Xavier is a former Ring of Honor (ROH) champion but passed away recently

The wrestling world was in shock after Xavier, one of the best from the independent circuit, passed away on 16 August 2020.

The 42-year-old was best known for his time on Ring of Honor where he was the second person to lift the ROH Championship.

Xavier, real name Johnny Bedoya, was born in Queens, New York. The 42-year-old had many aliases under which he fought and was trained by Tony DeVito.

He made his debut in 1995 and performed across various independent promotions in New York City. Xavier had a few stints at Ring of Honor and defeated Scoot Andrews in the first-ever show for the promotion.

The 42-year-old won his ROH title by defeating Low Ki in 2002, but he had faced off against some of the best in WWE and other promotions too.

Xavier faced the likes of AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Amazing Red, Christopher Daniels and Paul London during his early years in ROH.

He also fought Daniel Bryan during his early years in ROH but was set to return in March 2020. Xavier was to face Jay Lethal in ROH’s “Past vs Present” event, unfortunately, that event was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Xavier also competed in MMA bouts and he had a 1-1 record in his amateur career. He never clashed in a professional MMA fight.

Wrestling world react to shocking news

While Xavier didn’t make it to the biggest TV promotions, he was cherished and loved by many.

Many of the current crop of WWE, AEW and TNA stars seem to have faced off against Xavier sometime or another.

Several posted their thoughts on the passing away of the 42-year-old, and the former ROH Champion will be missed by many across promotions.

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" pic.twitter.com/Y63MnnXFjW

— Brian Cage (@briancagegmsi) August 17, 2020

https://twitter.com/FrankieKazarian/status/1295157862524579845?s=20

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

— Christopher Daniels (@facdaniels) August 17, 2020

RIP Xavier. So ahead of his time and talented. Way too young.

— Pat Buck (@buckneverstops) August 17, 2020

A few WWE stars also shared their messages after learning about Xavier’s untimely passing away:

Shocked and saddened to hear the of John’s passing. He was one of the good ones. My prayers are with his family. #RIPXavier

— Mickie James~Aldis (@MickieJames) August 17, 2020

https://twitter.com/Zelina_VegaWWE/status/1295174537458454536?s=20

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