FORMER Ring of Honor champion and WWE star John “Xavier” Bedoya has died aged 43.
No cause of death has yet been made public.
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The promotion confirmed the wrestler’s passing in a statement today.
It read: “Ring of Honor is saddened to learn of the passing of former ROH World Champion Xavier (John Bedoya). He was 43.
“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.”
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He also enjoyed victories over AJ Styles and Paul London during his heyday.
Despite enjoying early success in the ring, Bedoyaonly made occasional appearances after joining WWE between 2003 and 2007, mostly on Heat and Velocity.
The veteran’s last known match occurred in ICW four years ago.
A host of wrestling stars have paid tribute to Bedoya, led by WWE legend Mick Foley and current Raw performer Zelina Vega:
Saddened to hear that John Xavier passed away. Always so kind and gracious. Fun person to be around and truly one of the good guys. God bless John. RiP.
— Abyss (@TherealAbyss) August 17, 2020
Damn, I'm so sadden by this. #xavier the all around best, was my 1st ever favorite and intro into the indy/ROH world. X was drastically underrated & someone I was stoked to befriend after gaining him as a fan of my own. He gave me the green light using "kiss you x goodbye"
— Brian Cage (@briancagegmsi) August 17, 2020
