Jonathan Rechner, better known to wrestling fans as Balls Mahoney, died today at the age of 44. Rechner’s passing comes one day after his birthday.
The news hit the Internet on Tuesday night via the Twitter account of Johnny Candido. His brother, Chris, passed away in 2005 and was friends with Rechner. In fact, Rechner named his son Christopher to honor Candido.
https://twitter.com/Candido118/status/720062996568018944
@WrestlingNewsCo @OfficialPWI @apter1wrestling 1 of my best friends/another brother just passed away, balls mahoney pic.twitter.com/nei7RcVSQM
— jonnycandido (@Candido118) April 13, 2016
Rechner had a brief spell with WWF from 1995-96, and the next year, joined ECW. Working under the name Balls Mahoney, he was a three-time ECW World Tag Team Champion. Additionally, he formed a popular tag team with Axl Rotten, who also passed away at age 44 earlier this year.
He left the company when it folded in 2001, worked on the independent scene for a while, and eventually returned to WWE from 2005-08. Once released from his WWE contract, he made his way back to the independent scene.
So far, the cause of Rechner’s death is unknown. All of us would like to extend our deepest condolences to Rechner’s family.
(via Top Rope Press)
