Local professional wrestler loves the sport, not the flashiness

There will be no outlandish pomp and circumstance when Erick Stevens walks to the ring Aug. 22 in Crown Point, Ind. 

Stevens, 38, believes in the art of technical wrestling in a sport better known for thrown chairs, spurting blood and overall flamboyance. Holds, lifts, bumps ... these are the things he believes separate the best from the rest, not face paint or fancy introductions.

The Lakewood Ranch resident, who was born and raised in Sarasota, will demonstrate his values as part of the independent promotion Black Label Pro's series. 

Even his ring name he keeps simple, only becoming Erick Stevens for clarity's sake.

"My real name (Eric Koenreich) is too hard to pronounce," Stevens said. 

Stevens has been a professional wrestler since he was 20 years old, training under Roderick Strong in Riverview. He got into the sport later than most, he said, when he happened to watch an episode of the WWF's (now WWE) Monday Night Raw.

Stevens said he was drawn to the "monsters" like Sid Vicious and Vader, as well as skilled cruiserweights like Eddie Guerrero. He also got into trading VHS tapes of Japanese wrestlers via message boards. From watching them, he learned that doing the work was more important than creating gimmicks. When he wrestles now, he doesn't want explosions to accompany his walk to the ring. He doesn't dance or pander to the crowd before a match like a lot of modern wrestlers do. In his mind, he's an athlete, not an actor. His personality is that of a tough guy who simply gets in the ring and lets his skills do the talking. 

"You want to have an identity, but you don't want to become a character," Stevens said. "In Japan, wrestling is treated like a sport. It is respected. It is just guys and girls getting after it. In America, people love to Hollywood it up. It can get goofy and, in my opinion, cheesy. I just don't like it. And I've made some enemies for saying that, but that's OK. It's all subjective."

A technical wrestler, in the context of pro wrestling, is a wrestler who is dedicated to making their moves look as realistic (and painful) as possible, both when giving and receiving moves. A lot of the time, this means holds and submission maneuvers as well as counters. It also means knowing a wide variety of moves, which are used to create chains of action that flow seamlessly together. As most moves in a given match are improvised, it takes a lot of coordination between wrestlers to create these sequences. In addition to the wrestlers Stevens idolized, older examples of technical wrestlers include Dean Malenko, known as "The Man of 1,000 Holds," and Bret "The Hitman" Hart. 

Sticking to the basics worked well for Stevens, who is a 6-foot, 250-pounder. He began his career in 2003 and rose the professional ranks, landing a contract with Ring of Honor Wrestling, one of the top independent promotions, in 2007. He stayed with Ring of Honor for three years and was impressive enough to be ranked No. 128 on Pro Wrestling Illustrated's annual list of the top-500 wrestlers in the world in 2010.

Like most professional wrestlers, Stevens has acted as both a "face" (a protagonist) and a "heel" (an antagonist) during his career. He's wrestled popular stars like Colt Cabana, but Stevens said his favorite matches will always be his long-running feud with his trainer and best friend Roderick Strong, which began in Full Impact Pro Wrestling and carried over to Ring of Honor. The two worked well together stylistically, he said.

"People (in wrestling circles) still talk about those matches to this day," Stevens said. 

By the time he left Ring of Honor, Stevens said, the sport was starting to weigh on him. The extensive travel and the constant physical discomfort took a toll on his mental health. Stevens was performing outside of Florida twice a month, he said, wrestling two shows during each trip. He decided to retire, opting to open a powerlifting gym in Sarasota instead. Fast forward 10 years and much has changed. Instead of a gym, Stevens makes his money from an online cookie business, Kookies and Kream Sarasota, that he runs with his wife,  Kelsea Koenreich. Then in 2019, Stevens decided to return to wrestling. 

"Every year since [2010], multiple times a year, I would think, 'I wonder if I could come back,'" Stevens said. "Then I would talk myself out of it because I was scared of failing. Finally, my wife said to me, 'If that's the only thing stopping you, that's dumb.' Did I want to go to my grave wondering 'What if?' And the answer was no. I made the decision to try. If I failed, that would be OK.

"I don't want a contract anywhere. I don't need the money. I'm just happy to be there. I feel more confident now than when I first returned. I know I'm one of the best among the independents. If I have a goal, I guess it is to prove that to other people."