10 Wrestlers Who Died In 2016
5. Balls Mahoney
The Hardcore Chair Swingin’ Freaks passed away within two months of each other, and while both men played huge roles in ECW, Balls Mahoney’s name will be more familiar to WWE fans than Axl Rotten’s. Mahoney worked for WWE from 2005 to 2008, primarily on the disastrous ECW on Sci Fi brand, where he worked sporadically with Kevin Thorne, Matt Striker, and Snitsky.
Another hardcore brawler, Balls was most associated with his stiffer-than-stiff chairshots that, given WWE’s recent concussion lawsuits, make for stomach-churning viewing in 2016. Mahoney threw chairshots with reckless abandon, but he took more than his fair share of punishment too, and was renowned for his ability to take a beating.
Beneath all this, Mahoney was actually a relatively solid all-round worker. Surprisingly sprightly for a man of his bulk, Balls was a powerful wrestler who brought significant amateur pedigree to the table, and that helped separate him from his scrappy peers.
Though his run as WWE’s Xanta Klaus is best left in the past, Mahoney was a huge hit in ECW. Often teaming (and warring) with kindred spirits in The Dudley Boyz and Masato Tanaka, Mahoney left the company as a three-time Tag Team Champion. Like his partner Axl Rotten, Mahoney was 44 years old at his time of passing