John Kashmer (born November 6, 1978), better known by the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Johnny Kashmere, is an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. Kashmere has competed in

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...

Combat Zone Wrestling Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent wrestling promotion. In 1998, John Zandig and five of his students, Ric Blade, T.C.K, Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain, along with trainer Jon Dahmer, began to run professional wrestling sh ...

Assault Championship Wrestling Assault Championship Wrestling was an American independent wrestling promotion based in Connecticut and promoted by Jason Knight, a retired wrestler and manager, during the early 2000s. The first major independent promotion to operate in Connecti ...

, and

NWA New Jersey NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgen ...

, and in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, Central America, Europe and Alaska. For much of his early career, he wrestled as one-half of

The Backseat Boyz The Backseat Boyz were a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of Trent Acid and Johnny Kashmere who competed in Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Unplugged, Combat Zone Wrestling, Assault Championship Wrestling, the Premier Wrestling Federa ...

alongside

Trent Acid Michael Verdi (November 12, 1980 – June 18, 2010), best known by his ring name Trent Acid, was an American professional wrestler. He worked as a tag team wrestler for most of his career, primarily as part of The Backseat Boyz with Johnny Kashm ...

Professional wrestling career

In the late 1990s, Kashmere joined the CZW Wrestling Academy, where he was being trained by

The Pitbulls The Pitbulls (sometimes written as The Pit Bulls) were a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of "Pitbull #1" Gary Wolfe and "Pitbull #2" Anthony Durante. They were best known for their tenure in Extreme Championship Wrestling, where ...

, Gary Wolfe, and the late

Anthony Durante Anthony Durante (July 26, 1967 – September 25, 2003) was an American professional wrestler best known under the ring name "Pitbull #2" as one half of the tag team The Pitbulls, with "Pitbull #1" Gary Wolfe. The team is best known for their ti ...

. After graduating, Kashmere joined the CZW main roster and started teaming with Trent Acid as The Backseat Boyz, a play on the American vocal group, The

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida. The gr ...

. Together they would go on to win multiple tag team championships on the independent scene, including three reigns with the

CZW World Tag Team Championship The CZW World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned and copyrighted by the Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) promotion; it is contested for in their tag team division. It was created and debuted on Februar ...

, and one reign with the

ROH World Tag Team Championship The ROH World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship contested for in the American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, i ...

. Kashmere has also once also held the CZW World Tag Team championship with Robbie Mireno, and once with

Justice Pain Christopher Wilson (May 16, 1978 – January 24, 2020) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Justice Pain. Pain was best known for his time in Combat Zone Wrestling, as well as Xtreme Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestlin ...

. The Backseat Boyz were put together by NWA New Jersey writer Don "Donnie B." Gucci, the twin brother of

ECW ECW may refer to: Professional wrestling * Extreme Championship Wrestling (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling), a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001 * The Alliance (professional wrestling) (originally the WCW/E ...

original "Nova" Mike Bucci. Donnie B. also became their manager on the road and in NWA. Under Donnie's tutelage, Acid and Kashmere were hired by ECW to start in April, but ECW went out of business in February so they never debuted on ECW TV. After leaving Ring of Honor and CZW in 2003, Kashmere began promoting Pro Wrestling Unplugged in Philadelphia and successfully ran over a hundred events in the Philly area. Many of those events were at the former

ECW arena 2300 Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania used primarily for professional wrestling, boxing, mixed martial arts, and concert events. Originally known as Viking Hall, the venue has since been named Alhambra Arena, The ...

in Philadelphia. When in June 2010, his longtime tag team partner Trent Acid died, Kashmere organized a tribute show in his honor. A month later, on July 10, 2010, Kashmere ran " The Acid Fest" at the former ECW Arena as a benefit event to assist in paying for Trent's burial services. In the main event, Johnny Kashmere (with Matt Walsh and Donnie B.) defeated Devon Moore (with Annie Social) in a singles match.

Personal life

In 2001, Kashmere dropped out of Philadelphia University to begin his Japan Tours for

Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1995. It is most famous for its deathmatch style contests. History Big Japan Pro Wrestling was founded in March 1995 by former AJPW wrestlers Shinya Kojika and Kendo Nagasak ...

. In Japan, Kashmere was featured in multiple issues of Baseball Magazine's national wrestling publications and was a special guest on a nationally televised talk show. In July 2010, Kashmere hung up his boots following his last match at The Acid Fest and returned to college to pursue a computer science degree. Today Kashmere is graduating with two degrees and beginning his career in the IT field and working on his post grad degrees. He plans on running events in the future, once school is behind him. Kashmere has appeared on WWE Monday Night Raw, MTV, WWE Sunday Night Heat, Japan's Samurai TV, TNA Pay-Per-View, and many Philadelphia area local news segments. Kashmere was nationally ranked in Pro Wrestling Magazine's Top 500 wrestlers in the world 9 out of 13 years that he competed in the ring.

Championships and accomplishments

ACW Tag Team Championship The ACW Tag Team Championship was the top professional wrestling tag team championship title in the American independent promotion Assault Championship Wrestling. The first champions were Heavy Artillery (Apollo and Gunner) who defeated Mind an ...

(1 time) – with

BJW Junior Heavyweight Championship BJW may refer to: * the IATA code for Bajawa Soa Airport, Indonesia * Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1995. It is most famous for its deathmatch style contests. History Big Japan Pro ...

( 1 time) *

( 6 times) – with Robby Mireno (1), Justice Pain (1) and Trent Acid (4) *

East Coast Wrestling Association East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to ...

:* ECWA World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Trent Acid *Hardway Wrestling :*HW Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Trent Acid *

Jersey All Pro Wrestling Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) was an independent wrestling promotion based in New Jersey, United States. History 1997 Jersey All Pro Wrestling was an independent wrestling promotion that was founded by "Fat" Frank Iadeavia and Angel Surita ...

:* JAPW World Tag Team Championship (

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) – with Trent Acid *National Championship Wrestling :*NCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Trent Acid *

Phoenix Championship Wrestling Phoenix Championship Wrestling was a short-lived American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Toms River, New Jersey. It was founded by twin brothers Don and Mike Bucci in 2001 and promoted by Don Bucci until its close two year ...

PCW Tag Team Championship Phoenix Championship Wrestling was a short-lived American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Toms River, New Jersey. It was founded by twin brothers Don and Mike Bucci in 2001 and promoted by Don Bucci until its close two years ...

(1 time) – with Trent Acid *

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

**PWI ranked him #319 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the

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

in 2010 *

( 1 time) – with Trent Acid *Other titles :*POW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) :*PWF Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

References

External links

Johnny Kashmere

Pro Wrestling Unplugged

Wrestle Reality
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kashmere, Johnny American male professional wrestlers The Dudley Brothers members Living people 1978 births Professional wrestlers from Pennsylvania Professional wrestling promoters ROH World Tag Team Champions BJW Junior Heavyweight Champions (original version) 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers