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Ex-ROH champion John 'Xavier' Jirius dies at 43, wrestling community says his loss is 'hard to take in'

Xavier was a part of WWE Velocity back in 2003 against Chuck Palumbo, Bill DeMott and Spanky

Former Ring of Honor World Champion John Xavier, whose real name was John Jirius, died at the age of 43. It was confirmed by his friends within the wrestling community. The cause of his death is yet to be revealed. 

Xavier made his debut in 1995 and was trained under former Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) Tony DeVito and worked for ROH from 2002-04. Xavier won the ROH championship in September 2002 after defeating Lo Ki. Xavier also worked as an extra and enhancement talent on a couple of WWE matches. He was a part of WWE Velocity back in 2003 against Chuck Palumbo, Bill DeMott and Spanky. 

He was also known for making appearances on independent scenes for promotions such as Northeast Wrestling, Chaotic Wrestling, New York Wrestling Connection, East Coast Wrestling Association and Jersey All Pro Wrestling. He was supposed to return to ROK to wrestle Jay Lethal at Past vs. Preset in March, but the event was called off due to the pandemic, according to Wrestling News reports. 

Actor and Sportscaster Ian Ruccaboni took to Twitter to convey his condolences to Xavier. He tweeted, "Man, gone way too soon. Always so nice when he'd swing by NYC for ROH events. Unheralded and under appreciated. Was looking forward to calling his comeback match in ROH. Rest in Peace, Xavier."

ROH champion Frankie Kazarian also shared a heartfelt tweet, remembering Xavier. "Ugh. Very saddened to hear of the passing of John “Xavier” Kirius. He was always a very cool person and a great athlete. I had several memorable matches with him. Especially in the mid 2000’s for Jersey All Pro Wrestling. Heartbreaking. Godspeed my friend."

Another wrestler, Kevin Matthews, tweeted, "I share the pain and heartbreak of the wrestling community especially here in the Northeast of the passing of our friend Xavier. This one is hard to take in. 43 is too damn young. John, we love you man and we’ll miss you my friend. #RIPXavier #AllAroundBest"

Meanwhile, one devastated fan wrote, “No not him too man. RIP to former @ringofhonor World Champion John "Xavier" Jirus. Before the pandemic I couldn't wait to see him wrestle again at Past vs. Present & then once the pandemic occurred I hoped that it one day could still happen. It sucks now knowing it won't.”