Athletes - John Jirus

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	Athletes - John Jirus

John Jirus (born in Queens, New York, New York) is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Ring of Honor between 2002 and 2004 as Juan Xavier.

Career

Jirus trained under Tony DeVito and debuted in 1997. He wrestled for various independent promotions in New York City, adopting the ring name Xavier, before joining Ring of Honor in 2002.

Ring of Honor

Xavier appeared on the first ever ROH show, The Era of Honor Begins, on February 26, 2002, defeating Scoot Andrews. Throughout the following weeks, 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 Heavyweight Championship, but was eliminated in the first round by The Amazing Red. After decisively defeating Andrews on several occasions, Xavier requested, and was granted, a shot at the ROH Heavyweight Championship. He faced the incumbent, 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. Following his victory, the newly crowned champion joined Daniels's 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 the Champions on March 22, 2003.

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 Heavyweight 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.

World Wrestling Entertainment

Xavier made his televised WWE debut 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 Velocity, he lost to Paul Burchill in a match that saw him use the name John Xavier.

Wrestling facts

Finishing and signature moves

450 Degrees of Fear (450° splash)
Kiss Your X Goodbye (pumphandle sitout facebuster)
X Breaker (Modified hangman's neckbreaker)
X Slam (torture rack into inverted Samoan drop)
X Bomb
Rock-a-by baby (swinging slam)
Million dollar clutch (cobra clutch)
Cobra clutch suplex
Sitout suplex slam
Muay Thai knee smash

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