The HWA’s success at the Fairgrounds brought in a new promotion called Ring of Honor in 2003, its first big show outside of the Northeast. On the card was Whitmer, and a wrestler named Samoa Joe, who was wrestling in front of one of his biggest crowds at the time.
This week, Samoa Joe’s video brawling with former UFC champion Brock Lesnar on WWE Raw drew almost seven million views.
Whitmer and Joe’s career stories are nearly identical - a lot of time wrestling for dozens of people at independent shows, hoping to have enough gas to make it, with some trips to Japan and finally some success at places like Ring of Honor.
While Joe is doing storylines with a former UFC champ, Whitmer found success in the No. 2 company in the country right now as a longtime performer and working in the office. A large turning point in both those journeys occurred at the fairgrounds.
“When ROH came here, it was the first time they had been out of the Northeast,” Whitmer recalled. “They came to Dayton before Chicago, Milwaukee or anywhere else. It did well for them. We worked there for the HWA and we always did our big shows there to finish big storylines.
“Dayton always had a special place in my heart, and that rickety old building,” Whitmer said. “I loved going there. When Sinclair bought the company, they couldn’t understand why the guys liked going there so much, but once we did some shows it was clear.”
Whitmer spent most of his career in Ring of Honor, long enough to re-invent himself several times over, both as a performer and an employee. His last major match was rated four-stars on a scale of five by wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer, he works in the office at Ring of Honor and is part of the booking and creative teams, which decide wrestler storylines. He also handles travel for wrestlers, and writes and formats ROH television.
He’s kept up his schedule while taking classes at Northern Kentucky University to earn his nursing degree.
Whitmer was a fan of Japanese wrestling, particularly All Japan Pro Wrestling, with its realistic, hard-hitting style. He based his own style on AJPW’s stars. Eight-teen months after starting with HWA, he received a dream shot, a tour with Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan, which was an offshoot company formed by top wrestlers from AJPW.
“The dream was just to get by,” Whitmer said. “Which I could do and pay my bills, now I can live comfortably from wrestling.”
It was the most terrifying thing that ever happened to me.
Living comfortably was in question for Whitmer for a few horrifying moments in 2013. He was in Toronto wrestling Mike Bennett, now the WWE performer Mike Kanellis. They tried a risky move - a piledriver - on the ring apron, the hardest part of the ring. The piledriver as a move in the ring is banned in WWE. The two landed wrong, and Whitmer’s disc ruptured in his neck and half his body was paralyzed.
“It was the most terrifying thing that ever happened to me,” Whitmer said. “It was a stupid spot. The ring was narrow, and it was hard for both of us to keep our balance. It was a bad idea and we shouldn’t have done it.
“It was full loaded, which is what they call it. I ruptured the C-6 disc and my right side went paralyzed for two minutes. By the time I was on the stretcher I could move my fingers, by the time I was in the ambulance I had all the movement in my body back.”
Whitmer said if he hadn’t spent years in the gym, and built the muscles in his neck, he wouldn’t have been as fortunate. After four months off, he was cleared to wrestle again, but had a reminder the size of a half dollar on his shoulder. It was a bulge in his nerves from the shock of the blow that felt like a leg or arm that went to sleep.
The company based a storyline around Whitmer’s injury that he was retired, but he came back, this time as a bad guy.
He was written off television in February of this year. His color commentary debut Friday at ROH’s Best in the World pay-per-view will be his first appearance on television since then. He’s hoping to get back in the ring again.
Despite the injuries, the ups and downs, Whitmer wouldn’t change anything. His experiences give him a resolve many in the business didn’t get. It’s one reason he’s still around and many aren’t.
“Things get tough sometimes,” Whitmer said. “It’s the guy who struggled to get paid make it - that’s who makes it. If you haven’t been through those times, it’s harder to do.”
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