Former ROH Champion, Xavier (John Bedoya) has died at 43 years old. The story was first reported by PWInsider, before being confirmed by ROH.
Xavier started wrestling in 2000, after training extensively under Tony Devito before going on to have a successful career in pro wrestling. In 2003 he won the ROH Championship from the inaugural champion, Loki. He went on to hold the title for over 180 days. During this time he faced some of the biggest names in the company, including Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, and Jay Briscoe.
Rest In Peace Xavier. Thank you for the matches, both as opponent and partner. You will be missed.
— Christopher Daniels (@facdaniels) August 17, 2020
Xavier also worked extensively for ICW, holding the Heavyweight title three times, and the tag titles once with Christopher Daniels. Daniels and Xavier worked together regularly from 2002 for ROH, ICW, ECWA, and USA Pro Wrestling. Daniels posted the following to his Twitter account:
Rest In Peace Xavier. Thank you for the matches, both as opponent and partner. You will be missed.
According to ROH, Xavier was supposed to come out of retirement to face Jay Lethal. This would have taken place at the Past vs. Present event, planned for this past March, but cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We at TWM wish to extend our condolences to Xavier’s family and friends.