The reason for dusting off the keyboard today is to get caught up with some unfortunate too-soon wrestling deaths. But overshadowing all of that is the fact that Prince also died yesterday.
 
In no uncertain terms, the dude was a musical genius... but I never felt much need to own anything other than a Greatest Hits of his, just because no matter how unique, catchy, or distinctive his music was, I always had this nagging problem with the fact that -- whenever given the choice -- Prince's music also always sounded "fake" to my ears. Drum kits, synthesizers, and so forth.
 

• Chyna (real name: Joanie Laurer) was found dead at her Redondo Beach, CA, home on Wednesday. She was 45 years old.
   
  There were no signs of foul play, nor any suicide note... however, the presence of multiple prescription drug bottles and Chyna's history of drug and alochol abuse mean the police are investigating the possibility of an overdose, whether intentional or not.
   
  The condition of the body suggests she died on Monday, which jibes with the fact that her last contact with friends was on Sunday evening. There was some concern among friends and neighbors that Chyna was struggling emotionally and self-medicating, but at the same time, she had also been keeping busy with two (non-porn) projects: a "Rebuilding of Chyna" documentary, and a guest spot on a reality show about plastic surgery gone awry.
   
  It'll probably be a few weeks before we know for sure, but even if Chyna's death isn't directly attributed to an overdose, you can expect her past abuses would be to blame for damaging her body to the degree that it would give out at age 45 (as was the case with Brian Pillman and Eddie Guerrero). It was nice having a stretch there were wrestlers were dying at relatively old ages, without having to make oblique references to "Personal Demons".... but here we are.
   
  Because of Chyna's addiction issues and career choices, it's unlikely WWE will be able to do much more than a passing homage to her legacy in the ring. It won't be the Full Benoit, but it's tough to justify drawing more attention to her death than absolutely necessary.
   
  And it's kinda too bad, since Chyna accomplished a whole hell of a lot, considering she really only had a 4 year run in WWE. She was a 2-time InterContinental Champion (the first and only woman to win it). She was the first woman to enter the Royal Rumble, and the first (and only) woman to compete in the King of the Ring. And she was briefly the #1 Contender to the WWE World Title, but lost the spot to Mankind just prior to SummerSlam 1999.
   
  As an incredible physical specimen, she was uniquely qualified to compete with the men, but she also brought an attention riveting "it" factor to everything she did. 
   
  She was a huge part of what made DX click, allowing Shawn Michaels and Triple H to do the classic chickenshit tactic of hiding behind a girl... but with a modern twist, as the girl would kick your ass if you pressed the issue. Chyna's affiliation with HHH was also important in terms of keep HHH relevant after HBK's departure.
   
  As a babyface, she became one of WWE's top line marketing tools, engaging in a ground-breaking feud with Jeff Jarrett, in which Jarrett played a massive sexist pig, only to lose his IC Title to Chyna. An appearance in Playboy wound up being the 2nd best selling WWE/Playboy crossover issue. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how just-plain-fun it was to watch Chyna and Eddie Guerrero ham it up during the Mamacita angle.
   
  Unfortunately, Chyna's undoing came behind the scenes. She and Triple H had been a couple, pretty much since her debut with the company. But when HHH and Stephanie McMahon began working closely together as part of an onscreen angle, a real-life romance developed, and HHH broke up with Chyna. She did not handle it well.
   
  Chyna's inability to just make a clean break didn't sit well with Stephanie, and she was (justifiably) concerned that Chyna still thought of HHH as her (Chyna's) boyfriend, and that Steph was just the Other Woman. Bottom line, Chyna's behavior was going to be toxic to HHH/Steph's personal AND professional lives, and as a result, Chyna was sent home and used sparingly for a few months before finally being released from WWE in late 2001.
   
  Chyna tried to stay focused on an in-ring career, accepting indie bookings and making decent coin for a single tour with New Japan Pro Wrestling. But depression and substance abuse led to increasingly poor decision making, including the release of a sex tape (with Sean "X-Pac" Waltman), highly publicized public meltdowns, media appearance made while impaired, and a trainwreck season of VH-1's "The Surreal Life."
   
  Chyna very briefly showed up in TNA in 2010, but wore out her welcome quickly. Chyna finally "went pro," and signed a contract with Vivid Video to make adult films (not just the home videos she had already done). As mentioned above, she was involved in her first significant non-porn projects in a while, at the time of her death, but was also as emotional and erratic as ever (including a recent crashing of Titan Tower, in which Chyna demanded to see HHH).
   
  It's a shame that Chyna never reached out to DDP or something like that. The full resources of WWE's wellness program were available to her (in terms of rehab and counseling), but Chyna was in perpetual denial, and opted not to take the corporate assistance.... more likely, it would have taken a concerted, hands-on interpersonal effort from a network of friends and loved ones to convince her to seek the help she needed. But that did not materialize.
   
  Joanie "Chyna" Laurer: December 27, 1969 - April 20, 2016. Condolences to all her family, friends, and fans.
   
  
• Balls Mahoney (real name: John Rechner) passed away last Tuesday, at the age of 44. Reports are he was watching Jeopardy when he quietly collapsed into unconsciousness; his wife called 911, but he was dead by the time EMTs arrived.
   
  Though Balls will be remembered almost exclusively for his time spent in ECW, Rechner's career spanned almost 30 years. He was trained at Larry Sharpe's Monster Factory in New Jersey, and made his in-ring debut at the age of 15. And Balls last match was just a few months ago (a flaming tables match, no less).
   
  But for a good chunk in the middle of those 3 decades, Balls enjoyed a good deal of success. He finally made it onto the radar as Chris Candido's partner in Smokey Mountain Wrestling. At the time, SMW was affiliated with the WWF/E, who noticed the good-sized "Boo Bradley," and signed him to the 1995 equivalent of a "developmental deal."
   
  Rechner appeared on WWE TV as an evil Xanta Claus character, in the employ of Ted DiBiase... but the gimmick failed to find traction, and Xanta disappeared after about one month. WWE was fostering a relationship with ECW, at this point, and when they wanted a guy to get more polish, they'd see if Paul Heyman wanted the guy (with the understanding that WWE still had dibs if Heyman worked his magic; but in reality, they only ever "recalled" Al Snow; everyone else either failed to get over, or got over and stayed in ECW).
   
  Rechner got to ECW, adopted the name of Balls Mahoney, used AC/DC's "Big Balls" as his entrance theme, and never went anywhere without a steel chair. The presentation instantly clicked with ECW fans, who enjoyed the entire spectacle, starting with the sing-along entrance, and continuing on to matches filled with ultra-violence.
   
  Balls primarily worked as part of a tag team, a team that filled the "garbage match" slot recently vacated by the Gangstas. Axl Rotten was his first partner. But Balls had more success with Masato Tanaka (a rival-turned-partner; the two would hit each other with chairs to fire themselves up) and Spike Dudley, winning the ECW Tag Titles with each of them.
   
  Balls toured the indies and made a cameo during the early days of TNA after ECW folded in 2001. But when WWE looked to revive the ECW brand, Balls was front and center for the One Night Only PPVs and the SyFy reboot. Though never regaining the same level of success as in the original ECW, Balls was a valuable role player, helping to bring along younger talent, during a full 2 year run in WWECW.
   
  After his release in 2008, Rechner went through a slew of alternate names as he criss-crossed the indie circuit, including a surprisingly effective run in Ring of Honor and a mini-run as "Kahoneys" in TNA (TNA ran it's own version of an ECW Reunion show in 2010). As mentioned above, he remained active until as recently as earlier this year.
   
  John "Balls Mahoney" Rechner: April 11, 1973 - April 12, 2016. Once again, OO sends its condolences to his family, friends, and fans.
   
  
• How about we close with a couple less-depressing bullet points?
   
  For instance, Samoa Joe is the new NXT Champion, having pinned Finn Balor last night in Lowell, MA. Notably, it was just "regular" Balor, and not Demon Balor, which means the latter retains its mystique.
   
  There is widespread anticipation that Balor will now make his main roster debut on RAW, in which he will fit in to the on-going drama of whether or not AJ Styles is in cahoots with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson (Balor originated the Bullet Club in Japan, but when he left, AJ stepped in as a new leader).
   
  The title change should air on next Wednesday's episode, and will hopefully get NXT weekly TV back on track. The last time NXT held proper tapings was January, resulting in shows being fairly stale on the run-up to WM. Then, the 2 weeks of stop-gap TV taped at WM Fan Fest were just atrocious in terms of presentation; the crowd was dead silent the whole time, sucking the life out of those two episodes.
   
  I assume I am not alone in thinking that Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura is now the perfect main event for NXT Brooklyn during SummerSlam weekend, right?
   
  
• Bray Wyatt suffered a calf strain at a house show in Milan, Italy, about 10 days ago... it was a freak occurrence: he just planted his foot for a collar and elbow tie-up, and pulled something.
   
  The injury will not require surgery and will keep Wyatt out of action for another 4-6 weeks, which is a lot more manageable than originally feared. However, the timing is still awful, as the Wyatt Family appeared to be in the midst of a face turn that would align things for some crazy Factional Warfare (League of Nations, Wyatts, with Reigns/Usos and AJ/Gallows/Anderson in the midst of forming).
   
  Conceivably, Bray could still be used on TV in a non-wrestling role; it's certainly a role he's played in the past.
   
  
• Monday's RAW will be the final icing on the cake for the Payback PPV. Already, WWE has announced that Gallows/Anderson will face the Usos in their WWE debut match.... as noted above, this only adds to the drama between AJ Styles and WWE Champion Roman Reigns.
   
  It is also likely to be the final night Shane McMahon is in control of the show before Vince/HHH/Steph show up to remind him it's only temporary. If he's to continue his streak of introducing new talents, that's where Finn Balor could fit in. But also: Titus O'Neil is set to return after the bullshit 60-day suspension passed down by Vince for the bullshittiest of bullshit reasons. Shane taking credit for bringing Titus back could be an interesting way to play off how stupid and petty Vince was.
   
  Could be a fun show; the last few weeks have certainly been very entertaining. Stop by OO late on Monday or at your leisure on Tuesday, and I'll have the full recap for you.
   
  
• And speaking of 60-day suspensions, WWE handed out two Wellness Suspensions this week. Adam Rose and Konnor (of the Ascension) got hit with their 2nd strikes.
   
  Curiously, Rose has spoken out publicly against the suspension, saying he got popped for a legitimately prescribed drug, and that he and his doctor are careful to dot every I and cross every T when it comes to submitting info to WWE. So far, Rose hasn't done much more than profess his innocence, but he's promising to collect all pertinent info, get a lawyer, and to fight the suspension.
  
  Hopefully, he's not burning any bridges; but his beef isn't with WWE or its policies, it's with the third party that administers the Wellness Program, and in this case, might have administered it wrongly. We'll see...
   
  
• That's it for today. RIP Prince, Chyna, and Balls. Man alive, year after year, April just insists on sucking, doesn't it?