The passing of “Bad Bones” John Klinger this past Monday has led to the customary outpouring of tributes from across the wrestling world.
As has (unfortunately) become tradition, wXw has made available a selection of matches from their archives… and here’s our look back on those.
From wXw 16 Carat Gold 2008 – March 09, 2008 – 16 Carat Gold 2008 Final: Bryan Danielson vs. Bad Bones
Bones had beaten PCO, El Generico and Ares to make it to the final, while Danielson’s run went through Mike Quackenbush, Naomichi Marufuji and Chris Hero.
We’re right in that spell where Bryan Danielson was despised in Germany, which would have made Bad Bones the defacto good guy. Even more so when Danielson jumped Klinger with a shotgun dropkick during the entrances, jump starting the match by choking and hooking away at Bones.
Danielson targeted the arm as the Essen crowd were on the American Dragon’s case – an early attempt at the Cattle Mutilation is eventually successful, but Bones was able to make it to the ropes to force the break. A telegraphed back body drop from Danielson’s kicked away as Bones clotheslined him to the outside for a wild pescado, before he dumped Danielson on the floor with a bodyslam.
Danielson quickly hit back though, posting Bones ahead of a piledriver on the outside in a bid to get the count-out win. That post and piledriver combo busted open Bones, drawing an ooh from the crowd once they’d noticed it as things returned to the ring, with a missile dropkick from Danielson keeping him on top – and in control of the pace as well.
Ripping at the cut doesn’t help Bones’ cause, as Danielson painted his own chest in Klinger’s blood ahead of a nonchalant cover for a two-count. A swandive headbutt’s next for a two-count, as was an inverted cravat that stretched Bones on the mat. Switching up, Danielson ties up Bones’ legs for a curb stomp, before right hands to Bones in the corner only served to fire up the “German Psycho.”
Shrugging off a poke to the eye, the bloodied Bones fought back, only to get dragged to the outside with some body scissors. Back inside, a flying something or other from Danielson gets countered with a spear, as Bones again tried to muster a comeback, beating Danielson to the punch ahead of a forearm off the ropes for a quick two-count.
Flipping over Bones in the corner looked to create an opening for Danielson, but Bones was right back with a spinebuster as we crossed the ten-minute mark… before the pair decided to use their heads. Literally. Headbutts back-and-forth left both men laying, while a diving kick from Danielson ensured he was able to capitalise after getting back to his feet.
A triangle choke had Danielson forcing the referee to do the arm drop gimmick on Bones, who wouldn’t stay down. After powerbombing his way free, Bones rolled Danielson into a half crab, ending in the ropes. Things escalated with a leaping headbutt catching Danielson on the top rope, but the follow-up belly-to-belly superplex saw them land too close to the opposite corner as Danielson forced the break… before he wrestled Bones into an O’Connor roll for a near-fall of his own.
Ducking a discus clothesline, Bones came close with a Bossman slam, then with a wicked lariat as he looked to be on top… calling for a Shadow Driver to get a win. Danielson slips out though, and after the ref missed a mule kick, almost stole the win with a small package, before taking Bones into a Tree of Woe for a dropkick in the corner. The Scott Hall-esque back superplex out of the corner gets another near-fall, prompting Danielson to go back to the Cattle Mutilation, with the ropes again saving the day.
Refusing to let go entirely, Danielson charges in with knees to the head of Bones before he reapplied the hold, letting go only to roll over Bones… for another near-fall as Essen continued to get behind him. Hammer elbows followed, but Bones was able to slip out and fire off a series of his own to Danielson as the match descended into the pair just swinging at each other. A rolling elbow from Danielson lands, but Bones shrugs it off and lands an over-the-knee brainbuster… before a lariat and the Shadow Driver finally put an end to proceedings and win Bones 16 Carat Gold!
Result: John Klinger pinned Bryan Danielson in 20:42 (***½)
From wXw FAN 2015 – August 29, 2015 – wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship: Karsten Beck vs. AJ Styles vs. John Klinger (c)
An instant rematch after Beck lost the title to John Klinger 24 hours previous on the Fans Appreciation Night in Hamburg… and of course, Beck was rather morose on his return to Oberhausen.
AJ’s inclusion came as a part of a working partnership between wXw and New Japan that had been announced a month earlier. Imagine THAT timeline having been the prevailing one. It might have meant a lot more Bullet Club in Germany, mind you…
Oh hey! It’s a pair of familiar voices in Alan Counihan and Jeremy Graves on the call. I miss hearing those guys. Anyway, the match gets going with Beck getting bounced between Bad Bones and AJ Styles before he was tossed outside, as Styles then grounded Klinger with a side headlock. Shoulder tackles follow, before AJ’s leapfrog/dropkick combo sent the new champion into the corner.
Beck’s back to catch AJ with an elbow in the corner, but a spinning heel kick from Styles took care of Karsten, as Klinger comes back to keep AJ at bay. A back body drop from Klinger takes AJ into the sky, before Beck low bridges Bad Bones to the outside so he could pick up the pieces on AJ.
A hair pull drags Styles to the mat, before Beck knocked Klinger off the apron before Styles made a comeback… only to run into Beck’s boot. Klinger’s back with a slingshot spear for a near-fall, but Beck manages to avoid a follow-up missile dropkick and comes right back with knee drops for a lackadaisical two-count.
AJ’s knocked off the apron again as Beck tried to force the issue, keeping Bones on the defensive with some right hands into the corner. Styles eventually returns to lay into Beck with chops, but a stun gun from Beck almost overshoots AJ, who spills back outside again. Klinger gets back in with a small package for a two-count, as Beck then kicked out and booted Bones again.
Klinger makes another comeback, charging Beck into the corner as he then lifted him up top… but AJ returns to complete the Tower of Doom as all three men were left laying. AJ’s back to his feet first, leaping into Beck and Bones before taking down Klinger with suplex/neckbreaker (YOSHI-HASHI’s Bunker Buster)… then Beck with an ushigoroshi.
Beck avoids a Styles Clash, as Klinger runs in to knee Styles ahead of a crucifix bomb into the corner. A superkick followed, as Beck hits a dropkick to Klinger to stop him from making a cover. It’s Klinger and Beck up first, with Karsten hitting an Exploder before a Flatliner spiked Styles onto his head. Another slingshot spear’s blocked with a knee from Beck, which almost ends the match.
Bones hits the ropes, ducking a Beck clothesline before diving into AJ, sending him into the front row. A baseball slide dropkick takes Beck outside too, as he proceeded to roll Klinger back inside… only to throw him onto the apron as Klinger finally lands that missile dropkick. Klinger takes a while to recover, but he’s cut-off with a Phenomenal Forearm, before a Pele kick continued those greatest hits, as a Bloody Sunday DDT almost led to another title change.
Beck tries to pick up AJ, but gets caught with an enziguiri… a 450 splash from Styles misses Klinger, as Beck comes back with a Doctor Bomb for a near-fall. Forearms to the back of Klinger keep Beck ahead, as the pair trade elbows until a piledriver was countered with a back body drop, almost taking Beck into a Styles Clash as Klinger had to superkick the hold apart.
Klinger tries to take advantage again with an over-the-knee brainbuster for a near-fall, as he and AJ then went at it… Styles floats over Klinger into a Styles Clash, but Beck breaks up the cover in the nick of time. He takes AJ up top for a superplex, but Styles slips out before some Wrecking Ball knees from Klinger knocked AJ right to the outside. Beck’s back up and runs into Klinger, hitting him with a piledriver… and that opportunistic moment allowed Beck to regain the title after 24 hours. A cracking three-way, with the three of these meshing really well – as Beck’s bad weekend suddenly got good.
Result: Karsten Beck pinned John Klinger to win the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship in 17:12
From wXw 16 Carat Gold 2017 – March 11, 2017 – 16 Carat Gold 2017 Second Round: Bad Bones vs. Cody Rhodes
The last quarter-final sees Cody Rhodes getting a hero’s welcome once again, as he crowdsurfs during his entrance! He didn’t even get this at PWG for crying out loud!
Bad Bones launches into Cody with a spear almost as soon as he hit the ring, which would have been a real surprise… but this was all Bad Bones from the start, as he looked to finish Cody early with the Rebel Lock (crossface). Cody, who was looking to prove himself in a new promotion, freed himself and caught Klinger in a figure four, before a crossbody was ducked, sending Cody sailing to the outside.
Klinger followed up with a low-pe to a rather disapproving reaction from the Oberhausen crowd, then a sliding lariat back in the ring as it became clear that this crowd wanted a Cody win, especially when Klinger raked at Cody’s eyes to cut-off a comeback. Cody started to fight his way into it, trading running knees with Bones, before elbowing out of a half-nelson suplex and finally coming back with a scoop slam.
A Disaster kick from Cody was countered into a Codebreaker as Bones picked up a near-fall, before Cody escaped a powerbomb and launched into some pinning attempts. The basement uppercut rocks Bad Bones, who then takes some Dusty punches and a Bionic Elbow that popped an already hot crowd, as did the Disaster Kick… but Bones kicked out!
We get a ref bump as Cody accidentally took down Rainer Ringer after Bones had already knocked him with a flailing arm, and of course, he followed up with Cross Rhodes for a visual pin. Cody checks on the downed ref, but that just lets Bad Bones get back to his feet, and land a superkick. Ringer comes to his senses in time to count a near-fall, before Cody taks a crucifix buckle bomb.
Cody rolled to the outside to avoid Bad Bones’ Wrecking Ball knees, but returns to spray a mouthful of water at him en route to a Cross Rhodes for a near-fall. That gets chants of “John Klinger Sucks” as Oberhausen compared him to John Cena, but that only spurred Bones to land those Wrecking Ball knees for a near-fall. A spear from Bones is countered by a knee from Cody, who then heads up for a moonsault that misses… allowing a second set of Wrecking Ball knees to connect as Bad Bones picked up the really unpopular win. And I do mean that – loud boos rang out and middle fingers went up, as this crowd were far from happy. Hey, they did get to see a pretty good match as Cody took another step out of his comfort zone, inspired by one of the hottest crowds he’s been in front of since his WWE exit. Heck, they even sang his name long after his match ended!
Result: John Klinger pinned Cody Rhodes in 12:03 (***½)
From wXw 17th Anniversary – December 23, 2017 – wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship: Ilja Dragunov vs. John Klinger (c)
It felt a lot more, but this was Ilja’s second crack at the main title after winning 16 Carat Gold earlier this year – and given the build that wXw’d given him with that three-part documentary, some felt that today was his day. Others perhaps felt that the addition of the “title changes on interference” stipulation was too much of a giveaway.
“Bad Bones” came out on his lonesome here, and was instantly met with a firey Russian as Ilja took the fight to Klinger from the off. A full nelson backbreaker sent Klinger to the outside as Ilja kept up the pace with a tope on two sides of the ring, before a third was stopped by a chairshot from the champion. That chairshot drew blood, and Ilja’s firmly looking to put himself on that proverbial Muta Scale…
Clubbering forearms spatter Ilja’s blood even more, and this is going to be a long night for Dragunov given how he’s bleeding barely three minutes in here. Knees in the corner from Klinger don’t help things, nor do stomps as the champion seems to want to keep that blood a’flowing. Bones looks to make full use of the no holds barred stipulation as he grabs some chairs from under the ring and uses them on Dragunov, but Ilja finally ducks one and gets in an enziguiri.
He then gets swatted away with ease as Bones uses a chair to swipe away a springboard cross body, and this is starting to become a little unnerving to watch. Dragunov actually begs for more, and of course, Klinger obliges, using another chair to knock Ilja off the top rope and to the outside once more. There’s still fight in him though, as Ilja spits blood at Klinger, before scoring with a sunset flip powerbomb onto that pile of chairs in the ring.
That seemed to spark a fire in Ilja, as he almost beat Bones with a knee to the face and a Grüße aus Moskau (discus lariat) before going to the pile of chairs as Dragunov whacked Klinger with one… and tossed the frame into the crowd! Another chair’s thrown at Bones, which led to Ilja going Coast to Coast for a near-fall, before a back-elbow gets caught and turned into a half-and-half suplex as Bones swung the momentum back his way.
Ilja catches a Decapitation kick and hits a lariat… while keeping hold of the champion’s wrist! Someone’s been watching those Okada tapes as more lariats follow until Bones hits a low blow and a small package as Dragunov is forced to kick out. A series of slaps sees Ilja fire up again, but a single headbutt ends that as a thunderous DDT onto a chair left Dragunov down once more for a two-count.
Another chairshot misses as Ilja tried to swipe it away with his arm, before he instead forces Klinger onto his knees for a series of Bryan Danielson-esque elbows, but Klinger’s back to stomp on his head some more, before Ilja uses a Torpedo Moscau to block another chairshot! That’s the cue for Ilja to find a table, which he sets up in the pool of blood that he’d left from earlier in the match, before shooing away the front row… and this can’t end well.
Ilja returns to the ring as he tried to clothesline Bones off the apron and into the table, but Klinger holds firm and counters with a slingshot spear back into the ring! Ilja crawls onto the apron, but returns with a lariat of his own before going for a suplex on the apron… Bones counters with a boot, then hits the Big E spear through the ropes and through that damned table!
Dragging Ilja back into the ring, Bones looked to put the finishing touches with a chair-wrecking Conchairto, but it just made Zombie Ilja rise from the almost-dead! Ilja shoved aside the referee as he went to fire back again… but Klinger was waiting with a Shadow Driver, and that Awful Waffle proved to be enough to end this bloody war as Bones left Oberhausen with the belt. Well, when Ilja bled from the start, we knew this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park, and so it came to pass. Lots of blood, lots of devastation, and plenty of popped off chairs… Bad Bones ends the year as champion, and as for a tearful Ilja… what’s next?
Result: John Klinger pinned Ilja Dragunov in 23:42 to retain the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship (****)
From wXw 16 Carat Gold 2018 – March 10, 2018 – wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship: WALTER vs. John Klinger (c) vs. Ilja Dragunov
Yeah, the Turbinenhalle was on FIRE just for WALTER’s entrance. Goosebumps forming on your arm just at the mere sight of him on the entry-way. Meanwhile, the champion John Klinger gets chants of “John Klinger sucks” at the mere sight of his pre-match promo video. Even more so when he got the live band playing his prior ring music, “I Walk Alone”.
It’s a very partisan crowd, and that was before the addition of the stipulation: WALTER made it a three-way-dance. With the returning ILJA DRAGUNOV.
Holy shit! The Turbinenhalle lost their minds… while Bad Bones looked like he’d seen a ghost!
Klinger started by being clotheslined by both me, but RISE made use of the three-way stipulation by overloading on run-ins early. Da Mack gets clotheslined by Ilja, as payback for what happened at Tag League, while WALTER just press slammed Mack onto the rest of RISE… all while the crowd sang WALTER’s music. They’re chased away by the swift appearance of Avalanche, Julian Nero and Timothy Thatcher, with the remnants of Cerberus and RINGKAMPF helping to keep this a fair fight.
Klinger tries to leave with his title, and this leads to some brawling in the crowd (away from my line of sight, yay!), but they’re quickly back in as WALTER and Ilja double team Klinger… until WALTER just boots off Ilja’s head. Yep, we’re back to the chops as we get throwbacks to last year’s Carat final, at least until Klinger re-emerges on the scene.
The slingshot spear cuts Ilja in half, but Dragnov hits back with a half nelson into a backbreaker and a couple of lariats, just as WALTER returned! Klinger again goes for Ilja, but his chops just get Ilja spitting at him as the crowd began to roar behind Dragunov, right as he fired up once more. Even more chops continue to mark up Dragunov’s chest, before weathering a storm and dropping Dragunov with a half-nelson German suplex. Oh hi, WALTER’s back to kill Klinger, much to the crowd’s approval!
Bad Bones ‘ranas out of a powerbomb, but his tope is caught and turned into a powerbomb into the ringpost as Ilja dove out too, but it ends badly as the front row of chairs came into play, with Ilja going through them. Using the rules in his favour, Klinger low blows and DDT’s WALTER for a near-fall, before locking in the Rebel Lock, which WALTER rolls out of and into a rear naked choke… that almost pinned him!
Another rear naked choke follows, but Dragunov breaks it up with a back senton off the top rope, only for WALTER to continue the decimation via chops. It descended into a brief battle, but a WALTER chop puts him down after grabbing him by the throat. Good Lord! A short-arm lariat brutalises Dragunov, as does a second one, but Bones is back to break it up all over again.
Klinger sends a Torpedo Moscau into WALTER, but the Austrian recovers to break up the pin as Klinger tried a roll-up win. WALTER starts to aim his chops at Klinger next, only to get met with a Shotgun dropkick… but WALTER busts some out too, hitting Klinger with one before a powerbomb on Dragunov almost wins the match.
Slaps from WALTER put Ilja on jelly legs, as WALTER counters a Torpedo Moscau attempt with a rear naked choke… Ilja escapes and almost gets the win after a Torpedo Moscau on Bones, following a missed belt shot, and now this crowd are behind Dragunov! BURNING HAMMER TO BONES! Torpedo Moscau… and Ilja Dragunov is your new champion! A year-long road finally pays off, as Ilja Dragunov, after so much heartache and time off… returns and wins the big one on his first night back! A wondrous match, and there’ll be a lot more to unpack here than the result…
Result: Ilja Dragunov pinned John Klinger & WALTER to win the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship in 20:35 (****¾)