Bullet Club in WWE, Balls Mahoney's Death and Top WWE News from Week of April 16

Things have slowed down quite a bit on the WWE news front since WrestleMania 32, but there were still plenty of stories from the past week worth mentioning.

Balls Mahoney Passes Away

The wrestling world lost another member of its family this week when Balls Mahoney passed away at the age of 44.

Mahoney was a mainstay in ECW for several years, wrestling the biggest names in the hardcore promotion on a regular basis.

He held several titles during his career, including the ECW Tag Team Championship on three separate occasions with two different partners.

Friends and colleagues of Mahoney took to Twitter to share their thoughts and condolences:

WWE fans may remember Mahoney from a short stint in the rebranded ECW on Syfy, but most will know him from his time in the original ECW or possibly his brief run in WWE as Xanta Claus. Rest in peace, Balls.

Titus O'Neil's Suspension Ends

Titus O'Neil was suspended a little over two months ago during Daniel Bryan's retirement segment on Raw following a misunderstanding with Vince McMahon.

O'Neil took responsibility for the incident during an interview with Justin Sarachik of Rapzilla, but many felt the punishment was too harsh for the crime, especially Batista.

The great thing about O'Neil is how positive he has stayed through all this. He has continued to focus on charity work during his downtime.

His suspension ended this week, but we have to wait until next week's shows to see if he returns right away and whether or not he will be given any kind of push.

First Global Cruiserweight Series Qualifying Matches Announced

WWE.com has confirmed dates for EVOLVE and PROGRESS Pro Wrestling's first qualifying matches for the upcoming Global Cruiserweight Series on the WWE Network. EVOLVE will hold two matches May 7, and PROGRESS will hold its bouts April 24.

The winners of those contests will join Rich Swann, Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, Noam Dar, Akira Tozawa, Ho Ho Lun and Lince Dorado in the next round of matches taking place at the show's premiere July 13.

Not only is it a little surprising to see WWE featuring cruiserweights in a prominent way, but it's even more shocking to see the company form these kinds of relationships with smaller promotions.

Bringing in some outside talent to make the series more interesting will definitely have a positive result for EVOLVE and PROGRESS in the form of more interest in the promotions from the WWE Universe.

It will be interesting to see how this show is structured and what the winner will receive at the end of the tournament.

WWE Performance Center Welcomes 10 New Recruits

WWE is clearly taking its future seriously. We have seen several big signings over the past year, and the company has also welcomed plenty of new recruits.

WWE released the video above showing 10 new members of the WWE family being welcomed to the Performance Center.

The new class is made up of everyone from powerlifters to pro athletes, and a few established wrestlers even made the cut.

A popular tag team by the name of The Mighty Don't Kneel is part of the group. Hopefully, WWE management allows it to keep that name, because it's awesome.

Karl Anderson and Luke 'Doc' Gallows Debut on Raw

We have been hearing rumblings about the possibility of Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows joining their fellow Bullet Club members Finn Balor and AJ Styles in WWE, and it all came together on Monday's Raw.

Following a match, Anderson and Gallows mercilessly attacked The Usos, making a big statement right off the bat.

WWE referred to Gallows as Luke, the name he went by during his time with CM Punk's Straight-Edge Society, but he made a name for himself in Japan as Doc, so don't be surprised if that becomes a nickname at some point.

They are joining an already crowded tag team division, but seeing as WWE announcers made a big deal about the team's past success, it's safe to say they will get a push immediately.

It looks like their first feud will be with The Usos, but everyone wants to know if they will form a new version of The Bullet Club with Styles and Balor.

What do you think? Should WWE keep these guys separate or embrace their past and have them form a stable?

Thanks for reading and follow me on Twitter: @BR_Doctor.