AEW & WWE Stars React To Death Of Former ROH Champion Xavier

In some unfortunate news that broke last night, professional wrestler Xavier (real name John Bedoya) passed away yesterday at the age of just 42-years-old. The cause of death has not yet been made public.

For those that don’t know, Xavier was the second-ever ROH Champion, defeating Low Ki for the belt in 2002. After news of his death breaking, Ring of Honor released the following statement:

Ring of Honor is saddened to learn of the passing of former ROH World Champion Xavier (John Bedoya). He was 42.

A product of the New York independent wrestling scene, Xavier defeated Low Ki on Sept. 21, 2002 to become the second ROH World Champion. He held the title for 182 days before losing it to Samoa Joe on March 22, 2003.

Xavier made his ROH debut on the company’s first show, The Era of Honor Begins, on Feb. 23, 2002, defeating Scoot Andrews. He last wrestled in ROH in 2007 and retired from pro wrestling in 2011. Xavier also competed in several mixed martial arts fights, beginning in 2009.

Xavier was scheduled to come out of retirement to face Jay Lethal at the ROH Past vs. Present show this past March in Las Vegas, but the show was canceled due to the pandemic.

ROH extends its deepest condolences to Xavier’s family, friends and fans.

Xavier was actually set to return to ROH for the first time since 2007 this year for the Past vs. Present show. Before the show was cancelled due to Coronavirus, Xavier was set to face Jay Lethal.

In the wake of Xavier’s tragic death, several notable names from WWE and AEW have taken to social media to share their stories of Xavier and express their condolences. For example, Zelina Vega wrote the following:

“So sad to hear about Xavier’s passing. Can’t believe it. He was so young, talented & such a nice person. He will be missed. Condolences to his family & friends. I knew him since I first started wrestling. I hate that I can’t that one pic of us, just 2 babies happy to wrestle. RIP”

AEW stars and SCU members Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels then took to social media to share their sadness at the news, writing the following respectively:

“Ugh. Very saddened to hear of the passing of John “Xavier” Kirius. He was always a very cool person and a great athlete. I had several memorable matches with him. Especially in the mid 2000’s for Jersey All Pro Wrestling. Heartbreaking. Godspeed my friend.”

“Rest In Peace Xavier. Thank you for the matches, both as opponent and partner. You will be missed.”

https://twitter.com/FrankieKazarian/status/1295157862524579845

Everyone at WrestleTalk would like to extend their best wishes to the friends and family of Xavier at this incredibly tough time.

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