Wikipedia

Karsten Beck

Karsten Pitann[3] (25 November 1986 – 15 October 2020),[3][4] better known by his ring name Karsten Beck, was a German professional wrestler. He was best known for his work with Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw).

Karsten Beck
Beck in October 2019, at World Tag Team Festival
Birth nameKarsten Pitann
Born(1986-11-25)25 November 1986
Wesel, Germany
Died15 October 2020(2020-10-15) (aged 33)
Cause of deathBrain cancer
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Diego Latino
Herr Karsten Beck
Karsten Beck
Masked Destroyer VI[1]
Pizmark Jr.[2]
Billed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Billed weight233 lb (106 kg)
Trained byHate
Westside Dojo
Debut2006
Retired2016

In wXw, Beck was a two-time Unified World Wrestling Champion, and apart from John Klinger's one-day reign, he was the champion for over a year from January 2015 to March 2016. Beck was also a one-time World Tag Team Champion, alongside Adam Polak. He worked as a heel during his most successful years with wXw, and became known for cheating to win his matches. In 2016, Beck was forced to retire after being diagnosed with a brain tumour, and having turned face, he was later used as the director of sports, the promotion's authority figure, for the next four years. He died in October 2020 from brain cancer.

Career

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Pitann debuted in 2006, portraying a luchador enmascarado character, named Diego Latino.[5] During this time, he was part of the La Familia stable where he frequently teamed in different German promotions with Baca Loco, whose mask he won in July 2008.[6] He then began regularly appearing for Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw), under the ring name Karsten Beck. However, it was not until 2011, when he joined The Mind, a stable led by Adam Polak, that he had more of a prominent role. In March 2011, he and Polak defeated Oberhausen Terror Corps (Bad Bones and Carnage) to become World Tag Team Champions, enjoying a seven-month reign.[7] Beck and Big Van Walter (Polak's replacement) dropped the title in Mannheim to The Wanderers (Jason Hendrix and Jay Skillet),[8] who were used as transitional champions, in order to get the title onto the Sumerian Death Squad (Michael Dante and Tommy End), a tag team previously associated with The Mind. The following year saw him reach the quarter-final of 16 Carat Gold, in which he almost got away with cheating to beat El Generico,[9] and during the summer was involved in title shots for Generico's Unified World Wrestling Championship.[10] In 2013, Beck reached the semi-final of 16 Carat Gold, where he was defeated by Zack Sabre Jr.;[11] it would turn out to be his career best in the tournament. By the end of the year, he started teaming with Sha Samuels, which continued into 2014, but they were only granted one title shot, in a defeat to Hot & Spicy (Axel Dieter Jr. and Da Mack).[12] In October, Beck participated in World Triangle League, a round robin tournament in conjunction with Big Japan Wrestling (BJW) and Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), where he won the final in a three-way match with Biff Busick and Rich Swann.[9] At Back to the Roots, Beck sided with Vince Russo, and talked his way into a title shot for Big Daddy Walter's Unified World Wrestling Championship. He won the title after interference from Russo and Samuels, with the former revealing his own referee shirt and then lackadaisically counting the pin. Russo later identified Beck as a homegrown wrestler that the promotion should build themselves around,[9] and his reign lasted 223 days, until he was defeated by John Klinger at the Fans Appreciation Night in Hamburg. The next day, Beck won the title back from Klinger, in a three-way match also involving New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) representative A. J. Styles.[9] His second reign lasted 196 days, when he was defeated at 16 Carat Gold by his former tag partner, Jurn Simmons, in a four-way match also involving Klinger and Absolute Andy.[9] Beck left his boots in the ring and did not return until Shortcut to the Top, where he turned face and was the surprise 30th entrant, eliminating Simmons and shortly afterward, Dieter to win the match. The resulting match between the two men ultimately did not take place as Beck was diagnosed with a brain tumour, and he had to have surgery to have it removed.[9] Beck was then used in an on-screen role, as the director of sports, the promotion's authority figure. In 2017, Beck was involved in a storyline with general manager Christian Michael Jakobi, which would have led him to come out of retirement, but this was shelved when he made an announcement that the tumour had returned.[9] Later that year, he was inducted into the promotion's Hall of Fame.[13] He remained in his role as director of sports for the next three years, and was replaced by Absolute Andy during Germany's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, as he was considered susceptible from contracting coronavirus.[14]

Death

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On 15 October 2020, Pitann died at the age of 33, following his four-year battle with brain cancer.[15]

Championships and accomplishments

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Luchas de Apuestas record

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See also: Luchas de Apuestas
Winner (wager) Loser (wager) Location Event Date Notes
Diego Latino (mask) Baca Loco (mask) Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Westside Dojo Fuck Steve Venom July 28, 2008 [6]

References

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  1. ^ "WESTSIDE DOJO "BOTTROP LIVE 2010 - TAG 2"". Westside Xtreme Wrestling (in German). Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  2. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "wXw Lucha Exhibition". cagematch.net. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Karsten Beck". profightdb.com. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  4. ^ Currier, Joseph (October 15, 2020). "FORMER WXW CHAMPION KARSTEN BECK PASSES AWAY AFTER CANCER BATTLE". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  5. ^ Pollock, John (October 15, 2020). "Former wXw World Unified Champion Karsten Beck passes away". POST Wrestling. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Westside Dojo Fuck Steve Venom". cagematch.net. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  7. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "wXw 16 Carat Gold 2011 - Tag 3". cagematch.net. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  8. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "wXw Live In Mannheim". cagematch.net. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Hamilton, Ian (August 1, 2019). "Hamilton's wXw Says Goodbye to Karsten Beck Review". 411Mania.com. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  10. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "wXw Broken Rulz XII". cagematch.net. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
    Kreikenbohm, Philip. "wXw Fans Appreciation Weekend 2012 - Tag 2". cagematch.net. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  11. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "wXw 16 Carat Gold 2013 - Tag 3". cagematch.net. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  12. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "wXw Drive Of Champions Tour: Hamburg". cagematch.net. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  13. ^ Hamilton, Ian (December 29, 2017). "WXW 17TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW (DECEMBER 23, 2017)". backbodydrop.com. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  14. ^ Hamilton, Ian (May 30, 2020). "WXW SHOTGUN 2020 #1". backbodydrop.com. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  15. ^ Hamilton, Ian (October 15, 2019). "Former wXw Unified World Wrestling Champion Karsten Beck Passes Away". 411Mania.com. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  16. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "FWF Tag Team Championship". cagematch.net. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  17. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Deutsche Meisterschaft Championship". cagematch.net. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  18. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "GSW World Heavyweight Championship". cagematch.net. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  19. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "WrestlingCorner.de Championship". cagematch.net. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  20. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "SCW Heavyweight Championship". cagematch.net. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  21. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship". cagematch.net. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  22. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "wXw World Tag Team Championship". cagematch.net. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  23. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "wXw/CZW/BJW World Triangle League 2014 - Tag 4". cagematch.net. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  24. ^ cite web|url= https://www.cagematch.net/?id=97&nr=170#2017
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