Chen lost six matches in a row, to various wrestlers including, Xyon Quinn and Sanga.[35] In an effort to win, Chen formed a tag team with Javier Bernal in May, however the duo lost all three of their tag matches, extending his losing streak to nine in a row.[36][37] On the July 8 edition of NXT Level Up, he defeated Myles Borne, ending his losing streak.[38] However, Chen lost to the debuting Axiom the following week.[39] Despite this, on the August 5 edition of NXT Level Up, Chen teamed with Guru Raaj against Bryson Montana and Damaris Griffin, where he picked up his first tag team victory in NXT.[40] In October at an NXT Live Event, Chen dressed up as Rhea Ripley, going viral on social media as he competed in the Halloween Battle Royal Royal.[41][42] On the November 29 edition of NXT, Chen was defeated by Dijak.[43] On the following week's episode of NXT, he was defeated Dabba-Kato in the latter's return match.[44]
On 13 March, Chen made his debut on Main Event, where Cedric Alexander defeated him.[45] Throughout 2023, Chen served as the "gatekeeper" of NXT Level Up, facing the majority of debuting talent on the show, facing the likes of Drew Gulak, Damon Kemp, Charlie Dempsey, Scrypts and many others while also teaming with Boa several times.[46][47] On October 24 at NXT: Halloween Havoc Night 1, Chen was defeated by Lexis King in King's first televised WWE match.[48] Ever since then, Chen has appeared in vignettes alongside Boa, and on the November 7 episode of NXT, he began to sport the same face paint as the latter, confirming their alliance in the process.[49] However, the alliance never made it to television, as eventually Boa was released in May, 2024.[50] Chen returned to Main Event, defeating Tavion Heights and losing to Akira Tozawa.[51][52] On 16 February, Chen made his main roster debut losing to Bron Breakker on SmackDown, thus making him the first Singaporean and Southeast Asian overall to wrestle on the WWE main roster and on SmackDown.[53][54][55]
Chen returned to NXT on the May 21 episode alongside his seemingly new manager, Robert Stone.[56] Chen would score an upset victory over Lexis King, thus restarting their feud from late 2023.[57] On the following week, Chen would defeat King once again, this time in less than two minutes. Following the match, King unleashed an attack on Chen.[58] On the June 4 episode of NXT, Chen blindsided King, leading to the announcement of WWE's first Singapore Cane match in over a decade to take place between them on the following week's episode.[59][60] King would ultimately defeat Chen in the Singapore Cane match, ending the feud.[61] On the July 16 episode of NXT, Chen competed in his first championship match against NXT ChampionEthan Page but failed to win the title.[62] Through August and September, Chen appeared multiple times on Main Event wrestling the likes of Oba Femi and Ilja Dragunov.[63][64]
Tan's favorite wrestler is Shawn Michaels, and people used to refer to him as "Sean Michaels" after he would introduce himself.[7] Tan says he does not have a specific dream match, instead his dream match is any match for a championship and his current goal is to become NXT Champion.[66] However, Tan has said that he enjoys the work of The Miz[67] and wishes to have a match with him.[68][69]
Tan lived in Singapore for 25 years until 2021, when he relocated to Orlando, Florida after being signed by WWE.[70]
Tan's father, Patrick Tan died on 8 November 2021, resulting in him taking an absence from WWE television.[28][71]
