Wrestling star dies aged 40 - just nine days after his final match

European wrestling star Bad Bones, whose real name was John Klinger, has died at age 40, German wrestling promotion Westside Xtreme Wrestling announced. 

The reason for his passing and when exactly his death occurred were not made available. 

Klinger was most famous for his time spent wrestling in Europe and sporadic appearances with major American company TNA. 

Bad Bones had been wrestling for 20 years and had his first major success in 2007 by winning wXw's Strong Style Tournament. 

Klinger held wXw's top title, the Unified World Wrestling Championship, three times. Tributes from around the wrestling world have poured in for Bad Bones.  

Bad Bones passed away at 40, months before he was reportedly set to retire from the sport

'John Klinger was one of the defining wrestlers at wXw for over a decade. He won all of the major titles at wXw and won both 16 Carat Gold and Shortcut to the Top,' the promotion said in a post on X.  

'In his almost 450 matches in the wXw ring, he always worked hard and did his best to excite his fans,' wXw continued. 

'At just 40 years old, John died far too early, shortly before his planned retirement. We wish his family and friends strength in this difficult time,' the post concluded. 

Former WWE wrestler Flash Morgan Webster was his final opponent and talked about his final encounter with Klinger on social media. 

'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.' 

All Elite Wrestling star Will Ospreay tweeted: 'RIP "Bad Bones" John Klinger Always a pleasure.'

World Wrestling Entertainment commentator Corey Graves also paid tribute to Klinger. 

'Man, I just heard the news about John "Bad Bones" Klinger. What a gem of a human,' Graves said. 'I had so much fun wrestling/traveling with John back in our NWE days in Europe. My condolences to all of his friends and family. Rest well, my friend.'