Richards signed to Extreme Championship Wrestling on June 26, 1994 as, Steve Richards, in a preliminary wrestling role. His first appearance was on the June 28 episode of ECW Wrestling, teaming with Hack Meyers in a loss to Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr..
Shortly after his return, Richards was given a valet, Angel. At Heat Wave on July 16, 1994, he lost to Tommy Dreamer. In late 1994, Richards developed an "identity crisis", performing under the ring names "Stevie Flamingo", "Stevie the Body", and "Stevie Polo" — all references to former ring names used by Raven. After sustaining another loss to Dreamer, Richards became irate and claimed he would present "the real Johnny Polo". On the January 7, 1995 episode of ECW Hardcore TV, Raven made his ECW debut, with Richards as the first member of Raven's Nest, Raven's stable of lackeys. Immediately upon debuting in ECW, Raven began feuding with Dreamer.
On April 8, 1995, at Three Way Dance, Raven revealed that he and Dreamer had attended summer camp together as teenagers, where Raven slept with Beulah McGillicutty, an overweight girl with acne who had been spurned by Dreamer. Richards then revealed that he had tracked down McGillicutty, who was now a Penthouse model, who also harbored a grudge against Dreamer. Later that night, Raven wrestled Dreamer for the first time, defeating him following interference from both Richards and McGillicutty. The feud between Raven and Dreamer would continue for another two years, with Dreamer constantly unable to pin Raven.
As a member of Raven's Nest, Richards began wearing jean shorts and half shirts for glam metal bands. His behavior attracted the scorn of commentator Joey Styles, who repeatedly described him as a "clueless putz".
On June 30, 1995, Raven and Richards defeated The Public Enemy to win the ECW World Tag Team Championship.
In mid-1995, Dreamer brought Luna Vachon to ECW to counter the continual interference from Richards and Raven's Nest. At Hardcore Heaven on July 1, 1995, Raven and Richards defeated Dreamer and Vachon in a tag team match. Two weeks later at Heat Wave, Vachon defeated Richards in a cage match.
In the summer of 1995, an unnamed woman began appearing in the audience during Richards matches. On August 26, 1995, Richards introduced her to Joey Styles as his girlfriend, Francine. Francine began accompanying to Richards to ringside, but tensions quickly arose between her and McGillicutty. On August 26, 1995, McGillicutty defeated Francine after Richards turned on her by superkicking her at the behest of Raven. Francine subsequently aligned herself with The Pitbulls, helping them defeat Raven and Richards for the ECW World Tag Team Championship at Gangstas Paradise on September 16, 1995. Raven and Richards regained the titles from The Pitbulls on October 7, 1995, only to lose them to The Public Enemy later that evening.
At November to Remember on November 18, 1995, Richards introduced a lackey of his own, The Blue Meanie. Over the following year, Richards and The Blue Meanie would perform numerous parodies of other wrestlers, including "Baron von Stevie" and "Colonel DeMeanie"; "Lord Stevie" and "Sir Meanie"; "Stevie Alexander Bagwell" and "Meanie Riggs"; and "Flyboy Stevie Rock" and "Meanie Grunge". In late 1995, Richards received another lackey, Super Nova.
During the opening of Holiday Hell on December 29, 1995, Richards received a kiss from Missy Hyatt, who was seated at ringside, after claiming he could get her "a date with Raven" in return. Later that evening, Richards and The Blue Meanie were squashed by Dreamer in consecutive matches. Dreamer went on to face Raven, who defeated him yet again after repeated interference from Richard and The Blue Meanie. At House Party on January 5, 1996, Richards attempted to kiss McGillicutty, who refused, eventually announcing that she was pregnant. After Raven angrily confronted McGillicutty, she informed him that he was not the father, causing Raven to attack Richards. McGillicutty then revealed that Tommy Dreamer was the father, with Dreamer storming the ring and beating down Raven, Richards and The Blue Meanie.
On February 3, 1996 at Big Apple Blizzard Blast, Richards announced that he was suing Missy Hyatt - who had aligned herself with The Sandman - for sexual harassment. The angle concluded at Natural Born Killaz on August 24, 1996, when Richards offered to drop the lawsuit if Hyatt would insult The Sandman. After Hyatt complied, The Sandman caned her, breaking their alliance.
In August 1996, Richards took part in ECW's first tour of Japan, defeating Keizo Matsuda in a bout in Korakuen Hall. At The Doctor is In, Richards substituted for Raven in his ECW World Heavyweight Championship title defense against The Sandman, with Raven entering the ring at the end of the match and pinning The Sandman.
The relationship between Raven and Richards began to deteriorate in late 1996. At Ultimate Jeopardy on October 5, 1996, Raven was scheduled to team with Brian Lee against Dreamer and The Sandman in a match with Raven's ECW World Heavyweight Championship on the line. After Raven was announced as being unable to compete, Richards substituted for him, with Raven losing his title after The Sandman pinned Richards. Upon his return, Raven blamed Richards for the loss.
At High Incident on October 26, 1996, Richards was involved in one of ECW's most controversial angles, with Raven's Nest "crucifying" The Sandman by tying him to a cross and placing a crown made of barbed wire on his head.
At November to Remember on November 16, 1996, Richards debuted The Blue World Order, a comedy stable parodying The New World Order in World Championship Wrestling. Richards began performing as "Big Stevie Cool", a reference to nWo member Kevin Nash. Later that night, Richards inadvertently superkicked Raven during his ECW World Heavyweight Championship bout against The Sandman. The tensions between Raven and Richards continued to build until, on December 28, 1996, Richards turned on Raven by superkicking him during a match with The Sandman.
At Crossing the Line Again on February 1, 1997, Raven scored an upset victory over "Dr. Death" Steve Williams after interference from Richards backfired. At CyberSlam on February 22, 1997, Richards and The Blue World Order came to the ring to berate Raven and Brian Lee, who had given a concussion to Terry Funk. After Lee chokeslammed Richards, Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman entered the ring, eventually fighting off Raven and Lee. Dreamer then helped Richards to his feet and the two shook hands, marking an end to their lengthy rivalry.
As part of an agreement between ECW and the World Wrestling Federation, Richards and several other ECW wrestlers appeared on the February 24, 1997 episode of Raw is War, with Richards defeating Little Guido.
At Hostile City Showdown on March 15, 1997, Richards faced Raven and Dreamer in a three-way dance for Raven's ECW World Heavyweight Championship. The match was won by Raven. At ECW's first pay-per-view, Barely Legal on April 13, 1997, Richards faced Terry Funk and The Sandman in a triple threat match, with the winner facing Raven for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship in the main event. The match was won by Funk, who went on to defeat Raven.
On the May 1, 1997 episode of ECW Hardcore TV, a controversial angle took place in which a morose Raven confronted Richards, telling him he had one final "mission" for him. Raven then attacked Richards before begging him to "end my pain". At The Buffalo Invasion on May 11, 1997, Raven and Richards reformed their tag team to face Dreamer and Funk, with Richards pinning Funk despite bickering with Raven throughout the match. In the main event, Raven, Richards, Funk and The Sandman faced one another in a four-way elimination match for Funk's ECW World Heavyweight Championship. During the match, Raven DDT'ed both Funk and The Sandman and then demanded that Richards pin them and then lay down for him. Richards refused, instead superkicking Raven and enabling Funk and The Sandman to pin him.
During an ECW World Heavyweight Championship title match in May 1997, Richards suffered a neck injury when Terry Funk slammed the metal guardrail onto his back and neck, and announced his retirement from professional wrestling. He made his final appearance with ECW on the May 29, 1997 episode of ECW Hardcore TV.
Richards broke his retirement in August 1997, signing a contract with World Championship Wrestling. He made his debut on the July 13, 1997 episode of WCW Monday Nitro, confronting Raven, who had also just signed with WCW. At Clash of the Champions XXXV on August 21, 1997, Raven defeated Richards in a no disqualification match. In September 1997, Richards rejoined Raven, sitting with him in the audience during WCW events.
In 1999, Richards joined the WWF. He debuted on the August 15, 1999 episode of Sunday Night Heat, helping his old bWo partner, The Blue Meanie, win a match against Al Snow. The two formed a short-lived tag team, before Richards adopted an impersonator gimmick.
Mocking other wrestler's gimmicks, he appeared as an Acolyte, a Dudley Boy and a vampire of The Brood, until briefly settling on Mick Foley's Dude Love persona. After that, he impersonated Test, Chyna, and Chris Jericho, before being sidelined by an ankle injury. He returned to wrestle matches on Jakked and Metal, where he lost more often than not. He challenged both Dean Malenko and Scotty 2 Hotty for the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship in this period, unsuccessfully.
After Sable left the WWF, Richards and The Blue Meanie filmed a series of vignettes lampooning her titled "The Blonde Bytch Project". One vignette aired on the August 23 edition of Raw.
Richards returned to Raw on June 26, 2000, with a new look and gimmick: shorthaired and in a shirt and tie. Over the next few weeks, he cut promos condemning the risqué content of WWF programming and preaching conservative values. He became a full-fledged heel, formalized his name to Steven Richards and formed a stable known as the Right to Censor. He spoke for, managed and tag teamed with his recruits: The Godfather (renamed the Goodfather), Bull Buchanan, Ivory, and Val Venis. When Chyna was featured in Playboy magazine, Right to Censor objected, and feuded with her and her boyfriend, Eddie Guerrero.
After Right to Censor broke up, Richards disappeared from television for a short time. He returned to SmackDown! to cut a promo condemning The Undertaker for attacking Right to Censor and causing it to disband. When The Undertaker confronted Richards, KroniK attacked him. Richards announced his alliance with the WCW tag team, thus becoming a de facto member of The Alliance. He managed Kronik in a match against The Undertaker and Kane, after which Kronik was released from the WWF.
Richards then appeared mainly on the "B shows", Jakked and Metal, until Team Alliance lost at Survivor Series in 2001. Richards was then fired (in storylines) along with the rest of the Alliance roster by Vince McMahon. Ric Flair, however, was able to save his job and get him drafted to the Raw brand. There, he became a twenty-two-time Hardcore Champion, trading it several times with Bubba Ray Dudley, Booker T, Crash Holly, Shawn Stasiak, Justin Credible, Bradshaw, Terri, and Tommy Dreamer.
Richards formed an alliance with Victoria in late 2002, as a mentally unbalanced couple helping each other win their matches. He often helped her retain the WWE Women's Championship. This led to a feud with Bubba Ray Dudley and Trish Stratus, who would win their titles in a tag team match on Raw. As Victoria turned face, the duo quietly separated.
Around this time, he proclaimed himself "General Manager of Heat", a title which carried no actual authority. In August 2004, Richards began appearing in drag as "The Mystery Woman" during Victoria's matches, helping her win. The Mystery Woman's painfully obvious identity was "revealed" at Unforgiven, after "she" saved Victoria from Tyson Tomko and Trish Stratus. Richards then quickly lost an impromptu match to Tomko. He went on a losing streak on Heat from April 19, 2004 until December 3, 2006, when he defeated Rene Dupree. Richards was legitimately injured during the Raw debut match of Chris Masters in February 2005, when a botched Polish hammer broke his nose and orbital bone. After healing, Richards faced Masters in a rematch, but lost again.
Richards appeared at the ECW reunion event, ECW One Night Stand in 2005, reuniting with his bWo comrades and proclaiming "We have only three words for you. We're taking over!" He then dropped The Sandman with a Stevie Kick.
Richards was traded to SmackDown! on June 30, 2005, and reformed the bWo with Nova and The Blue Meanie. At The Great American Bash, the bWo lost to The Mexicools (Juventud Guerrera, Psicosis, and Super Crazy) in a six-man tag team match.
Richards then had a short stint on WWE Velocity, dropping the bWo gimmick as he lost to Hardcore Holly and Booker T. After September 6, he disappeared from television for over six months. He returned for an 18-man interpromotional battle royal at WrestleMania 22.
Shortly after the introduction of the ECW brand in 2006, Richards left the SmackDown! brand to join it on the "WWE vs ECW Head to Head" show on June 7, 2006. He wrestled on ECW's weekly show under his old ring name of Stevie Richards. He soon returned to his heel persona, turning on the other ECW Originals and siding with the newer stars. His first win on ECW's weekly show was on September 5, 2006, over Balls Mahoney, after interference from Kevin Thorn, who was feuding with Mahoney at the time.
Richards wrestled before the ECW brand's first pay-per-view, December to Dismember, defeating Rene Dupree in a dark match. Other than this match, he did not appear on ECW between September 2006 (when he joined up with the first version of ECW's New Breed - Test, Mike Knox and Hardcore Holly) and February 2007 (when he lost to CM Punk for a second time).
Richards was a lumberjack in the pre-WrestleMania 23 lumberjack tag team match. He then went on to lose to CM Punk three more times. In mid-2007, Richards turned face again, and teamed with Tommy Dreamer against The New Breed on house shows, replacing The Sandman (who was drafted to Raw) in the ECW Originals.
On July 24, Richards defeated Kevin Thorn by reversing a crucifix powerbomb into a backslide pin. This was his first victory on WWE television since December 2006. In a rematch the next week, he was dominated, yet again defeated Thorn, via roll-up. On August 7, he was ambushed by Thorn while giving an interview backstage. He again defeated Thorn on August 14 by a reverse decision disqualification, when Thorn continued to assault him after initially winning the match. Richards ambushed Thorn during an interview the next week. He teamed with Tommy Dreamer and lost to Thorn and Elijah Burke. A week later, he teamed with CM Punk and defeated them.
Richards was eliminated from the Elimination Chase for the ECW Championship on the September 18 episode of ECW. He then disappeared from WWE programming to have throat surgery.
Richards made his return on the February 12, 2008 episode of ECW, defeating Rory Fox with his signature Stevie-T. He beat James Curtis next, then Mike Knox (Richards' final victory on WWE television).
In the following months, Richards wrestled in the pre-WrestleMania XXIV 24-man battle royal, lost to Shelton Benjamin, The Great Khali and Mike Knox in singles matches, teamed with Kelly Kelly to lose to Mike Knox and Layla, and was one of fourteen ECW wrestlers who faced Triple H and Mr. Kennedy in a 14-on-2 handicap match on Raw. He commentated on the Extreme Rules match between Mike Knox and Tommy Dreamer on the 100th episode of ECW.
Richards remained on the ECW brand after the June 2008 Draft, but wrestled his final three WWE matches on SmackDown!. He lost to Vladimir Kozlov twice in July 2008, and to The Brian Kendrick on August 15. He was released from his WWE contract shortly thereafter.