Roderick Strong returns to the indies in 2025.
On October 19th, the former International Champion will lace up his boots for a rival that he's very familiar with down in Ring of Honor - Erick Stevens. DEADLOCK Pro-Wrestling has confirmed that Roderick Strong vs. Erick Stevens has been added to the Super Battle show in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Stevens and Strong fought each other numerous times since the former made his debut in ROH in 2007. Their last match was at ROH Civil Warfare in 2010; Roderick Strong got the victory that night. After 2010, Stevens retired from wrestling altogether. He did wrestle for nine years until the wrestling itch came back and he returned to the sport in 2019.
Stevens fought two more years and retired again in 2020. He came back in 2022. Again. He explained why his social media.
“I’m back.
“I had a long, multi-tweet thread written out, but I scrapped it. The Cliff Notes: Even though my life has not been all sunshine and rainbows as of late, I’m very excited to sleep on airport floors, sit in cramped backseats, and eat beef jerky for dinner.
“I’ve had a lot of time to sit back and watch a lot of footage from the past and the present. I’ve also had time to think about the kind of wrestler and more importantly, the kind of professional I want to be. I love pro wrestling and I can’t wait to get in the ring again.
“I talked a lot of shit about @RichardsWesley based on my experiences from back in the day, but all jokes aside – I’ve been really impressed by the things he’s been doing with Team Ambition.
“The only thing we as humans can do is to admit our flaws and do our best to improve them. My approach to this run is completely different. As an over the hill never was, I want to help the next generation(s) become the best professional wrestlers they can be.”
And he took another hiatus after 2022. He made his return in August and his match against Roderick Strong will be listed as his second bout of the year. This should be a great blast from the past match that puts some eye balls to DEADLOCK Pro-Wrestling.