Former ROH World Champion Xavier Passes Away At 43
RIP to the former ROH standout.
Former Ring Of Honor World Champion Johnny 'Xavier' Bedoya has passed away at just 43 years old.
PWInsider broke the news on Sunday night, with ROH following up with an official statement soon after. The cause of death is yet to be revealed.
Xavier was a true ROH original, appearing on the promotion's first ever show, February 2002's The Era of Honor Begins, before competing in the Road to the Title tournament to crown a number one contender to the ROH World Championship. Though he fell at the first round, Xavier was eventually given a shot for repeated victories over rival Scoot Andrews, defeating Low-Ki to become ROH's second champion in September 2002.
A run in the Christopher Daniels-helmed Prophecy stable followed. Xavier mounted successful title defences against Jay Briscoe, AJ Styles, and Paul London before dropping the strap to Samoa Joe in March 2003, after which he largely operated on a more sporadic basis, working his last ROH match in February 2007.
Xavier, who hadn't wrestled since 2016, was scheduled to return to the ring to face Jay Lethal at ROH's Past vs. Present event in March. This was cancelled due to the global health crisis.
We at WhatCulture wish to express our deepest thoughts and condolences to Bedoya's family and friends at this difficult time.