John Jeter (born December 14, 1981) is an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

. He is best known for his appearances with

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

(WWE) in 2006 as Johnny, a member of The

Spirit Squad The Spirit Squad was an American professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) consisting of Kenny, Johnny, Mitch, Nicky, and Mikey. The team's ring personas were those of an all-male cheerleading squad. Before forming ...

. Jeter was trained by Nick Dinsmore (also known as

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

), and made his wrestling debut in 2001. He began working for

Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion, professional wrestling promotion and former developmental territory based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow, Matt Jones (radio host), Ma ...

(OVW), which led to him signing a developmental contract with WWE in 2003. Alongside

Matt Cappotelli Matthew Lee Cappotelli (November 12, 1979 – June 29, 2018) was an American professional wrestler. After co-winning '' Tough Enough III'' with John Hennigan, he worked in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), the primary developmental territory for WWE. ...

, he won the

OVW Southern Tag Team Championship The OVW Tag Team Championship formerly known as the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles of Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion, professional wrestling promoti ...

, and also won the OVW Heavyweight Championship in singles competition. Jeter became part of the Spirit Squad and debuted on ''Raw'' in January 2006. They won the

World Tag Team Championship In professional wrestling, a championship or title is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in predetermined rival ...

once. After being released from WWE, he returned to OVW. He retired, but returned to the ring in 2019.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (2001–2003)

After being trained by

Nick Dinsmore Nicholas David Dinsmore (born December 17, 1975), better known by his ring name Eugene, is an American professional wrestler. Dinsmore's career began in 1996 in Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he became the OVW Heavyweight Champion a record eight ...

, Jeter debuted in 2001, and began working for

(OVW).

World Wrestling Entertainment

Ohio Valley Wrestling (2003–2005)

In 2003, Jeter signed a contract with

(WWE), and continued to wrestle in OVW, which was WWE's

developmental territory Development of the human body is the process of growth to maturity. The process begins with fertilization, where an egg released from the ovary of a female is penetrated by a sperm cell from a male. The resulting zygote develops through mitos ...

, although he occasionally made appearances in

dark matches Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence of ...

for WWE. In one of his earliest dark matches, Jeter teamed with

Nova A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...

in a loss to Chuck Palumbo and Nunzio on the February 23, 2003 episode of ''

Velocity Velocity is a measurement of speed in a certain direction of motion. It is a fundamental concept in kinematics, the branch of classical mechanics that describes the motion of physical objects. Velocity is a vector (geometry), vector Physical q ...

''. His

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

debut was at the 2003 Vengeance event, when Jeter appeared as the masked Conquistador #2 in the APA's Barroom Brawl match. In 2004, Jeter formed a

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...

with

known as the Thrillseekers. The Thrillseekers wrestled in several dark matches before both '' Raw'' and '' SmackDown'', defeating the teams of Johnny Nitro and Chris Cage, and MNM. On January 19, 2005, The Thrillseekers defeated MNM to win the

. They successfully defended the championship against MNM and

The Heart Throbs The Heart Throbs, also known as The Heartbreakers, is the name of a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Antonio Thomas and Romeo Roselli, currently wrestling on the independent circuit. Thomas and Roselli are billed as being popular "w ...

, before losing it to the Blond Bombers (

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

and Chad Toland) on April 6. On July 27, The Thrillseekers defeated MNM to become the number one contenders to the Tag Team Championship, in a match with the added stipulation that whoever gained the

pin A pin is a device, typically pointed, used for fastening objects or fabrics together. Pins can have the following sorts of body: *a shaft of a rigid inflexible material meant to be inserted in a slot, groove, or hole (as with pivots, hinges, an ...

would receive a match for the OVW Heavyweight Championship. The Thrillseekers got simultaneous pins, but it was Jeter who received the championship match. On August 3, Jeter defeated the OVW Heavyweight Champion, Brent Albright, to win the championship, after Ken Anderson and Daniel Puder interfered on his behalf. After the match, Jeter turned into a

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

(villainous character) by attacking Cappotelli, who had suffered an injury. In the following weeks, Jeter also attacked Albright, announcer Dean Hill, and official Danny Davis. Jeter quickly formed an alliance with Ken Anderson, who helped him retain the championship on several occasions. They later added Paul Burchill to the alliance as an enforcer. After holding the OVW Heavyweight Championship for five months, Jeter lost it to Cappotelli in a

two out of three falls match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...

on November 9, 2005. Jeter challenged Cappotelli on numerous occasions Cappotelli in an attempt to regain the championship, but was unsuccessful.

The Spirit Squad (2006)

In OVW, he became a part of The

, a faction using the in-ring personas of male cheerleaders, using the name "Johnny". On January 23, 2006, they had their WWE television debut as a group, appearing on '' Raw'' and helping

Jonathan Coachman Jonathan William Coachman (born August 12, 1973), also known as "The Coach", is an American sports analyst and former professional wrestling personality. Early life Before embarking on an announcing career in professional wrestling, Coachman w ...

win a

Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...

qualifying match against

Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "the King" Lawler, is an American retired color commentator and professional wrestler signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Prior to joining the World Wrestling Federati ...

by distracting Lawler and performing cheers for Coachman. They later became a part of the ongoing scripted feud between WWE chairman

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon ( ; born August 24, 1945) is an American businessman and former professional wrestling promoter. McMahon, along with his later-estranged wife Linda McMahon, Linda, is a co-founder of the modern WWE, the world's largest ...

and

Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...

. The

(villainous) McMahon brought in The Spirit Squad to attack Michaels on numerous occasions, including placing them in multiple handicap matches. They also wrestled in the tag team division and on ''Raw'' on April 3, The Spirit Squad won the

when

Kenny Kenny is a surname, a given name, and a diminutive of several different given names. In Ireland, the surname is an Anglicisation of the Irish ''Ó Cionnaith'', also spelt ''Ó Cionnaoith'' and ''Ó Cionaodha'', meaning "descendant of Cionnaith". ...

and Mikey, with outside help from the other three members, defeated Kane and The

Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under his real name of Paul Wight. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) f ...

. After winning the championship, all five members of The Spirit Squad were recognized as the champions, allowing any combination of them to defend the championship. In May, McMahon signed another handicap match, with The Spirit Squad facing Michaels. The Spirit Squad instead attacked Michaels before the match started, and Triple H came out to help The Spirit Squad. Triple H felt disrespected by The Spirit Squad however, and as a result, helped Michaels instead. This led to Triple H and Michaels reforming

D-Generation X D-Generation X (DX), is an American professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, stable, and later a tag team, who consisted of various members mostly Generation X wrestlers, most notably Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Ch ...

(DX) and they began a feud with The Spirit Squad. DX played various sophomoric

jokes A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laughter, laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally. It usually takes the form of a story, often with ...

on The Spirit Squad and the McMahons, as well as defeating The Spirit Squad in handicap tag team matches at

Vengeance Vengeance may refer to: *Vengeance (concept) or revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance Film * ''Vengeance'' (1930 film), action adventure film directed by Archie Mayo * ''Vengeance'' (1937 film) or ''W ...

and a clean sweep in an elimination handicap match at '' Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIII''. At the same time as their feud with DX and their alignment with McMahon, The Spirit Squad also wrestled other teams in ''Raw'''s tag division over their World Tag Team Championship, successfully defending the championship against the teams of

Jim Duggan James Edward Duggan Jr. (born January 14, 1954), better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best-known for his time in World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), where he won the first ...

and

Charlie Haas Charles Doyle Haas II (born March 27, 1972) is an American Professional wrestling, professional and former Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. He is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2000 to 2009 and Ring of H ...

and

Viscera In a multicellular organism, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to a ...

, and Snitsky and

Val Venis Sean Allen Morley (born March 6, 1971), better known by his ring name Val Venis, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE) from 1998 to 20 ...

. They then entered a lengthy feud with The Highlanders, whom they eventually defeated to retain the championship at the

Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American revisionist Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by David Webb Peoples. It stars Eastwood as William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after ...

in September. The Spirit Squad as a whole later began a losing streak with Johnny, Mikey, and Mitch losing singles matches to

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...

on consecutive episodes of ''Raw''. After two consecutive losses to the debuting Cryme Tyme, Kenny announced that he was going to defeat Flair, and was successful with the help of the other members. It was then announced that Flair and a legend, selected by interactive voting, would wrestle the team for the World Tag Team Championship at the Cyber Sunday pay-per-view in early November. The fans chose

Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his work with the Wo ...

, and he and Flair defeated Kenny and Mikey to win the championship. The group disbanded on the November 27 episode of ''Raw'', when they were defeated in a five-on-three handicap match by DX and Flair. In a backstage segment later that night, DX placed all members into a crate stamped "OVW,

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

", a reference to the developmental territory from where The Spirit Squad had come. Following the breakup of The Spirit Squad, Johnny became the second member of the team to return to the main roster when he appeared during a 30-man

battle royal Battle royal (, also battle royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules, where the winner is the one who registers the most wins. In recent times, the term has been ...

on the December 18 episode of ''Raw'', wearing new wrestling attire.

Ohio Valley Wrestling (2007–2008)

Jeter made his return to OVW on February 14, 2007, by defeating Deuce in a dark match prior to the television tapings. In May 2007, Jeter challenged Shawn Spears for the OVW Television Championship, but was unsuccessful. In June, he formed a team with Seth Skyfire, before returning to competing in the singles division. He challenged Paul Burchill for the OVW Heavyweight Championship in mid-2008, but was unsuccessful. Beginning in August, Jeter made numerous appearances in dark matches prior to ''Raw'' and ''SmackDown!''. He also wrestled at ECW live events. Beginning with the October 17, 2007 live event in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, Jeter changed his ring name to "Jayden Jeter". In June 2008, it was revealed that Jeter had been quietly released from his contract before January 2008. In 2019, Jeter clarified that he left WWE on his own terms, rather than being released, after having to overcome the addiction to

painkillers An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic, antalgic, pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used for pain management. Analgesics are conceptually distinct from anesthetics, which temporarily reduce, and in so ...

Chikara (2014)

In September 2014, Jeter broke his retirement to participate in the Chikara promotion's 2014 King of Trios tournament, wrestling as "Johnny" and teaming with his former Spirit Squad stablemates Kenny and Mikey. After a win over

Sinn Bodhi Nicholas Cvjetkovich (; born August 29, 1973) is a Serbo-Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his 2009 stint in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he worked on its SmackDown brand as Kizarny. He primarily works on the in ...

and the Odditorium (Qefka the Quiet and Sir Oliver Grimsly) on September 19, the Spirit Squad was eliminated from the tournament in the second round on September 20 by the Golden Trio (

Dasher Hatfield A Very Good Professional Wrestler (born 1983 or 1982), formerly known by his ring name Dasher Hatfield, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Chikara and its sister promotion Wrestling is Fun!. Professional wres ...

Icarus In Greek mythology, Icarus (; , ) was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the architect of the labyrinth of Crete. After Theseus, king of Athens and enemy of King Minos, escaped from the labyrinth, Minos suspected that Icarus and Daedalu ...

and

Mark Angelosetti Mark Angelosetti (born July 9, 1988) is an Americans, American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, also known by the ring name Mr. Touchdown. Angelosetti primarily worked for Chikara (professional wrestling), Chikara, where he ...

). Following the tournament, Jeter returned to retirement.

Championship Wrestling from Arizona (2019–present)

In early-2019, Jeter broke his retirement once again, beginning making appearances with Championship Wrestling from Arizona (CWFA).

Personal life

Following his initial retirement in 2008, Jeter went back to college to study accounting at California State University, Northridge. Jeter has since earned his Bachelor of Science in Professional Accountancy and works in Internal Audit.

Championships and accomplishments

** OVW Heavyweight Championship (

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) **

( 1 time) – with

*''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' **Ranked No. 70 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' in 2004 *

( 1 time) – with

, Mikey, Mitch, and

Nicky Nicky is a diminutive form of the name Nicholas, Nicola and Nicole, occasionally used as a given name in its own right. Sometimes it is spelled as Nikki, Niki. It can also be used as a diminutive of Dominic. People Sports * Nicky Adams (born ...

Johnny defended the championship with either

, Mitch,

, or Mikey under the

Freebird Rule The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team who attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeter, Johnny 1981 births 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers Living people American accountants American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from San Diego California State University, Northridge alumni OVW Heavyweight Champions World Tag Team Champions (WWE, 1971–2010) OVW Tag Team Champions