~Ring of Honor released a statement a few days ago that BJ Whitmer, a wrestler who has been on their roster since July 2003, has officially left the company.
In an article titled "Thank You BJ Whitmer", ROH acknowledges Whitmer for his contributions to the promotion and wishes him all the best. No specific reason was given for his departure.
"After a long and punishing stay, BJ Whitmer has decided to walk away from Ring Of Honor. ROH and Whitmer have now officially parted ways. Everyone in ROH wants to thank BJ for his immense contributions to the company.
Whitmer, a leader in the locker room, set an example in and out of the ring. He had the most service time on the ROH roster after making his debut on the very first show of 2003. Spanky had feverishly recommended Whitmer to ROH officials throughout 2002. Whitmer finally received his opportunity at "Revenge On The Prophecy" on January 11th, 2003 as part of the first ever Four Corner Survival vs. Paul London, Homicide and Colt Cabana. Whitmer impressed in this bout, which put the Four Corner Survival on the map to become a signature ROH match. Whitmer never looked back.
We wish BJ the best in his future endeavors. He was a credit to the locker room, a performer who gave his all to the fans and is a quality person. Thank you, BJ Whitmer."
(Source: ROHwrestling.com)
A copy of the article released by ROH can be found in its entirety here.
Personally, I've never been a big fan of Whitmer. I think he's average in the ring, he's far from memorable when he speaks and to me, he was never anything special. So I'm not sad to see him go.
3/20 TNA Impact Results
~The show starts with Booker T coming out to the ring to welcome his wife, Sharmell, back to TNA, who made her return at Destination X a few weeks back after getting her jaw broken from a punch by Robert Roode. Sharmell comes down and Booker tells her that he’ll never put her in harm’s way again.
-Robert Roode and his assistant, Peyton Banks, come out. Roode disagrees with Booker and foresees harm coming to Sharmell in the future, which doesn’t sit well with her husband.
-TNA Management Director, Jim Cornette then comes out and is still upset that Sharmell whipped him with a leather strap at Destination X. As a result, Cornette announces that at Lockdown, TNA’s next PPV event, there will be a match between Robert Roode & Peyton Banks against Booker T & Sharmell.
-Team 3D informs TNA Tag Team Champion, AJ Styles, that they will be apart of Team Tomko in the Lethal Lockdown match versus Christian Cage’s team at Lockdown.
-Scott Steiner & Petey Williams defeat Kaz & Non-Super Eric Young.
-The other half of the TNA Tag Team Champions, Tomko, beats Rhino after interference from his tag partner, AJ Styles.
-The referee finds out that AJ influenced the match’s outcome and threatens to reverse his decision. Before that can happen, Styles and Tomko attack Rhino in the ring.
-Christian Cage makes the save and Rhino shakes Cage’s hand, signifying that he has joined Cage’s team for Lethal Lockdown. Team 3D comes out of nowhere and attacks Cage and Rhino and then Kevin Nash, who is also on Team Christian Cage, chases Team 3D away with a chair. Jim Cornette makes another appearance and announces that Team 3D will face Kevin Nash & Rhino later that night.
Sonjay Dutt beats Homicide after faking an injury.
Dutt gets tossed across the ring by Hernandez for his trouble.
-Booker T defeats AJ Styles.
-ODB & Gail Kim beat Angelina Love & Velvet Sky.
-TNA World Champion, Kurt Angle, says he’s ready for his title match against Samoa Joe at Lockdown. He then (rocking ankle tape) beats a bunch of nobodies in his public sparring session in the ring.
-Team 3D are disqualified from their match against Christian Cage & Rhino when Tomko and AJ Styles interfere. Team Tomko then beats down Cage and Rhino. Kevin Nash, Shark Boy, Curry Man, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin all come down to the ring to try and help but they get beaten up as well
-The show ends with the announcement of Sting, a former TNA World Champion, making his return to TNA next week after being out of action for a while.
For some reason, TNA has decided to have Eric Young deny that he is a “superhero”. This makes perfect sense because his name is Eric Young and the superhero’s name is SUPER Eric Young, so there’s just no reason why there could be any connection between the two. *Sarcasm*
We almost saw a Canadian Destroyer from Petey Williams but the counter to the move was pretty nice.
Sonjay Dutt completely messed up a move during his match with Homicide and it was a really good acting job because I actually thought he hurt himself.
Speaking of acting, Peyton Banks displayed some horrible acting while she was getting whipped with a leather strap by Sharmell during the Booker/Styles match.
LAX continues to get buried eventhough they are the #1 Contenders for the TNA Tag Team Titles (a fact that wasn’t even acknowledged during this week’s show). I think it’s a shame.
I am digging Kurt Angle’s new-found focus and no nonsense attitude, hopefully TNA keeps him like that because the comedy stuff just isn’t as effective.
I am honestly not all that excited about Sting’s return next week.
3/21 Smackdown Results
(Pics from WWE.com)
~The show starts with Batista, who is representing Smackdown in the Smackdown vs. Raw Challenge at Wrestlemania 24 against Raw’s Umaga, destroying Deuce & Domino.
-Assistant Smackdown General Manager, Teddy Long, is hosting the Smackdown Diva Contest this week and he announces that this week’s challenge involving the remaining Divas, Eve Torres, Cherry, Victoria and Michelle McCool, will be an arm wrestling contest. Victoria beats Eve in the first match. Michelle beats Cherry in the next match. Michelle beats Victoria in the final. Victoria is then eliminated from the Smackdown Diva Contest due to receiving the least amount of text votes from the fans.
-Big Show continues to look unstoppable heading into his match against Floyd Mayweather at Wrestlemania and walks through Andy Douglass, Chase Stevens and Luke Hawks.
-Funaki, who hasn’t been on Smackdown in YEARS, makes his return to the ring, only to be squashed by World Heavyweight Champion, Edge.
-Next, there is a talk show segment featuring WWE US Champion, MVP, called the VIP Lounge. MVP’s guest is WWE Intercontinental Champion, Chris Jericho, both men will be apart of the Money in the Bank Ladder Match at Wrestlemania along with CM Punk, Mr. Kennedy, Carlito, John Morrison and Shelton Benjamin.
-MVP and Jericho bicker back and forth and eventually MVP says he’s going give a preview of what will at Wrestlemania and climbs a ladder to get the Money in the Bank Briefcase that is suspended high above the ring. Before he can retrieve the briefcase, Chris Jericho pushes the ladder and MVP falls off.
-A match between Kane and Chuck Palumbo ends in a no-contest when The Great Khali and Mark Henry interfere. Henry ends up being the last man standing.
-WWE Tag Team Champions, The Miz & John Morrison defend their titles against Jesse & Festus.
-The Undertaker beats ECW Champion, Chavo Guerrero. After the match, Undertaker, who faces Edge for the World Heavyweight Title at Wrestlemania, is beaten down by Edge and his buddies, Zach Ryder and Curt Hawkins.
I was kind of hoping for Victoria could stay in the competition a little long since she has made these contests pretty interesting to watch. It’s pretty much a lock that Michelle McCool is gonna win the whole thing (I think the contest is rigged, but hey, with WWE, what’s new.)
They are selling Big Show’s right hand like its DEATH since he’s been KOing people with it these last couple of weeks. Personally, I like the toss over the top rope better , he should have been doing that for the past couple of weeks.
I really enjoyed the VIP Lounge segment with MVP and Chris Jericho. Here’s hoping for an eventual feud between the two.
I was really hoping Jesse & Festus would win the Tag Titles. Eventhough they didn’t win the belts on that night, I do think they’ll get the belts eventually.
Despite all the hype and the two wrestlers involved, I’m just not looking forward to the Taker/Edge match at Wrestlemania. I don’t know why, but I have a feeling it’s not gonna be that great.
