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Pro wrestler John ‘Bad Bones’ Klinger — who competed in Westside Xtreme Wrestling and TNA, among other promotions — passed away just days after his latest match in the ring. He was only 40.
wXw made the tragic announcement on Monday. Klinger’s cause of death hasn’t been disclosed.
“We wish his family and friends strength during this difficult time,” the wrestling promotion said.
This heartbreaking turn of events comes after Klinger’s fight on May 11 … when he wrestled former WWE star Flash Morgan Webster for the Prime Time Wrestling event.
Webster says Klinger was going to retire soon.
“I only wrestled him 9 days ago,” Webster said, “Was talking to him in Poland after the match about how he was gonna retire in September and was happy with what he’d achieved and was happy to step away on his own terms.”
“Life can be so cruel. Rest in peace John.”
Bad Bones started his wrestling career 20 years ago and got in the ring for several promotions across the world, including wXw, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and Evolve.
The German native held various titles, including the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship three times, and he won a bunch of championships.
Klinger was named to Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s top 500 wrestlers (271 to be exact) in 2019.
R.I.P.