| Xavier | |
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Xavier in 2007 |
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| Ring name(s) | John Jirus John Xavier Juan Xavier Xavier |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Billed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Born | Queens, New York |
| Billed from | Hartford, Connecticut |
| Trained by | Tony DeVito |
| Debut | 1997 |
John Jirus is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Ring of Honor between 2002 and 2004 as Xavier. He is a former ROH Champion.
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Jirus trained under Tony DeVito before debuting in 1997. He wrestled for various independent promotions in New York City, adopting the ring name "Xavier", before joining Ring of Honor (ROH) in 2002.
Xavier appeared on the first ever ROH show, The Era of Honor Begins, on February 23, 2002, defeating Scoot Andrews. Throughout the following months, Xavier feuded with Andrews and James Maritato. He took part in the Road to the Title tournament, attempting to become the number one contender to the ROH Championship, but was eliminated in the first round by Amazing Red. After decisively defeating Andrews on several occasions, Xavier requested, and was granted, a shot at the ROH Championship. He faced the incumbent champion, Low-Ki, on September 21, 2002, and defeated Low-Ki in a match which saw extensive cheating on the part of Xavier and interference from Christopher Daniels.[1] Following his victory, the newly crowned champion joined Daniels' heel stable, The Prophecy. With the help of The Prophecy, Xavier successfully defended his title against Jay Briscoe, A.J. Styles and, on two occasions, Paul London, before losing to Samoa Joe at Night of Champions on March 22, 2003.[1]
Following his defeat, Xavier was absent for several months. He returned to ROH at Death Before Dishonor on July 19, 2003, and subsequently turned his back on The Prophecy. He lost to his former partner, Christopher Daniels, in a match for the number one contendership on August 16 at Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies. Throughout the remainder of the year, Xavier took part in the Field of Honor tournament, losing to Matt Stryker in the semi-finals, and feuded with John Walters, culminating in a "fight without honor" at Final Battle 2003 on December 27 which was won by Walters.
In 2004, Xavier joined The Embassy, a heel stable led by Prince Nana. He remained in The Embassy until April 2004, when he was sidelined for six months with a shoulder injury. He recovered from his injury in December 2004 and returned to the independent circuit.
Xavier returned to ROH on February 11, 2006, challenging Bryan Danielson for the ROH World Championship after Embassy member Alex Shelley missed the event due to weather conditions. He lost to Danielson by disqualification following interference from Jimmy Rave, another member of The Embassy. On February 16, 2007 Xavier returned to ROH to replace an injured Davey Richards in a "four-way fray" match involving SHINGO, Jack Evans and Jimmy Jacobs. He was eliminated first.
Xavier has competed for numerous independent promotions during his career, including USA Pro Wrestling, UXW, Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling (3PW), East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA), MXW, Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW), New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC), Northeast Wrestling (NEW), and Chaotic Wrestling.
Xavier first appeared in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on January 18, 2003, losing to Chuck Palumbo on an episode of WWE Velocity. He made further appearances on Velocity on March 8 and June 28 of that year, losing to Bill DeMott and Spanky respectively. Over the following two years, Xavier made several appearances with WWE as an extra in angles. On the December 31, 2005 episode of Velocity, he lost to Paul Burchill in a match that saw him use the name "John Xavier". On May 11, 2007, Xavier teamed up with Scotty Charisma to take on Eugene and Jim Duggan.[2] On July 26, 2010, Jirus wrestled in a tryout dark match for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), losing to Douglas Williams.[3]
Xavier began competing in mixed martial arts in 2009, fighting under the name John Xavier.[4]
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