Rezin Biography

Erik Black was born and raised in a small Indiana town. Backyard wrestling became a means of escape from a dysfunctional home life of impoverishment and abuse. In these formative years, he adopted his first wrestling identity, the masked daredevil EL CABRON, and emigrated from his home to Japan as soon as he was eighteen to pursue a life and career in professional wrestling.

Though young and rough around the edges, El Cabrón gained a bit of notoriety for his daring maneuvers and hardcore stunts. He was eventually discovered by entrepreneur and talent manager Nathan Fear, who brought him back to the states to be the high-flying tag partner to the giant Russian powerhouse, Ivan Dalkichev. As THE CRIMSON CALLING, Fear brought the team of Black and Dalkichev to Insanity Wrestling Federation, owned and managed by longtime friend and business partner Jason "Stalker" Reeves. With Fear briefly serving as manager, the duo of Black and Dalkichev eventually moved on to Empire Pro Wrestling and A-1 Entertainment, capturing the Tag Team Championships in those promotions. The team eventually split, with Black pursuing his solo career under the stoner clown gimmick DOPESMOKER.

Though unconventional in his approach to the sport, Dopesmoker made waves in both Empire Pro and New ERA of Wrestling, capturing the Television Title in the latter company. He slowly established himself as an incredible and reliable worker through sheer persistence and his unconditional love for wrestling, and his career showed a promising future. Unfortunately, he grew increasingly frustrated with how he was looked upon by the other talent in the locker room, who refused to take him seriously as a competitor on account of his care-free work ethic and lack of interest in climbing the ladder. Combined along with years of suffering from an unchecked inferiority complex, this eventually resulted in Black's mindset eroding into something vindictive, spiteful, and downright rotten. Adopting the new persona of REZIN, he turned his back on the fans and dedicated his talents and ambitions to a path of anger and destruction.

Embracing his own personal dark side, Rezin unleashed his hatred on those who once looked down on him, redefining himself as a relentless foe and provocateur. He targeted the successful, the proud, and the ambitious, at one point allying himself with his former employer and mentor Stalker, working toward his ultimate goal of breaking the illusion of "success" in professional wrestling. His career culminated at Empire Pro's final event Wrestleverse V, when he won both the Television and International Championships in a title unification match.

In the years that followed, Black readopted the mantle of El Cabrón and bounced around the independent leagues. 

PRIME Wrestling, Phoenix Wrestling Alliance, Empire Pro Wrestling  

PRIME Universal Championship, PRIME Five Star Championship, EPW Television Championship, EPW International Championship, EPW Tag Team Championships  

Breakout DEFIANT of the Year (2021), Segment of the Year (2021) w/ Henry Keyes, Ongoing Storyline of the Year (2020) w/ Stalker  

Maniacal, chaos-obsessed crust-punk. A living force of negativity and nihilism. A prophet of doom and anarchy. An enemy to hope and pride. A tragic clown who laughs with delight at the dark comedy of existence. His primary ambitions are foiling the glory-seekers and amusing himself by spreading a healthy dose of pain, suffering, and misery. Zero frigs given about titles or win-loss ratios. Rudo luchador when working below the border. The kind of guy who says he lives off the grid and looks like he's been hand-to-mouthing it around the country for the past few years. Idolizes fictional villains like The Joker perhaps a bit too much.

Began his career as a high-flying hardcore spot monkey, but has spent the better part of the past two decades developing his craft to become arguably the best worker on the planet. Very animated in the ring, utilizing a bevy of relentless hard strikes and aerial spots while on offense, relying on quick reversals and trickery when on the receiving end. In terms of ring psychology, he likes to do whatever he can to get under his opponent's skin and throw them off their game plan. Additionally, he'll sometimes target or work over a specific part of the body more as a means to annoy and cripple his foe. If a wrestling match were a game of chess, he'd flip the board over -- his only preferred strategy is chaos. 

1) He has unparalleled speed an maneuverability, and can pull of aerial attacks from almost any location in or around the ring with little time for set-up.
2) He's something of a savant when it comes to making quick, impulsive decisions or spontaneous actions, usually pulling reversals or counterattacks from out of nowhere to turn the tide of a match into his favor at any point.
3) He is incredibly skilled at being annoying, and can easily disrupt his opponent's focus and ring strategy through his constant pestering and antics. 

1) His lightweight stature puts him at a significant strength and size disadvantage against larger opponents, limiting his offensive options.
2) He is emotionally unstable, cocky and comically overconfident when giving punishment, enraged and furious when he can't get the job done, and absurdly panicky and frantic when the tables are turned.
3) Often takes unnecessary risks and/or loses his focus, such as ignoring an obvious pin to put more hurt on his opponent, leaving himself susceptible to a counter.