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Ray (February 14, 1982 – August 30, 2018) was a
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
. After being trained by
Emi Sakura , better known by the ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler performing for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). After starting her career in International Wrestling Association of Japan in August 1995, Sakura worked for several promotions ac ...
, 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 they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practic ...
, before she began working for
Smash Smash may refer to: People * Smash (wrestler) (born 1959), professional wrestler * Moondog Rex, another professional wrestler who briefly wrestled as the original Smash, before being replaced by the above. * DJ Smash, DJ and music producer A ...
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 anno ...
(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) promotion established in 2006 by Emi Sakura, after her split with Gatokunyan. History Ice Ribbon was founded by Emi Sakura, a professional wrestler who was active with IWA Japan and F ...
, before becoming a freelancer 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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
to work for
Shimmer Women Athletes Shimmer Women Athletes (often referred to and stylized as SHIMMER) is 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 him ...
. 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 , better known by the ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler performing for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). After starting her career in International Wrestling Association of Japan in August 1995, Sakura worked for several promotions ac ...
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 famous sports arena in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, which has hosted many notable boxing, professional wrestling, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and Lethwei matches. History On April 16, 1962, the Korakuen Hall was officially opened with a ...
. When Sakura left Gatokunyan in April 2006 to form
Ice Ribbon is a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) promotion established in 2006 by Emi Sakura, after her split with Gatokunyan. History Ice Ribbon was founded by Emi Sakura, a professional wrestler who was active with IWA Japan and F ...
, 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. In the wake of the joshi puroresu boom of the early 1990s, several different groups opened with distinct approaches. The Jd'Star promotion, with its ...
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 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 the ...
'' 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'' 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 (born November 6, 1985) is Japanese 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 w ...
,
Misaki Ohata is a retired Japanese professional wrestler, better known by her maiden name . 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 Wrestling. She is a former o ...
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 Japanese professional wrestler and the founder of Seadlinnng. She has wrestled for prominent Japanese promotions All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Sun, and is a two-time women's world champion in m ...
'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 Nagasak ...
(BJW),
JWP Joshi Puroresu , also known as or simply JWP, was a Japanese '' joshi puroresu'' ( women's professional wrestling) promotion, founded in 1992 as a splinter promotion of Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. Celebrating its 25th anniversary at the time of its folding i ...
and Oz Academy, 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 Smash may refer to: People * Smash (wrestler) (born 1959), professional wrestler * Moondog Rex, another professional wrestler who briefly wrestled as the original Smash, before being replaced by the above. * DJ Smash, DJ and music producer A ...
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 on the Japanese
independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...
.


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 A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...
with Ice Ribbon Triple Crown Champion
Tsukasa Fujimoto is a Japanese professional wrestler and actress, who is currently wrestling for Ice Ribbon, where she also works behind the scenes as the co-head trainer. She is a record seven-time ICE×∞ Champion, six-time International Ribbon Tag Team ...
, 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 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 Mo ...
. 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 and Yoneyamakao Lee on April 9, Riho and Tsukushi on April 16, Hikaru Shida and
Syuri is a Japanese professional wrestler, shoot boxer, kickboxer and mixed martial artist, better known simply as . Syuri formerly competed in Ultimate Fighting Championship. Syuri is currently working for World Wonder Ring Stardom, where she is th ...
on May 5 and
Makoto Oishi is a Japanese professional wrestler currently 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 Champio ...
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 Wo ...
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 Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...
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 ...
. 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) (), formerly known as "Central Institute of Physical Education" () and "Beijing Institute of Physical Education" (), is a nation-level public university located in Beijing, China. It is one of the National Key Univ ...
, 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, 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 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 of wrestling. In Japan, ...
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, 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 The JWP Openweight Championship was a women's professional wrestling championship owned by the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion. The championship, which was situated at the top of JWP's championship hierarchy, was introduced on December 2, 1992, ...
Kaori Yoneyama is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer on the Japanese independent circuit. Yoneyama started her career in 1999, working with the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion. During the following years, she became a one-tim ...
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 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 becom ...
, 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 The term may refer to a number of syllabaries used to write Japanese phonological units, morae. Such syllabaries include (1) the original kana, or , which were Chinese characters (kanji) used phonetically to transcribe Japanese, the most pr ...
. 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 retired Japanese 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 is a Japanese professional wrestler known simply as . He is best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where in addition to being a wrestler for the promotion, he also served as the head booker for the company's junior heavyweigh ...
and
Último Dragón (born December 12, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler and actor, better known as . In addition to having trained in Japan, Asai learned to wrestle in the lucha libre style while working in Mexico. He is credited with popularizing the " As ...
defeated Gamma, Hajime Ohara and
Io Shirai is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Iyo Sky (stylized in all caps). She is a member of Damage CTRL and one-half of the current WWE Women's Tag Team Champions w ...
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). Fujita started his career in Dragon Gate (DG) under the ring name Ryoma (stylised in ...
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 Dark Pro-Wrestling 666 (666). Miyamoto has since appeared in Big Japan Pro W ...
to defeat
Mio Shirai is a Japanese former professional wrestler and current professional wrestling referee. 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 J ...
, 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. Professional wrestling career Kurihara entered training with the women's pro wrestling promotion AtoZ and then transferred to M's Style, where she learned the craft from well-kno ...
defeated Makoto and Syuri in a tag team match. Later in the event, after Kana had defeated
Serena Serena most commonly refers to: * Serena Williams (born 1981), professional tennis player Serena may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Serena (genre), 13th-century Occitan poetic genre * ''Serena'' (1962 film), a British crime t ...
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, 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 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 ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...
(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 and La Seductora 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, 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 A vacated judgment (also known as vacatur relief) makes a previous legal judgment legally void. A vacated judgment is usually the result of the judgment of an appellate court, which overturns, reverses, or sets aside the judgment of a lower court. ...
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 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 professional wrestler. Trained by the Major Girl's Fighting AtoZ promotion, Nakajima made her debut in January 2006, but when the promotion folded the following May, she transferred over to JWP Joshi Puroresu, where she became a ...
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) is 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 him ...
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. 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) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name "Michin" Mia Yim. She is a member of The O.C.. She is also known for her time ...
in a tag team match. The following day on '' Volume 47'', Ray and Leon unsuccessfully challenged
Ayako Hamada is a 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 Lucha Libr ...
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 goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...
on '' Volume 48''. Ray and Leon returned to Shimmer on April 12, 2014, defeating
The Canadian NINJAs The Canadian NINJAs (National International Nation of Jalapeño Awesomeness) were the professional wrestling tag team of Nicole Matthews and Portia Perez. They are former two-time Shimmer Tag Team Champions. History Shimmer Women Athletes Nicole ...
(
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 independent ...
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. Prof ...
) 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 diamet ...
and
Kimber Lee Kimberly Ann Frankele (born June 27, 1990), better known by her ring name Kimber Lee, is an American professional wrestler who is currently a free agent. She is known for her work on both the American and international independent circuits, mos ...
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 anno ...
(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). On July 16, Byron, Jiro Kuroshio 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 Starbucks is a chain of coffee shops. Starbuck or Starbucks may also refer to: People * Starbuck (surname), list of people with the family name * StarBuck, ring name of professional wrestler Michael Majalahti Places Antarctica *Starbuck Cirque ...
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 southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
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 former professional wrestler and current professional wrestling referee. 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 J ...
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 concentr ...
, 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 ...
champion Akebono. On December 27, Byron, Hailey Hatred 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. ...
,
Kayoko Haruyama is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. Having made her debut in January 1998, Haruyama worked for the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion her entire career, becoming not only one of the promotion's most accomplished singles wrestlers, with one ...
,
Nikki Storm Nicola Glencross (born 21 April 1989) is a Scottish professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Nikki Cross. She is a one-time WWE Raw Women's Champion, three-time WWE Women's Tag ...
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 Shin-Kiba 1st Ring is an arena in Tokyo, which holds 290 people. It was opened in 2001, its first event being a JDStar "Grapple Beauty" show, even though the inside of the building was not even close to being completed. It has quickly become a ...
and saw Ray team with Tigre Blanco, the masked persona of Tajiri, in a mixed tag team main event, where they were defeated by 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 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 World Wonder Ring Stardom (スターダム 女子プロレス), often referred to simply as Stardom (stylized as ST★RDOM), is a Japanese '' joshi puroresu'' or women's professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan. Stardom was founded in ...
's big '' Ryōgoku Cinderella'' event at
Ryōgoku Kokugikan , also known as Ryōgoku Sumo Hall or Kokugikan Arena, is the name bestowed to two different indoor sporting arenas located in Tokyo. The fist ''Ryōgoku Kokugikan'' opened its doors in 1909 and was located on the lands of the Ekōin temple in R ...
, teaming with Gota Ihashi,
Kota Ibushi is a Japanese professional wrestler and martial artist signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), but is currently inactive due to suffering a shoulder injury. In March 2021, he became the company's inaugural IWGP World Heavyweight Champion b ...
and
Mayu Iwatani (born February 19, 1993) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom. Since making her debut in January 2011, she became a two-time World of Stardom Champion, two-time Wonder of Stardom Champion, one-time ...
in an eight-person tag team match, where they defeated Eri Susa,
Hikaru Sato is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, better known by the ring name . Sato started his MMA career in February 2000, fighting for Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling. During the next eight years, Sato fought, on average, five tim ...
, Makoto and Michael Nakazawa. Ray's next self-produced event took place on July 13 in
Kasukabe is a special city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 233,278 in 108,328 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Kasukabe is famous for the production of , tradition ...
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 Meiko Satomura (里村 明衣子, Satomura Meiko, born November 11, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is currently signed to the American promotion WWE performing on the NXT brand and the Japanese promotion Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestl ...
. 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 2014 Tag League the Best. After two wins, the team went into the final day of the 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, 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 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, North Korea Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 population ...
. 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 was a Japanese ''puroresu'' or professional wrestling promotion, founded in July 2013 by Keiji Mutoh following his resignation from All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). The core of the promotion's roster was formed by wrestlers loyal to Mutoh, who le ...
event, where she teamed with Akira in a tag team match, where they defeated
Nosawa Rongai , better known by his ring names Nosawa and , (born December 17, 1976) is a Japanese freelance professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in All Japan Pro Wrestling and various independent promotions. Career Early career (19952004) Nos ...
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 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 is a Japanese actor, politician, and semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and is credited with introducing Japan to the deathmatch style of professional wrestling. He founded ...
and
Hideki Hosaka (August 5, 1971 – August 2, 2021) was a Japanese professional wrestler, who is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling, and Pro Wrestling Zero-One. Career Early career (1991–1993) An amateur wres ...
in a six-person 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 The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...
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 A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crim ...
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.


Brain tumor and death

In December 2015, Ray was diagnosed with a brain tumor after going to an MRI following a concussion. She underwent a brain biopsy to determine the nature of the tumor 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) promotion established in 2006 by Emi Sakura, after her split with Gatokunyan. History Ice Ribbon was founded by Emi Sakura, a professional wrestler who was active with IWA Japan and F ...
**
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 Mo ...
(International Ribbon Tag Team Championship#Title history, 1 time) – with
Emi Sakura , better known by the ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler performing for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). After starting her career in International Wrestling Association of Japan in August 1995, Sakura worked for several promotions ac ...
*
JWP Joshi Puroresu , also known as or simply JWP, was a Japanese '' joshi puroresu'' ( women's professional wrestling) promotion, founded in 1992 as a splinter promotion of Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. Celebrating its 25th anniversary at the time of its folding i ...
**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 ...
**JWP Tag Team Championship (List of JWP Tag Team Champions, 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 anno ...
** WNC Women's Championship (WNC Women's Championship#Title history, 1 time) **Kito Cup (2012) – with Jiro Kuroshio 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 expatriates in Japan Masked wrestlers Expatriate professional wrestlers in Japan Deaths from cancer in Hong Kong 21st-century professional wrestlers Reina World Tag Team Champions CMLL-Reina International Junior Champions