Lin Byron
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Ray (February 14, 1982 – August 30, 2018) was a
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...
. After being trained by Emi Sakura, Ray made her professional wrestling debut in September 2003 and would for the next several years wrestle under different
masks A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment, and often employed for rituals and rites. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, ...
, before she began working for Smash in March 2010, unmasked under the ring name Lin Byron (
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
: リン・バイロン, ) (sometimes transliterated as Lin Bairon). She remained with Smash until the promotion folded in March 2012, after which she transferred over to its successor,
Wrestling New Classic was a Japanese ''puroresu'' or professional wrestling promotion, founded in April 2012 by Yoshihiro Tajiri. WNC was the follow-up promotion to Smash, which folded in March 2012. History On April 5, 2012, Tajiri held a press conference to ann ...
(WNC), which lasted until June 2014. In April 2013, Byron became the third WNC Women's Champion. She revived the Ray character in January 2011, initially signing with
Ice Ribbon is a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion established in 2006 by Emi Sakura, after her split with Gatokunyan. History Ice Ribbon was founded by Emi Sakura, a professional wrestler wh ...
, before becoming a
freelancer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...
in May 2012. Afterwards, she mainly worked for the Reina Joshi Puroresu promotion, while also promoting her own independent events and traveling to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
to work for
Shimmer Women Athletes Shimmer Women Athletes (often referred to and stylized as SHIMMER) was an American, Chicago-based independent women's professional wrestling promotion which held its first event on November 6, 2005. Established by Dave Prazak and run by both ...
. During her career, Ray held the CMLL-Reina International Junior, International Ribbon Tag Team and WNC Women's Championships, among other titles. After being diagnosed with a brain tumor in December 2015, she died in August 2018.


Professional wrestling career


Gatokunyan and Ibuki (2003–2011)

Trained by Emi Sakura at the Gatokunyan dojo, she made her debut under the ring name Rei (
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
for "Zero") on September 15, 2003, facing Sakura in a losing effort at a show in
Korakuen Hall is a sports arena in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, which has hosted boxing, professional wrestling, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and Lethwei matches. History On April 16, 1962, the Korakuen Hall was officially opened with a capacity of approximat ...
. When Sakura left Gatokunyan in April 2006 to form
Ice Ribbon is a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion established in 2006 by Emi Sakura, after her split with Gatokunyan. History Ice Ribbon was founded by Emi Sakura, a professional wrestler wh ...
, Rei was one of only few of her trainees, who chose not to leave with her, but instead remained with Gatokunyan until the promotion folded in early 2007. The summer of 2007 also saw the folding of the
JDStar JDStar (also spelt Jd') was a women's professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on th ...
promotion, where Rei made appearances for six months under a different mask and the ring name Caribbean Moon, working as a member of the Caribbean Gundan
stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...
alongside Caribbean Kim and Caribbean Rum, with all three having characters inspired by the ''
Pirates of the Caribbean ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' is a Disney media franchise encompassing numerous theme park rides, a series of films, and spin-off novels, as well as a number of related video games and other media publications. The franchise originated with Wa ...
'' films. Under the new ring name Ray, she then began working regularly for Mariko Yoshida's Ibuki promotion, which had the goal of introducing the next generation of ''
joshi Joshi is a surname used by the Brahmin (caste) in India and Nepal. Joshi is also sometimes spelled as Jyoshi. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word ''Jyotishi'' meaning "astrologer" or a person who practices '' jyotisha''. ''Jyotisha'' refers ...
'' stars to the world of professional wrestling. While performing in the promotion, Ray also underwent further training under Yoshida, alongside the likes of
Hiroyo Matsumoto is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer. Emi Sakura gave her the nickname of because Matsumoto broke a wall in the Ichigaya arena during her Ice Ribbon debut. She is best known with other ...
,
Misaki Ohata , better known by her maiden name , is a Japanese retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. She is best known for her work while signed to the Zabun production company and its two promotions; Pro Wrestling Wave and Osaka Joshi Pro Wr ...
and
Tomoka Nakagawa is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. After being trained by Taka Michinoku, she started her career in his Kaientai Dojo promotion in September 2004. After leaving Kaientai Dojo in 2007, Nakagawa briefly joined Ibuki, where she underw ...
. In 2009, Ray joined
Nanae Takahashi (born December 23, 1978) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and the founder of Seadlinnng, as well as a co-founder of World Wonder Ring Stardom. She was signed to Dream Star Fighting Marigold, where she held her final match at Marigo ...
's Passion Red stable, which she would represent in promotions such as NEO Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling,
Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1995. It is most famous for its deathmatch style contests. History Big Japan Pro Wrestling was founded in March 1995 by former AJPW wrestlers Shinya Kojika and Kendo Nagas ...
(BJW),
JWP Joshi Puroresu , also known as or simply JWP, was a Japanese ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion, founded in 1992 as a splinter promotion of Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. Celebrating its 25th anniversa ...
and
Oz Academy is a Japanese '' joshi puroresu'' or women's professional wrestling promotion founded by Mayumi Ozaki. The promotion's full official name is . In addition to the contracted members of the roster, Oz Academy has also employed some of the top f ...
, performing under the ring name Passion Ray. When Ibuki ceased its operations in early 2010, the Ray character went inactive as its performer began working for Smash unmasked. However, on January 25, 2011, Ray held a press conference, announcing that she was making a comeback on February 5, now working as a
freelancer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...
on the Japanese
independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit (often shortened to the indie circuit or the indies) is the collective name of independently owned promotions which are deemed to be smaller and more regionalized than major national promotions. ...
.


Ice Ribbon (2008, 2011–2012)

Ray made her debut for her trainer Emi Sakura's Ice Ribbon promotion on June 1, 2008, when she teamed with Mai Ichii to defeat Sakura and Kazumi Shimouma in the tag team main event. Her next Ice Ribbon appearance took place on February 23, 2011, when she began wrestling regularly for the promotion. Ray quickly began feuding with Ice Ribbon Triple Crown Champion
Tsukasa Fujimoto is a Japanese '' joshi'' professional wrestler and actress. She is signed for Ice Ribbon as a wrestler and as the co-head trainer of their training facility. She is a record seven-time ICE×∞ Champion, six-time International Ribbon Tag Tea ...
, pinning her in a tag team match on February 26, only Ray's second match back in the promotion. After unsuccessfully challenging Fujimoto for the ICE×60 Championship on March 21, Ray teamed with Emi Sakura five days later to defeat Fujimoto and
Hikaru Shida is a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, actress, and model. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she is a former three-time AEW Women's World Champion, with her first reign being the longest in the title's history. She ...
for the
International Ribbon Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Ice Ribbon promotion. The championship was introduced on April 4, 2007, at an Ice Ribbon and Neo Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling co-promoted event, where the Neo Machineguns (Tanny Mou ...
. After the match, Ray officially named Ice Ribbon her new home promotion, ending her freelancing days. During the next two months, Ray and Sakura went on to successfully defend the title four times; against
Hikari Minami is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known for her work in the Ice Ribbon promotion, where she spent nearly seven years, making her debut in February 2006 at the age of eleven, becoming a two-time ICE×60 Champion and a one-time IW19 Cham ...
and Yoneyamakao Lee on April 9,
Riho is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). She is a former AEW Women's World Champion. She was trained by Emi Sakura and debuted for her Ice Ribbon promotion in May 2006, at the age of 9. She would work for th ...
and Tsukushi on April 16, Hikaru Shida and
Syuri , better known simply as , is a Japanese professional wrestler, shoot boxer, kickboxer and mixed martial artist. She is signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom, where she is the leader of God's Eye as well as the current IWGP Women's Champion in ...
on May 5 and
Makoto Oishi is a Japanese professional wrestler working for Dramatic Dream Team (DDT). Oishi started his career in Kaientai Dojo, where he became a Strongest-K Tag Team, Independent World Junior Heavyweight and UWA World Middleweight Champion, at one ti ...
and Neko Nitta on May 18. On June 1, Ray and Sakura lost the title to the Lovely Butchers (
Hamuko Hoshi is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for the Ice Ribbon promotion. She is also a former two-time ICE×∞ Champion and a four-time International Ribbon Tag Team Champion. She also makes regular appearances for the World Woman ...
and Mochi Miyagi). Afterwards, Ray began feuding with Chii Tomiya, which lasted until Tomiya left Ice Ribbon in late August. In January 2012, Ray formed the tag team Mascara Voladoras (
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
for the "Masked emaleFlyers") with fellow masked wrestler, JWP representative
Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
. They would wrestle together not only in Ice Ribbon, but also JWP and
Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling , often called , is a Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion. It is based in the city of Sendai, Miyagi in the Tohoku region. History Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling was founded in 2005 by Meiko Satomura, a female professional wrestler ...
. After not appearing for Ice Ribbon for three months, Ray returned to the promotion on May 5 at ''Golden Ribbon 2012'', teaming with Marines Mask II in the Go! Go! Golden Mixed Tag Tournament, from which they were eliminated in the first round by the team of Dynasty and Hikari Minami. On May 14, Ice Ribbon announced that Ray had quit the promotion to once again become a freelancer.


Smash (2010–2012)

On March 26, 2010, at Smash's first ever event, Ray appeared without her mask, taking part in a wrestling demonstration, where she was introduced by Tajiri as "Lin Byron" and named as part of the new promotion's roster, having allegedly passed a "World Tryout" audition. Smash did not recognize Byron's extensive background in professional wrestling, claiming instead that she was a newcomer and that, after graduating
Beijing Sport University Beijing Sport University (BSU; ) is a public university located in Beijing, China. It is part of the 211 Project and Double First-Class Construction. The university is affiliated with the General Administration of Sport of China. History BSU wa ...
, she traveled the world with a Chinese acrobatics association, before returning to Hong Kong in 2008 for a career in action movies. As part of the new character, Byron also hid her fluency in Japanese, instead speaking English in her interviews. Byron's character was a high-energy
babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...
, wrestling matches in a white jumpsuit and often using her martial arts background in matches. She wrestled her first match for Smash on April 23 at ''Smash.2'', teaming with Kushida in a tag team main event, where they defeated
Hajime Ohara is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Ohara worked for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) in Mexico for several years as part of his training, mixing the ''lucha libre'' style of Mexico with the Japanese Puroresu style ...
and Syuri, with Byron pinning Syuri for the win. On May 29 at ''Smash.3'', Byron teamed with Canadian wrestler Mentallo and South Korean comedy wrestler Kim Nan Pun in a six-person tag team match, where they defeated
Akira Shoji Akira Shoji (小路晃) (born January 31, 1974) is a retired Japanese mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He is most known as being a regular in almost all the beginning Pride Fighting Championship Shoji was in Pri ...
, Syuri and
Yusuke Kodama is a Japanese professional wrestler and currently wrestlers for All Japan Pro Wrestling as a freelancer. Kodama is best known for his time with Wrestle-1 (W-1), where he is a former two time UWA World Trios Champion, two time Wrestle-1 Cruiser ...
, with Byron once again picking up the deciding pinfall, this time over Kodama. On June 25 at ''Smash.4'', Byron wrestled as part of the Smash Seikigun ("regular army") in an interpromotional six person tag team match, where she, Hajime Ohara and Tajiri were defeated by the Fight Club Finland trio of Heimo Ukonselkä, Jessica Love and Stark Adder. Now a member of the Smash Seikigun, Byron spent the following events wrestling in tag team matches with her stablemates Akira, Kushida, Syuri and Tajiri. From September to November, Byron feuded with Kim Nan Pun, ending on November 22 at ''Smash.10'', where Byron pinned Nan Pun in a two-on-one handicap match, where he teamed with Leatherface. On December 24 at ''Happening Eve'', Byron was defeated by Hajime Ohara in an intergender match. During the main event of the evening, where Syuri challenged JWP Openweight Champion
Kaori Yoneyama is a Japanese professional wrestler, working as a freelancer on the Japanese independent circuit. Yoneyama started her career in 1999, working with the JWP Joshi Puroresu Professional wrestling promotion, promotion. During the following years, ...
for her title, Byron, along with the rest of the Smash Seikigun, was ringside, but, unlike her stablemates, was not cheering for Syuri and eventually left the ringside area before the end of the match. Following the event, Byron claimed that Smash was playing favorites with Syuri, including holding a birthday party for her, six days before Byron's own birthday, and insisted that Smash was not big enough for both of them. On January 29, 2011, at ''Smash.12'', Byron's losing streak continued as she and Yusuke Kodama were defeated in a tag team match by Hajime Ohara and Jessica Love. After the match, Byron slapped Kodama and then walked out on him as he was attacked by the Triple Tails stable. Later that same day on ''Smash.13'', Byron ended her losing streak by pinning Kodama in a tag team match, where she teamed with
Akira Shoji Akira Shoji (小路晃) (born January 31, 1974) is a retired Japanese mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He is most known as being a regular in almost all the beginning Pride Fighting Championship Shoji was in Pri ...
and Kodama with Syuri. After the match, Byron spat at Syuri, leading to a brawl between the two. On February 25 at ''Smash.14'', Byron was defeated by Syuri in a grudge match. After the match, the distraught Byron was comforted by Michael Kovac, who took her under his supervision. At ''Smash.15'', Byron made her first appearance as Lin "Bitch" Byron. As part of her new villainous persona, she had dyed her hair black and changed her white jumpsuit to a black leather suit. In the match, Byron, Kovac and Gabriel Antonick were defeated by Tajiri, Syuri and Sabu, when Sabu pinned Antonick, who was then abandoned by Byron and Kovac. On May 3 at ''Smash.16'', Byron and Kovac teamed up in a three tag team
ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself become ...
, contested for the Smash Championship and Smash Diva Championship belts, which Kovac had stolen earlier from Tajiri. The match, which also included Fight Club Finland representatives Hajime Ohara and Jessica Love, was won by Tajiri and Makoto. With Smash regaining the title belts, they were put up for grabs in separate championship tournaments. Byron entered the Smash Diva Championship tournament on June 9 at ''Smash.18'', but was defeated in her opening match by eventual tournament winner,
Kana are syllabary, syllabaries used to write Japanese phonology, Japanese phonological units, Mora (linguistics), morae. In current usage, ''kana'' most commonly refers to ''hiragana'' and ''katakana''. It can also refer to their ancestor , wh ...
. Kovac entered the Smash Championship tournament later that same day, but was also defeated in his first round match by
Genichiro Tenryu , better known as is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. At age 13, he entered sumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling. "Tenryu" was h ...
, who was supported by Byron's old rival, Kim Nan Pun. After the match, Kovac blamed Byron for his loss and attacked her, ending the partnership between the two. On July 15 at ''Smash.19'', Byron made her Smash debut under her Ray character, wrestling as a face in a six-person tag team match, where she,
Kaz Hayashi , best known by the ring name , is a Japanese business executive and retired professional wrestler who last competed in Gleat and serves as the company's chief technical officer (CTO). He is best known for his work in World Championship Wrestlin ...
and
Último Dragón , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler signed to Dragon Gate (wrestling), Dragon Gate, where he acts as an in-ring talent, trainer and senior advisor. In addition to having trained in Japan, ...
defeated
Gamma Gamma (; uppercase , lowercase ; ) is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 3. In Ancient Greek, the letter gamma represented a voiced velar stop . In Modern Greek, this letter normally repr ...
, Hajime Ohara and
Io Shirai is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name (stylized in all caps) and is the current Women's World Championship (WWE), Women’s Wo ...
via disqualification, when Ohara tore Ray's mask off her face, which she then quickly covered without revealing her true identity. Byron and Ray were treated as two completely different wrestlers, with no mention being made of the two being portrayed by the same person. On August 11 at ''Smash.20'', Ray teamed with
Yo-Hey , better known by his ring name Yo-Hey (stylised in all capital letters), is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), where he is a member of the Ratel's (professional wrestling), Ratel's Stable (professio ...
and
Yuko Miyamoto is a Japanese professional wrestler. He originally started his career in Wrestling Marvelous Future in August 2003, but later left the promotion and in 2004, signed with Wrestling of Darkness 666 (Triple Six). Miyamoto has since appeared in Big ...
to defeat
Mio Shirai is a Japanese professional wrestling referee and semi-retired professional wrestler. She started her career in March 2007, working alongside her sister Io Shirai on the Japanese independent circuit for promotions such as Ice Ribbon, JWP Jos ...
, Takuya Kito and Yusuke Kodama in another six person tag team match. On September 8 at ''Smash.21'', Ray and the debuting
Ayumi Kurihara (born July 13, 1984) is a retired '' joshi puroresu '' wrestler best known for her tenures with Pro Wrestling Wave and NEO Japan Ladies Pro-Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Kurihara entered training with the women's pro wrestling promo ...
defeated Makoto and Syuri in a tag team match. Later in the event, after Kana had defeated Serena to become the inaugural Smash Diva Champion, Ray, along with Makoto, Syuri and Tomoka Nakagawa, entered the ring to challenge the new champion. The four challengers had a number one contender's match on October 28 at ''Smash.22'', from which Ray was the first person eliminated by the eventual winner of the match, Nakagawa. Later that same event, during a tag team match, where Michael Kovac and Rob Raw faced Genichiro Tenryu and Yusuke Kodama, Lin Byron made her return to Smash, attacking Kovac and costing his team the match. Even though she had attacked Kovac and appeared in her white jumpsuit, Byron returned to her "Bitch" character at the ''Smash.23'' press conference, when she came face to face with Syuri. On November 24 at ''Smash.23'', Syuri defeated Byron in a
hardcore match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...
, after which the two made peace with each other, officially ending Byron's run as a villain. On February 10, 2012, Smash announced that the promotion would be folding after its March 14 event. In her final Smash appearance on March 14 at ''Smash.Final'', Byron teamed with Kim Nan Pun to defeat Michael Kovac in a two-on-one handicap match.


Reina (2011, 2012, 2013–2015)

In June 2011, Ray began wrestling regularly for Universal Woman's Pro Wrestling Reina. On September 10, she defeated Puerto Rican Zeuxis in a Two Out of Three Falls tournament final match to become the first ever CMLL-Reina International Junior Champion, a title also recognized by Mexican promotion
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as (EMLL) (''Mexican Wrestling Enterprise''). Founded in 1933, it is the oldest profe ...
(CMLL). Ray made her Mexican debut for CMLL on September 27, teaming with Goya Kong and Marcela to defeat CMLL World Women's Champion
La Amapola Guadalupe Ramona Olvera is a Mexican professional wrestler, or '' Luchadora'' as they are called in Spanish, best known under the ring name La Amapola (Spanish for "The Poppy"). Olvera is best known for her work in the Mexican professional wrestli ...
,
Mima Shimoda is a Japanese professional wrestler, who is working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion (CMLL) and Japanese promotion World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana. She is most well known for being half of Las Cachorras Orientales with Etsuko M ...
and
La Seductora Irene Lagunas (born October 20, 1973, in Chilachapa, Guerrero, Mexico) is a Mexican '' luchadora'', better known under the ring name La Seductora (Spanish for "The Seductress"). She is working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Cons ...
in a six-woman tag team match. Ray's three-week-long tour of Mexico culminated in a Two Out of Three Falls match on October 18, where she lost the CMLL-Reina International Junior Championship to Silueta. Ray returned to Reina on May 13, 2012, at the promotion's first anniversary event and final event before going out of business, teaming with Mima Shimoda and Tomoka Nakagawa in a six-woman tag team match, where they defeated
Dalys la Caribeña Dalys la Caribeña (Spanish for Dalys "The Caribbean Girl"; born February 20, 1975) is a Panamanian '' luchadora'' (or female professional wrestler), working for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). Her name appears in print as Dalys la Caribeña, Da ...
, Goya Kong and Zeuxis. On April 6, 2013, Ray made her debut for Reina Joshi Puroresu, the follow-up promotion to Universal Woman's Pro Wrestling Reina, teaming with Leon to defeat Mima Shimoda and Sareee in a main event tag team match. At the June 30 event, Ray unsuccessfully challenged Marcela for the CMLL World Women's Championship. On December 22, Ray and Leon defeated Aki Shizuku and Ariya to win the
Reina World Tag Team Championship The Reina World Tag Team Championship (''Campeonato Mundial en Parejas de Reina'' in Spanish; in Japanese) was a professional wrestling Tag team championship promoted by Reina Joshi Puroresu. The championship was created in September 2011 in ...
. Ray and Leon vacated the title on March 28, 2014. On November 20, 2014, the Lin Byron character made its debut for Reina Joshi Puroresu, when she and Syuri entered a tournament for the vacant Reina World Tag Team Championship. After defeating Makomiya (
Maki Narumiya is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. A former dancer, Narumiya was trained in professional wrestling by Emi Sakura and made her debut for the Ice Ribbon promotion in March 2011. During her four years in the promotion, she became a one-t ...
and Makoto) in their first round match, Byron and Syuri made it to the finals of the tournament, but were there defeated by
Arisa Nakajima is a Japanese people, Japanese retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Trained by the Major Girl's Fighting AtoZ Professional wrestling promotion, promotion, Nakajima made her debut in January 2006, but when the promotion folded t ...
and Kana, when Byron turned on Syuri, revealing she had been paid off by Kana. Following the event, Byron began working regularly for Reina as a villain, aligned with Kana. On December 26, Byron defeated Makoto, who was as a result forced to join her and Kana's new stable. Byron returned to Reina on July 10, 2015, to take part in former Smash and WNC wrestler Serena's retirement event, during which she defeated eight other wrestlers to win the "Serena Memorial Rumble".


Shimmer Women Athletes (2012, 2014)

On February 9, 2012, American
Shimmer Women Athletes Shimmer Women Athletes (often referred to and stylized as SHIMMER) was an American, Chicago-based independent women's professional wrestling promotion which held its first event on November 6, 2005. Established by Dave Prazak and run by both ...
announced that Ray would be making her debut for the promotion on March 17. In her debut match on '' Volume 45'', Ray defeated
Kellie Skater Callee Keating (born 30 September 1987) is an Australian retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known by her ring name Kellie Skater. She has wrestled internationally, in Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States. She i ...
. Later that same day on '' Volume 46'', Ray teamed with Leon to defeat Davina Rose and
Mia Yim Stephanie Hym Lee (née Bell; born April 16, 1989), better known by the ring name Mia Yim, is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Michin ( , ). Bell is also kno ...
in a tag team match. The following day on '' Volume 47'', Ray and Leon unsuccessfully challenged
Ayako Hamada is a Japanese Mexican professional wrestler. During her 20-year career, Hamada wrestled for various promotions, including All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, Gaea Japan and Pro Wrestling Wave in Japan, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and L ...
and Ayumi Kurihara for the Shimmer Tag Team Championship. Ray's Shimmer weekend ended with her being defeated by
Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...
on '' Volume 48''. Ray and Leon returned to Shimmer on April 12, 2014, defeating
The Canadian NINJAs ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
(
Nicole Matthews Lindsay Miller (born January 15, 1987) is a Canadian professional wrestler better known by her ring name Nicole Matthews. Matthews regularly wrestles for Shimmer Women Athletes and Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling among other independe ...
and
Portia Perez Jenna Grattan (born October 26, 1987) is a Canadian former professional wrestler better known by her ring name Portia Perez. Perez teamed with Nicole Matthews as The Canadian NINJAs, and they are former two-time Shimmer Tag Team Champions. P ...
) as part of '' Volume 63'' and unsuccessfully challenging the Global Green Gangsters (Kellie Skater and Tomoka Nakagawa) for the Shimmer Tag Team Championship later that same night on '' Volume 64''. The following day, Ray and Leon defeated
Cherry Bomb A cherry bomb (also known as a globe salute or kraft salute) is an approximately spherical exploding firework, roughly resembling a cherry in size and shape (with the fuse resembling the cherry's stem). Cherry bombs range in size from in diame ...
and
Kimber Lee Kimberly Ann Frankele (born June 27, 1990), better known by her ring name Kimber Lee, is an American professional wrestler. She is known for her work on both the American and international independent circuits, most notably as part of The Kimber ...
on '' Volume 65'', before Ray was defeated by Mia Yim in the final match of her American tour on '' Volume 66''.


Wrestling New Classic (2012–2014)

On April 5, 2012, Tajiri announced the follow-up promotion to Smash,
Wrestling New Classic was a Japanese ''puroresu'' or professional wrestling promotion, founded in April 2012 by Yoshihiro Tajiri. WNC was the follow-up promotion to Smash, which folded in March 2012. History On April 5, 2012, Tajiri held a press conference to ann ...
(WNC), which would hold its first event on April 26. After not appearing at the initial press conference for WNC, Byron was revealed as part of the promotion's roster on April 16. At WNC's first event, ''Before the Dawn'', on April 26, Byron teamed with Yusuke Kodama to defeat Aki Shizuku and Koji Doi in a mixed tag team match. On May 24 at WNC's second event, ''Starting Over'', Byron teamed with Último Dragón and Yusuke Kodama to defeat Josh O'Brien, Tomoka Nakagawa and Yoshiaki Yago in a six-person tag team match, scoring the deciding pinfall over O'Brien. Two days later at ''Go! Go! West: Osaka'', Byron suffered her first WNC loss, when she and Takuya Kito were defeated in a tag team match by Joker (Hayata and
Tadasuke , known mononymous person, mononymously as is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a member of the Team 2000X Stable (professional wrestling), stable. He is best known for ...
). On July 16, Byron,
Jiro Kuroshio , best known as and known as , is a Japanese professional wrestler and internet personality. Kuroshio is known for his work in the Wrestle-1 promotion, where he was a former Wrestle-1 Result Champion and Wrestle-1 Tag Team Champion before l ...
and Tsubasa defeated The Bodyguard, Mio Shirai and Takuya Kito in the finals of a one night six person tournament to win the 2012 Kito Cup, with Byron pinning the tournament's creator Takuya Kito for the win. On August 2, Byron wrestled her highest profile WNC match up to that point, an intergender match, where she was defeated by Último Dragón. On August 7, Byron main evented her first WNC event, in which she, Tajiri and Yusuke Kodama were defeated by Akira, StarBuck and Syuri. On August 30, Byron formed a new tag team with
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
n wrestler Adam Angel, with the two also starting a romance storyline. Byron and Angel were victorious in intergender tag team matches against the teams of Sonoko Kato and Takuya Kito, and
Mio Shirai is a Japanese professional wrestling referee and semi-retired professional wrestler. She started her career in March 2007, working alongside her sister Io Shirai on the Japanese independent circuit for promotions such as Ice Ribbon, JWP Jos ...
and Takuya Kito, before suffering their first defeat at the hands of Akira and Syuri on September 22. On October 26, Byron entered the WNC Women's Championship
tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...
, but was eliminated in her first round match by Syuri. For WNC's final event of 2012, Byron entered a storyline, where she began training for a confrontation with former
sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...
champion Akebono. On December 27, Byron,
Hailey Hatred Angel Katherine Reece (born November 4, 1983) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Hailey Hatred. Originally debuting in July 2002, Hatred worked for several years for various promotions in both the United ...
and Josh O'Brien were defeated in a six-person tag team match by Akebono, Makoto and Takuya Kito. In early 2013, Byron set her sights on the WNC Women's Championship, however, on March 31, she failed to earn her first shot at the title, when she was defeated by Makoto in a number one contender's match. Byron finally received her title shot on April 25 at WNC's one year anniversary event, where she pinned new champion Makoto in a seven-way match, which also included Arisa Nakajima,
Command Bolshoi is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. She debuted for Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (JWP) in November 1991 and worked for its follow-up promotion JWP Joshi Puroresu from 1992 until its folding in 2017, also serving as its final president. D ...
, Kayoko Haruyama,
Nikki Storm Nicola Glencross (born 21 April 1989) is a Scottish professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Nikki Cross and is a member of The Wyatt Sicks faction. In WWE, she is a former one- ...
and Syuri, to become the third WNC Women's Champion. She made her first successful title defense on July 25 against Serena. However, during the match Byron suffered an ankle injury and, after an examination by a physician, it was announced on July 27 that she had fractured her left ankle, which forced her to relinquish the WNC Women's Championship. Byron returned from her injury on October 31, wrestling rookie Haruka Yoshimura to a draw in a three-minute exhibition match. Byron's official return match took place on November 2, when she and Jiro Kuroshio were defeated in a tag team match by Command Bolshoi and El Hijo del Pantera. On November 29, Byron received her rematch for the WNC Women's Championship, but was defeated by the defending champion, Syuri. In January 2014, Byron entered a storyline, where she became the only female wrestler in WNC to refuse to sign a dual contract with WNC and Reina Joshi Puroresu (where she already worked regularly under her Ray persona), claiming that she did not want to become affiliated with a group that had Syuri as its "ace". Byron continued teasing a return to her villainous persona by starting a storyline rivalry with Makoto's Shiritsu Puroresu Gakuen stable in April. The turn came on April 25, when Byron, returning to her black attire and dubbing herself "Bitch is Back", teamed with Aki Shizuku, Alex Lee and Dump Matsumoto to defeat Makoto and her stablemates Haruka Kato, Kaho Kobayashi and Koharu Hinata in an eight-woman tag team match. On June 18, it was announced that WNC would be shutting down following June 26. This led to the promotion dropping the Byron-Makoto rivalry with the two making peace at the final event due to the Lin Byron character not making the transfer over to Reina. In storyline, Lin Byron returned to Hong Kong after the closing of WNC.


Freelancing (2012–2015)

After leaving Ice Ribbon and once again becoming a freelancer, Ray held a special fan gathering on November 15, 2012, during which she announced that she was going to produce a series of her own independent events, which would culminate in her tenth anniversary event to be held at Korakuen Hall. The first of these events took place on December 2 at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring and saw Ray team with Tigre Blanco, the masked persona of Tajiri, in a mixed tag team main event, where they were defeated by Mika Akino, noki-A and Último Dragón. On December 9, Ray returned to Oz Academy, teaming with Leon in a tag team match, where they were defeated by Ayumi Kurihara, A☆YU☆MI and noki-A. Ray's second "10th Anniversary Road to Korakuen Hall" event took place on April 21, 2013, at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring and saw her and Tajiri defeat Gran Hamada and Leon in a main event tag team match. On April 29, Lin Byron made her first appearance outside of Smash/WNC, when she took part in World Wonder Ring Stardom's big ''Ryōgoku Cinderella'' event at Ryōgoku Kokugikan, teaming with Gota Ihashi, Kota Ibushi and Mayu Iwatani in an eight-person tag team match, where they defeated Eri Susa, Hikaru Sato, Makoto and Michael Nakazawa. Ray's next self-produced event took place on July 13 in Kasukabe, Saitama, Kasukabe and saw her team with El Hijo del Pantera and Tajiri in a six-person tag team main event, where they defeated Command Bolshoi, Gran Hamada and Kid Tiger. On November 24, Ray returned to JWP Joshi Puroresu, when she and Leon defeated Kayoko Haruyama and Manami Katsu in the first round of a tournament for the vacant JWP and Daily Sports Women's Tag Team Championships. Ray and Leon were defeated in the finals of the tournament on December 15 by Dash Chisako and Sendai Sachiko. On January 19, 2014, Ray produced another event at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring, which saw her and Leon put their masks on the line in a main event tag team match against La Comandante and Meiko Satomura. Ray won the match by pinning La Comandante and thus saved her mask. From January 19 to March 2, Ray and Leon took part in JWP's Tag League the Best#2014, 2014 Tag League the Best. After two wins, the team went into the final day of the Round-robin tournament, round-robin portion of the tournament leading their block, but a loss to Kayoko Haruyama and Manami Katsu cost them their spot in the finals. However, when Katsu suffered an ankle injury, Ray and Leon were given her and Haruyama's spot in the finals of the tournament. On March 16, Mascara Voladoras were defeated in the finals of the tournament by Haruusagi (Rabbit Miu and Tsukushi). That same day, Ray produced another independent event at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring, which saw her, Leon and Command Bolshoi defeat Dump Matsumoto, La Comandante, Nassy and Zeus in a main event six-person tag team match. On May 11, Ray produced another event at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring, which featured several wrestlers adopting new masked personas with Ray working a six-woman tag team main event under the ring name "Ray Misterico". Following the match, Ray wrestled the soon-to-retire Natsuki Taiyo, Natsuki☆Taiyo to a draw in a special three-minute match. On August 30 and 31, Ray took part in two shows promoted by the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) in Pyongyang, Pyongyang, North Korea. At the first event, Ray teamed with Kyoko Kimura to defeat Dash Chisako and Meiko Satomura in a tag team match and at the second event with Satomura to defeat Chisako and Kimura. On September 25, Ray produced her eleventh anniversary event in Shinjuku Face, teaming with Syu☆ri in a tag team main event, where they defeated Leon and "Meiko Satomura Deluxe". On October 10, 2014, Ray revived her Lin Byron character at an Akira produced Wrestle-1 event, where she teamed with Akira in a tag team match, where they defeated Kazushige Nosawa, Nosawa Rongai and Syuri. On October 25, Ray worked her first main Wrestle-1 event, defeating Kyusei Sakura Hirota. On December 28, 2014, Ray and Leon, the team now renamed Voladoras L×R, defeated Command Bolshoi and Kyoko Kimura to win the JWP Tag Team and Daily Sports Women's Tag Team Championships. They lost the title to Dash Chisako and Sendai Sachiko in their fifth defense on July 26, 2015. On April 3, 2015, Ray was announced as part of the roster of the newly revived Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, FMW promotion. She made her debut for FMW on April 21 at the promotion's first event in thirteen years, where she and Miss Mongol defeated Kagetsu and Kyusei Sakura Hirota in a tag team match. She worked all subsequent events in the first three FMW revival tours, which lasted until June 30. On October 8, 2015, Ray held her 12th anniversary event, which saw her team with Atsushi Onita and Hideki Hosaka in a six-person Hardcore wrestling#Barbed wire, barbed wire board match, where they were defeated by Arisa Nakajima, Nosawa Rongai and Sabu.


Personal life

Outside of professional wrestling, Ray sang and played the piano and composed several songs of her own, which she performed at special fan gatherings. On May 31, 2015, Ray took part in NPCJ's Blaze Open bodybuilding competition, where she finished second in the women's athlete category, beating fellow professional wrestlers Command Bolshoi and Meiko Satomura, who finished third and fourth, respectively. On September 26, 2012, she helped arrest a sex offender on board the Shōnan-Shinjuku Line train. At around 10:00 a.m. Ray noticed a man "stroking his genitals" in the crowded train, grabbed the man in a Wristlock, wrist lock, got him out of the train and handed him off to the police.


Death

In December 2015, Ray tested positive for brain tumor, after going to an MRI following a concussion. She underwent a brain biopsy to determine the nature of the disease on January 21, 2016. On February 17, Ray announced that the biopsy had determined that the tumor was a malignant Cancer staging#Overall stage grouping, Stage III tumor. Due to the cancer cells being attached to nerves, the tumor was also inoperable. Ray then began undergoing radiation therapy until the end of April. She stated that she was planning to return to wrestling at an FMW event on May 5, 2017, a date where Hayabusa (wrestler), Hayabusa was planning to make his return before his death. On May 6, Ray underwent emergency surgery for hydrocephalus. She died on August 30, 2018.


Championships and accomplishments

*
Ice Ribbon is a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion established in 2006 by Emi Sakura, after her split with Gatokunyan. History Ice Ribbon was founded by Emi Sakura, a professional wrestler wh ...
**
International Ribbon Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Ice Ribbon promotion. The championship was introduced on April 4, 2007, at an Ice Ribbon and Neo Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling co-promoted event, where the Neo Machineguns (Tanny Mou ...
(International Ribbon Tag Team Championship#Title history, 1 time) – with Emi Sakura *
JWP Joshi Puroresu , also known as or simply JWP, was a Japanese ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion, founded in 1992 as a splinter promotion of Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. Celebrating its 25th anniversa ...
**Daily Sports Women's Tag Team Championship (List of Daily Sports Women's Tag Team Champions, 1 time) – with
Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
**JWP Tag Team Championship (JWP Tag Team Championship#Reigns, 1 time) – with Leon *Universal Woman's Pro Wrestling Reina / Reina Joshi Puroresu **CMLL-Reina International Junior Championship (CMLL-Reina International Junior Championship#Title history, 1 time) **
Reina World Tag Team Championship The Reina World Tag Team Championship (''Campeonato Mundial en Parejas de Reina'' in Spanish; in Japanese) was a professional wrestling Tag team championship promoted by Reina Joshi Puroresu. The championship was created in September 2011 in ...
(Reina World Tag Team Championship#Title history, 1 time) – with Leon **CMLL-Reina International Junior Championship#Championship tournament, CMLL-Reina International Junior Championship Tournament (2011) *
Wrestling New Classic was a Japanese ''puroresu'' or professional wrestling promotion, founded in April 2012 by Yoshihiro Tajiri. WNC was the follow-up promotion to Smash, which folded in March 2012. History On April 5, 2012, Tajiri held a press conference to ann ...
** WNC Women's Championship (WNC Women's Championship#Title history, 1 time) **Kito Cup (2012) – with
Jiro Kuroshio , best known as and known as , is a Japanese professional wrestler and internet personality. Kuroshio is known for his work in the Wrestle-1 promotion, where he was a former Wrestle-1 Result Champion and Wrestle-1 Tag Team Champion before l ...
and Tsubasa


See also

* List of premature professional wrestling deaths


References


External links


Chō Sentō Puroresu FMW profile




*
Ray's official blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray 1982 births 2018 deaths Deaths from brain tumor Hong Kong female professional wrestlers Hong Kong expatriate sportspeople in Japan Masked wrestlers Expatriate professional wrestlers in Japan Deaths from cancer in Hong Kong 21st-century female professional wrestlers Reina World Tag Team Champions CMLL-Reina International Junior Champions Daily Sports Women's Tag Team Champions JWP Tag Team Champions International Ribbon Tag Team Champions