Loyal, friendly, funny, easygoing, underrated, never said no, these are just a few words to describe John “Balls Mahoney” Rechner who sadly passed away Tuesday at his New Jersey home at the age of 44.
Rechner was a near 30 year veteran making his debut in 1987. In his early career, he made appearances in multiple companies including Smoky Mountain Wrestling, where he worked with WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley. In 1995, he appeared for WWF as Zanta Klaus, Santa’s evil brother. He would make a handful of appearances before departing the company.
In 1997 Rechner got his big break when he signed with ECW and became “The Chair Swinging Freak” Balls Mahoney. Shortly after his debut, he began teaming with Axl Rotten. They were always contenders for the ECW Tag Team titles. The duo would never capture titles.
In 1999, Mahoney would start teaming with Spike Dudley. The duo would trade the ECW Tag Team Titles with The Dudley Boys during the spring and summer of 1999. They would actually drop the titles to The Dudleys on their last night with ECW before they headed to the WWF.
At ECW Anarchy Rules, Mahoney stepped in as a last minute challenger for ECW TV Champion Rob Van Damn. The two had what is without a doubt one of ECW’s most underrated matches of all time. RVD would retain, but Mahoney proved he could go with one of the best in the business.
After a third tag team title run with Masato Tanaka, Mahoney would form different teams during ECW’s final days. He was one of a few stars that stayed with the company until the very end.
After ECW folded, Mahoney would work various indies, including a run in the early days of TNA teaming with former ECW alum The Sandman.
After being drafted to Smackdown in 2008, he was released shortly after. Shortly after his release, Mahoney would go back to working independents. Mahoney also appeared for Ring of Honor, and appeared in TNA as Kahoneys for their Harcore Justice ECW themes PPV in 2010.
Over the years, Mahoney lost a considerable amount of weight and kept working indie shows. His scheduled June 11th PWS appearance has been rebranded as a tribute to him. Mahoney is survived by his wife and son.
Rest in Peace Balls, you were truly taken from us way too soon.