This past weekend, independent wrestling veteran Erick Stevens made his way back to Germany for the first time in 16 years, competing once again in the most prestigious tournament in independent wrestling, wXw’s 16 Carat Gold.
Stevens’ weekend started on Thursday, March 5th at wXw’s Inner Circle 19, where he defeated CSI member Luca de Leone. On the next evening, Stevens would compete in the 16 Carat Gold tournament for the first time since 2010, defeating Bobby Gunns in the opening round. He would advance to Night 2 where he was eliminated from the tournament by Dragon Gate legend YAMATO.
On Night 3 of 16 Carat Gold weekend, Stevens competed in non-tournament action, as he teamed up with Bobby Gunns in tag team action against wXw Unified World Wrestling Champion Elijah Blum and Japanese legend Minoru Suzuki; ending a huge weekend for the 23 year veteran.
Early this morning, Stevens took to social media and spoke on his return to wXw in Germany and competing in one of the top tournaments in all of professional wrestling.
“Where do I begin? Back in June I decided to head down the road to The Dark Arts Gym to see an old friend. 7 months later I’m back in Oberhausen for my third 16 Carat. To say that the experience was surreal would be an understatement. I was reunited with old friends and met plenty of new ones. I got to watch tons of great wrestling matches, many of which gave me a glimpse into the bright future of the business. I got to share the ring with one of the best wrestlers in Europe, a Dragon Gate legend, the wXw Champion, and The King of Pro Wrestling himself. When it comes to the fans, you’ll never experience a louder or more passionate group than the wXw faithful, especially at 16 Carat. It was an honor and a pleasure to perform for them while competing in the most prestigious tournament in independent wrestling. That said, my performance didn’t meet my own lofty standards…But that’s the story of my life. I will take the bad along with good and focus on getting better. Because while an old dog may not be able to learn new tricks, he can improve the ones he already has. Thank you for having me. I will never forget this experience. As far as those “Please come back” chants…Well, I’ve learned that in professional wrestling we should never say “goodbye”. Instead, I’ll just say: See you later!”
All the events part of wXw’s 16 Carat Gold weekend can be watched anytime on IWTV or TrillerTV+.
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