10 Live Observations From ROH's War Of The Worlds In NYC
9. People Hate BJ Whitmer
BJ Whitmer first debuted for Ring of Honor in 2003, and while he was a heel aligned with The Prophecy early in his career, his feud with Jimmy Jacobs eventually made him a popular babyface. He would turn heel again, though, forming The Hangman's Three before leaving the company - and wrestling - in 2008.
Whitmer returned to ROH in 2012, and four years later, he's the most hated man in the organization. It's not because he's the best heel on the roster or because he's in the main event - it's because people truly, legitimately hate him.
Why all the rancor? Well, for starters, he's not very good in the ring. He was never much more than capable, even in ROH's early days, but in an era where the best wrestling from all around the world is more accessible than ever, an aging Whitmer doesn't cut it. His matches are usually met with chants of "Please retire!"
He also happens to be good at taking the fact that fans already don't like him and manipulating them to really get under their skin. At War of the Worlds, Whitmer didn't wrestle, but he did cut a promo on Steve Corino. Whitmer only delivered a few sentences' worth of verbiage, but it took several minutes to get out with all the booing and chanting.
Whitmer, for his part, played it perfectly. He pretended he wasn't able to hear the fans, and stood there smirking as we chanted.