Both tipping the scales at well over 300 pounds, Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney had a decade of territorial wrestling experience, runs in major promotions (Rotten in WCW, Mahoney in the WWF as "Xanta Claus") and a surprising level of technical wrestling acumen that belied their slovenly, battered appearances. As solo wrestlers, Rotten's "Taipei Death Matches" with kayfabe brother Ian involved the wrestlers using taped fists dipped in shards of glass, and immediately made Rotten as a niche-style hardcore grappler. Mahoney entered ECW in 1997, and became a star for bashing people over the head with uniquely decorated steel chairs. Once Rotten got with the program of bringing chairs to the ring, too, the "Hardcore Chair Swinging Freaks" were born and in a promotion filled with a plethora of unique niche acts, was easily one of the most beloved of those acts. Looking like two hard-nosed (yet surprisingly amiable) guys from the wrong side of the tracks, their unique presentation along with the ability to credibly wrestle Lance Storm and Chris Candido or brawl with the Dudleys (and see fire be involved) or Da Baldies allowed the tandem to always be entertaining. However, due to injuries when the team was due to content for the ECW Tag Team Championships, Balls' three runs with the titles were split between Masato Tanaka and Spike Dudley.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
