Wrestler Balls Mahoney dies at 44

Pro wrestler Johnny Candido, the brother of the late Chris Candido, broke the news of Mahoney’s death on Twitter.

Earlier today, Mick Foley also posted a lengthy message on his Facebook page, fondly remembering his time at Smoky Mountain Wrestling, where he worked with Mahoney. He found fame and success among wrestling fans when he went to Paul Heyman’s Extreme Championship Wrestling where he wrestled as Balls Mahoney.

Mahoney, real name Jonathan Rechner, had just celebrated his 44th birthday yesterday. Xanta was Santa’s “evil twin”, brought to WWE by “The Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase.

The news came as a shock to his former employers WWE, while a host of wrestlers paid homage to the former ECW original after learning his tragic fate.

Following his stint in ECW, Rechner returned to WWE as Balls Mahoney from 2005-08 when he was released from his contract before working on the independent wrestling circuit for several years. Balls also had a brief run as part of the revamped WWECW in the mid 2000s, where strangely enough he was part of romantic storyline with Kelly Kelly of all people.

Wrestling star Jonathan Rechner – known professionally as Balls Mahoney – has died, aged 44.

He was a three-time ECW Tag Team Champion, but was in the running for TV Title gold while in the original ECW.