Ex-AEW Employee Indicted On Strangulation Charge

A former AEW employee is facing serious charges following a domestic violence arrest.

On June 4th, former AEW producer BJ Whitmer was arrested by the Boone County Sheriff’s Department in Boone Country, KY. He was charged with strangulation in the first degree and burglary in the second degree. He was released on a $25,000 bond on June 12th, and AEW issued the following statement about his termination from the company:

“BJ Whitmer has been terminated following his arrest on domestic violence charges. While talent and staff are ultimately responsible for their own personal actions, this behavior is intolerable within AEW. AEW has reached out to offer support to those impacted by his behavior.”

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful has reported that Whitmer had a hearing on September 6th when he was indicted on both first-degree strangulation and second-degree burglary charges which are both class C felonies. A pre-trial hearing has been set for October 4th.

It is also noted that the victim has an emergency protective order in place and that his former employer has continued to work with her.

What was BJ Whitmer’s role in AEW?

BJ Whitmer is best known for his in-ring career in Ring of Honor where he won the ROH Tag Team Title on four occasions with both Jimmy Jacobs and Dan Maff. He worked as a backstage producer for that promotion under its previous ownership until the end of 2018.

Whitmer then joined All Elite Wrestling as a coach in 2019 when the company was founded and continued in that role until he was fired for his arrest in June 2023.