ECW Original Balls Mahoney Reportedly Passes Away

Wrestling News Blog is saddened to learn that ECW Original Balls Mahoney has passed away at the age of 44.

Chris Candido’s brother Jonny says a friend saw ambulances parked in front of Mahoney’s house and when he called his wife, she gave him the unfortunate news. Jonny later said Balls died suddenly in the home.

Balls took a rough fall a few days ago and badly hurt his hip, according to PWInsider. After the fall, he had been using a walker to get around but became ill and passed away yesterday.

WWE issued the following:

WWE is saddened to learn of reports that Jonathan Rechner, best known for competing in ECW as Balls Mahoney, has passed away. WWE extends its condolences to Rechner’s family, friends and fans.

 

TNA Impact Wrestling Preview: 4/12/16

Scheduled for tonight’s Impact Wrestling on Pop TV:

Beer Money continues to put their title’s on the line issuing and open challenge to any IMPACT Wrestling Tag Team. Who will take them up on it and show up at Beer:30 to face the IMPACT Wrestling Tag Team Champions Beer Money?

Drew Galloway & Jeff Hardy VS Matt Hardy & Tyrus

EC3 VS “The Miracle” Mike Bennett w/ Maria Kanellis

Madison Rayne VS TNA Knockouts Champion Jade

TNA Impact Wrestling Replay No Longer Airing Late Tuesday Nights On POP TV

Source: WrestlingINC

POP TV will no longer air the TNA Impact Wrestling replays on late Tuesday nights beginning this week. The only airing on Tuesdays will be the 9pm EST airing.

POP now has the movie “Ghost Writer” scheduled to air after Impact tonight.

The weekly Impact replay will now air on Saturday mornings at 11:30am EST, beginning this coming weekend.

Kenny Omega Takes A Shot At WWE (video)

Source: WrestlingNews.Co

IWGP Intercontinental Champion Kenny Omega took a jab at WWE during his entrance at Saturday’s NJPW Invasion Attack 2016 event. Omega said that a lot of people wasted their money and time on a show (WrestleMania 32) last week, and he was going to show them what they should have been watching all along.

 

Cody Rhodes & Tommaso Ciampa Creating Charity Campaign To Honor Indie Wrestler Kris Travis

Source: WrestlingINC

WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes/Stardust will be launching a new charity campaign soon with NXT Superstar Tommaso Ciampa. 100% of the profits will go to Cavendish Cancer Care, in the name of indie wrestler Kris Travis who tragically passed away on March 31st. Cody tweeted the following on the campaign, which features the Dusty Rhodes ladder he used at WrestleMania 32:

Anderson & Gallows Finally Made Their WWE RAW Debut

The Usos defeated Curtis Axel and Heath Slater last night on RAW to advance to the second round of the new tag team tournament. After the match, they were attacked by a debuting Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. The former IWGP Tag Team Champions destroyed The Usos in and out of the ring as fans cheered them on with chants of Bullet Club. Gallows and Anderson came through the crowd and left over the barrier, taunting The Usos.

Apparently Doc Gallows will be using the name Luke Gallows, a name used in a prior stint with WWE in November 2009 – November 2010. Gallows also previously appeared in WWE 2007 – 2009 as Festus.

There is no word if Anderson & Gallows will be given a tag team name besides their names. Although by the reaction of the crowd, knowing full well of them being part of Bullet Club in NJPW, they most likely won’t be using that name due to the fact that NJPW owns the right to the name.

Here is video of their debut on RAW:

 

RAW Preview: 4/11/16, Shane McMahon In Charge Again

Source: WWE.com

Due to overwhelming social media support, WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon has placed Shane McMahon in charge of Raw again tonight! Plus, what will Raw guest star Dr. Phil have in store for some of WWE’s most combustible Superstars?

Can Styles claim Reigns’ WWE World Heavyweight Title?

What does Dr. Phil have planned for Raw?

Are The Dudley Boyz “Sawft”?

Will it be “lights, camera, action” for The Golden Truth?

Will The Wyatt Family seal The League of Nations’ fate?

Can Natalya knock Charlotte off her pedestal?

NJPW Invasion Attack 2016 Results

Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi) VS Juice Robinson & Ryusuke Taguchi) – Winners: Bullet Club

CHAOS (Kazushi Sakuraba, Toru Yano, & YOSHI-HASHI) VS Jushin Thunder Liger, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata) – Winners: Jushin Thunder Liger, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata

CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto) VS Los Ingobernables de Japan (Bushi & Evil) – Winners: CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto)

IWGP JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: (C) Ricochet & Matt Sydal VS Roppongi Vice – Winners and new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Roppongi Vice

IWGP JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: (C) KUSHIDA VS Will Ospreay – Winner: KUSHIDA

NEVER OPENWEIGHT 6-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS: (C’s) Bullet Club Elite (Young Bucks & Kenny Omega) w/ Cody Hall & Chase Owens VS Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin & Yoshi Tatsu – Winners  and new NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin & Yoshi Tatsu

NEVER OPENWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: (C) Katsuyori Shibata VS Hiroyoshi Tenzan – Winner: Katsuyori Shibata

IWGP TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP:  (C’s) GBH (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) VS Guerrilas Of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa) – Winners and new IWGP Tag Team Champions Guerrilas Of Destiny

IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: (C) Okada  W/Gedo VS Tetsuya Naito w/Bushi & Evil – Winner and new IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito

NJPW Invasion Attack (2016) Card 4/10/16

DATE: April 10, 2016 LOCATION: Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan

 

IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: (C) Okada ) VS Tetsuya Naito

IWGP TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP:  (C’s) GBH (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) VS Guerrilas Of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa)

NEVER OPENWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: (C) Katsuyori Shibata VS Hiroyoshi Tenzan

NEVER OPENWEIGHT 6-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS: (C’s) Bullet Club Elite (Young Bucks & Kenny Omega) VS Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin & Yoshi Tatsu

IWGP JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: (C) KUSHIDA VS Will Ospreay

IWGP JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: (C) Ricochet & Matt Sydal VS Roppongi Vice

CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto) VS Los Ingobernables de Japan (Bushi & Evil)

CHAOS (Kazushi Sakuraba, Toru Yano, & YOSHI-HASHI) VS Jushin Thunder Liger, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata)

Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi) VS Juice Robinson & Ryusuke Taguchi)

Ricochet headed to WWE soon?

Source: Wrestling News Post

Ricochet has told indie promoters that he isn’t taking any booking dates after June. He has been rumored to join WWE NXT, and it appears that he will be joining the company. However, one source told Dave Meltzer that WWE NXT may end up being where he eventually winds up but not his immediate move. Ricochet currently works for Lucha Underground as Prince Puma. He can get out of his deal with Lucha Underground after the third season, and the third season finishes taping in mid-May.

It should be noted that his deal with Lucha Underground wouldn’t allow him to go to WWE until six months after the season finishes airing, which would be late 2017 but it would be hard to see a situation where Luch Underground keeps him from signing with another company since he would not be paid. WWE is able to enforce non-competes because they pay wrestlers to sit at home for 90 days after they are released. That is not the case with Lucha Underground