B.J. Whitmer

Benjamin Whitmer (born January 25, 1978), better known by the ring name B. J. Whitmer, is an American professional wrestler, producer, trainer, color commentator and woman beater.

He is best known for his work in Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a four-time ROH World Tag Team Champion.

Whitmer was last employed by All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a coach until June 12, 2023, when his employment was terminated following a Domestic Violence arrest.

Whitmer was trained by Les Thatcher and debuted on January 23, 2000, in Thatcher's Ohio-based Heartland Wrestling Association.

After being unsuccessful in winning the inaugural Sweet Science Sixteen tournament and then again in 2001, Whitmer won the now-renamed Ted Petty Invitational in 2002 as well as the Revolution Strong Style Tournament that same year.

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 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.

He lost the title to Rory Fox on August 10.

In addition to the HWA, Whitmer also began performing for Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South.

Whitmer debuted in Ring of Honor in January 2003 at Revenge on the Prophecy.

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, and on July 19 at Death Before Dishonor, he won another four corners survival match to become the number one contender for the ROH 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, where he won his block but lost in the finals to Matt Stryker on December 22 at Final Battle.

That same evening, CM Punk confronted Christopher Daniels, Dan Maff and Allison Danger, members of The Prophecy, a heel stable 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.

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 defeated by Petey Williams.

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.

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.

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's name and the managerial services of Allison Danger, claiming that they no longer needed a leader or a manager and resulting in both men turning face.

Furious over this turn of events, Danger subsequently 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.

However, Whitmer injured his elbow in the course of the match, and was sidelined for two months.

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.

After the match, Punk injured Daniels (in reality, Daniels had signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling) after performing the Pepsi Plunge through a table, marking Daniels' last appearance in ROH until June 2005.

Whitmer and Maff captured the Tag Team Championship for a second time on February 19, 2005, defeating the Havana Pitbulls.

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.

They lost the title to The Carnage Crew on July 9 at Escape from New York, but regained it two weeks later on July 23 at The Homecoming.