| B.J. Whitmer | |
|---|---|
| Ring name(s) | B.J. Whitmer[1][2][3] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 230 lb (100 kg)[1] |
| Born | January 25, 1978 [1][2] Owensboro, Kentucky[1][2] |
| Resides | Alexandria, Kentucky[1] |
| Billed from | Owensboro, Kentucky |
| Trained by | Les Thatcher[1][2] Ian Rotten[1] |
| Debut | January 23, 2000[1][2] |
Benjamin Whitmer (born January 25, 1978)[1][2] is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, B.J. Whitmer. He is best known for his appearances with Ring of Honor between January 2003 and March 2008.[3] While in ROH, he was a four-time World Tag Team Champion.[4]
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Whitmer was trained by Les Thatcher and debuted on January 23, 2000 in Thatcher's Ohio-based Heartland Wrestling Association. Whitmer feuded with "Ice Cream Man" Tony B. before forming a tag team with Jamie Knoble in 2002. On May 8, 2002 he won the Cruiserweight Championship by defeating Knoble, Shannon Moore and Matt Stryker in a four-man-elimination match in Dayton. He lost the title to Rory Fox on August 10 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
On March 19, 2011, Whitmer defeated Gerome Phillips to become the two-time HWA Heavyweight Champion.
Whitmer moved on to Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South in Illinois. On April 9, 2004, he defeated Jerry Lynn in a thirty minute Iron Man match for the Heavyweight Championship, which he held until May 29, when he was beaten by Petey Williams.
In June 2001 Whitmer toured Japan with Pro Wrestling Noah, teaming on several occasions with fellow gaijins Matt Murphy and 2 Cold Scorpio. He was entered in the GHC Junior Tournament, but was eliminated by Tsuyoshi Kikuchi in his final match in Japan on June 21 in Toyama, Toyama. Whitmer toured with Noah once more in August and September 2005, losing most of his matches. His last appearance in NOAH featured him in a three-way match for the ROH World Championship against KENTA and the then-reigning champion Nigel McGuinness.
In January 2003, Whitmer joined the Pennsylvania-based Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion. His first major match was a bout with CM Punk at Epic Encounter on April 12, 2003. The match was declared a no-contest after Punk gave Whitmer a German suplex off the ring apron and through a table on the outside, leaving Punk stunned and Whitmer concussed. Whitmer returned on May 31, losing to Dan Maff, and on June 14 he teamed with Punk's other enemy, Raven, to face CM Punk and Colt Cabana at Night Of The Grudges. Whitmer and Raven lost when Cabana pinned Whitmer, apparently settling the issue.
Whitmer regained some momentum with a victory in a four corners survival match on June 28 at WrestleRave '03, and on July 19 at Death Before Dishonor he won another four corners survival match with the number one contendership to the ROH World Championship on the line. Whitmer faced the reigning champion, Samoa Joe, at Wrath of the Racket on August 9, but was defeated. Between August and November Whitmer took part in the Field of Honor event, winning Block A but losing to Matt Stryker on December 22 at Final Battle 2003.
That same evening, CM Punk confronted Christopher Daniels, Dan Maff and Allison Danger, members of The Prophecy, a villainous faction led by Daniels, demanding to know which one of them had attacked and sidelined his girlfriend and valet, Lucy, earlier that year. A brawl broke out with The Prophecy on one side and Punk and Colt Cabana on the other. Whitmer then approached the ring and announced that he had been behind the attack, thus joining The Prophecy.
The events on December 22 led to a match on January 10, 2004 at The Battle Lines Are Drawn between The Second City Saints (Punk, Cabana and Ace Steel) and The Prophecy (Daniels, Maff and Whitmer). The match descended into a brawl, and the referee declared it a no contest after Lucy returned to ROH for one night, slapping Whitmer to gain a measure of revenge. After the match, Punk injured Daniels with a Pepsi Plunge through a table, marking Daniels' last appearance in ROH until June 2005 (in reality, Daniels had signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling).
Whitmer and Maff continued to team together as The Prophecy, accompanied by Allison Danger, and feuded with the Saints throughout early 2004. They defeated the Saints for the Tag Team Championship at Round Robin Challenge III on May 15, but lost the title to the Briscoe Brothers later that evening.[4] On June 12, 2004, at World Title Classic, Maff and Whitmer defeated three other teams in a thirty five minute long ultimate endurance match. After the match, Maff convinced Whitmer to discard both the Prophecy name and the managerial services of Allison Danger, claiming that they no longer needed a leader or a manager. Danger was furious, and placed a bounty on the heads of Maff and Whitmer. They spent several months feuding with teams sent after them by Danger, including Slash Venom and Chicano and The Carnage Crew. On December 26 at Final Battle 2004 they defeated the Carnage Crew in a "fight without honor", and shook hands with their opponents after the match. Whitmer injured his elbow in the course of the match, and was sidelined for two months.
Whitmer and Maff captured the Tag Team Championship for a second time on February 19, 2005, defeating the Havana Pitbulls.[4] After Maff left ROH following a backstage altercation with Homicide, the title was vacated. Whitmer formed a new team with Jimmy Jacobs, and defeated Samoa Joe and Jay Lethal in a match for the vacant title on April 2.[4] They lost the title to the Carnage Crew on July 9 at Escape from New York, but regained them two weeks later on July 23 at The Homecoming.[4] The duo went on to lose the title again, this time to the team of Sal Rinauro and Tony Mamaluke, on October 1, 2005.[4]
On October 2, 2005 at Unforgettable, Whitmer and Jacobs joined manager Lacey, becoming the new "Lacey's Angels". On the ROH DVD Release of Hell Freezes Over, a video segment piloted by Jimmy Jacobs revealed that Jacobs was in fact in love with Lacey. Focusing more on his love of Lacey rather than his effort in matches, Jacobs cost the Lacey's Angels team (also joined by Adam Pearce for the night) the victory at Tag Wars 2006. Jacobs also cost himself and Whitmer the Tag Team Title the following night at Dissension against the champions Roderick Strong and Austin Aries. After this, Whitmer turned on Jacobs. It was also learned later on in the DVD Release in a video segment that Whitmer quit Lacey's Angels altogether.
Whitmer suffered an ankle injury at the hands of Jacobs at Chicago Ridge, Illinois and was out of action, but appeared at ROH Survival of the Fittest 2006 to attack Jacobs during his tag match with Colt Cabana against Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli. Whitmer then began stalking Jacobs at the next few shows.
Whitmer, along with Colt Cabana and Daizee Haze, began feuding with Lacey, Jacobs, and their hired enforcer Brent Albright in a series of violent matches, including one at Final Battle 2006, where Albright put Whitmer through a table with a powerbomb. The feud continued into early 2007, and saw Whitmer perform an exploder superplex on Albright through a table in New York on February 16.
On February 23, 2007, Whitmer lost to Takeshi Morishima in a match for the World Championship in Dayton, Ohio.[3] In September 2007, he allied with Brent Albright and Adam Pearce to form The Hangm3n. In March 2008, Albright and Pearce joined Sweet 'n' Sour Inc, prompting Whitmer to leave The Hangm3n. Later that month, ROH announced that Whitmer had resigned from the promotion, praising his "immense contribution".[3]
Whitmer retired from professional wrestling shortly after leaving Ring of Honor.[2] However, Whitmer would make his return to the ring on March 19, 2011, when he defeated Gerome Phillips for the HWA Heavyweight Championship. The following month, it was announced that Whitmer was going to be taking part in the 2011 Ted Petty Invitational.[5] He would be eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals by Tim Donst. On September 9, 2011, Whitmer made his debut for Dragon Gate USA, competing in a six-way elimination match, which was won by Brodie Lee. Whitmer's first internet pay-per-view appearance for Dragon Gate USA took place on November 11 at Revolt, where he defeated Vinny Marseglia.[6] Two days later at Freedom Fight 2011, Whitmer was defeated by Brodie Lee in a singles match.[7]
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