Ray (wrestler) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ray |
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Ray in June 2011
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| Born | February 14, 1982 British Hong Kong |
| Died | August 30, 2018 (aged 36) Hong Kong |
| Cause of death | Brain tumor |
| Website | Viva! Ray's Dream |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Caribbean Moon Lin Byron Passion Ray Ray Ray Misterico Rei |
| Billed height | 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in) (as Ray) 1.61 m (5 ft 3+1⁄2 in) (as Lin Byron) |
| Billed weight | 55 kg (121 lb) (as Ray) 53 kg (117 lb) (as Lin Byron) |
| Billed from | Hong Kong |
| Trained by | Emi Sakura Mariko Yoshida |
| Debut | September 15, 2003 |
Ray (February 14, 1982 – August 30, 2018) was a professional wrestler from Hong Kong. She was trained by Emi Sakura. Ray started her wrestling career in September 2003. For several years, she wrestled while wearing different masks.
Later, she began working for Smash in March 2010. During this time, she wrestled without a mask. Her ring name was Lin Byron (Japanese: リン・バイロン). She stayed with Smash until it closed in March 2012. After that, she joined Wrestling New Classic (WNC). In April 2013, Byron became the third WNC Women's Champion.
Ray brought back her masked character in January 2011. She first joined Ice Ribbon, then became a freelancer in May 2012. She mostly worked for the Reina Joshi Puroresu promotion. She also held her own wrestling events. Ray traveled to the United States to wrestle for Shimmer Women Athletes. During her career, Ray won several championships. These included the CMLL-Reina International Junior, International Ribbon Tag Team, and WNC Women's Championships. In December 2015, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Ray passed away in August 2018.
Ray's Wrestling Journey
Early Career and Different Characters (2003–2011)
Ray was trained by Emi Sakura at the Gatokunyan wrestling school. She made her wrestling debut on September 15, 2003. Her first ring name was Rei, which means "Zero" in Japanese. She wrestled against her trainer, Emi Sakura, in her first match.
When Emi Sakura left Gatokunyan in 2006, Rei stayed with the promotion. She remained there until it closed in 2007. In the summer of 2007, another promotion called JDStar also closed. Rei had wrestled there for six months. She wore a different mask and used the name Caribbean Moon. She was part of a wrestling group called Caribbean Gundan. This group included Caribbean Kim and Caribbean Rum. Their characters were inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
After this, she started wrestling regularly for Mariko Yoshida's Ibuki promotion. Here, she used the ring name Ray. Ibuki aimed to introduce new joshi (female Japanese wrestling) stars. Ray also received more training from Yoshida during this time. In 2009, Ray joined a group called Passion Red. She wrestled as Passion Ray in promotions like NEO Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling and Big Japan Pro Wrestling. When Ibuki stopped operating in 2010, the Ray character became inactive. The wrestler then started working for Smash without her mask.
However, on January 25, 2011, Ray announced her comeback. She said she would be working as a freelancer. This meant she would wrestle for different promotions.
Wrestling for Ice Ribbon (2008, 2011–2012)
Ray first wrestled for her trainer Emi Sakura's Ice Ribbon promotion on June 1, 2008. She teamed with Mai Ichii to win a tag team match. Ray started wrestling regularly for Ice Ribbon in February 2011.
She quickly began a rivalry with Tsukasa Fujimoto, who was a champion in Ice Ribbon. Ray pinned Fujimoto in a tag team match. On March 21, Ray challenged Fujimoto for the ICE×60 Championship but did not win. Five days later, Ray and Emi Sakura won the International Ribbon Tag Team Championship. They defeated Fujimoto and Hikaru Shida. After this win, Ray announced that Ice Ribbon was her new home promotion.
Ray and Sakura successfully defended their tag team title four times. They held the title for two months. On June 1, they lost the title to the Lovely Butchers. Ray then had a rivalry with Chii Tomiya. In January 2012, Ray formed a tag team called Mascara Voladoras. This means "Masked Female Flyers" in Spanish. Her partner was Leon. They wrestled together in Ice Ribbon and other promotions. Ray left Ice Ribbon in May 2012 to become a freelancer again.
Time with Smash (2010–2012)
On March 26, 2010, Ray appeared without her mask at Smash's first event. She was introduced as "Lin Byron" by Tajiri. Smash presented her as a new wrestler. They said she had a background in Chinese acrobatics and action movies. As Lin Byron, she spoke English in interviews, even though she knew Japanese.
Byron's character was a high-energy hero. She wore a white jumpsuit and used her martial arts skills. She had her first Smash match on April 23. She teamed with Kushida and won. Byron continued to win matches, often getting the deciding pinfall. She became part of the Smash Seikigun, a group of wrestlers.
In December 2010, Byron started a rivalry with Syuri, another wrestler in Smash. Byron felt that Smash was favoring Syuri. On January 29, 2011, Byron's losing streak continued. After a tag team loss, she slapped her partner and left him. Later that day, she won a tag team match. After the match, she spat at Syuri, leading to a fight. On February 25, Syuri defeated Byron in a big match.
After this loss, Byron changed her character. She dyed her hair black and wore a black leather suit. She became a villain. She teamed with Michael Kovac. In May 2011, Byron and Kovac competed for stolen championship belts. They lost the match. After this, Kovac blamed Byron for his loss and attacked her. This ended their partnership.
On July 15, Byron returned to Smash as her masked Ray character. Ray was treated as a completely different wrestler. She wrestled as a hero. In a six-person tag team match, her opponent tore off her mask. Ray quickly covered her face. Ray continued to wrestle in tag team matches. In September, Ray challenged the new Smash Diva Champion, Kana.
In October, Lin Byron returned to Smash. She attacked Michael Kovac, costing his team a match. On November 24, Syuri defeated Byron. After the match, they made peace. This officially ended Byron's time as a villain. Smash announced it would close after its March 14, 2012, event. In her final Smash match, Byron won a handicap match.
Wrestling for Reina (2011, 2012, 2013–2015)
In June 2011, Ray started wrestling regularly for Universal Woman's Pro Wrestling Reina. On September 10, she won a tournament. This made her the first ever CMLL-Reina International Junior Champion. This title was also recognized in Mexico.
Ray made her debut in Mexico for CMLL on September 27. She teamed with Goya Kong and Marcela to win a tag team match. On October 18, Ray lost her CMLL-Reina International Junior Championship to Silueta. Ray returned to Reina in May 2012 for their final event.
On April 6, 2013, Ray debuted for Reina Joshi Puroresu. This was the follow-up promotion to Universal Woman's Pro Wrestling Reina. She teamed with Leon and won. On December 22, Ray and Leon won the Reina World Tag Team Championship. They later gave up the title on March 28, 2014.
On November 20, 2014, the Lin Byron character debuted for Reina Joshi Puroresu. She teamed with Syuri in a tournament. In the finals, Byron turned on Syuri. She revealed that Kana had paid her to do so. After this, Byron regularly worked for Reina as a villain. She joined Kana's new group. On December 26, Byron defeated Makoto. As a result, Makoto was forced to join their group. Byron returned to Reina in July 2015. She won the "Serena Memorial Rumble" match.
Wrestling in the United States (2012, 2014)
On February 9, 2012, the American promotion Shimmer Women Athletes announced Ray would debut on March 17. In her first match, Ray defeated Kellie Skater. Later that day, Ray and Leon won a tag team match. The next day, Ray and Leon challenged for the Shimmer Tag Team Championship but did not win. Ray's weekend in Shimmer ended with a loss to Athena.
Ray and Leon returned to Shimmer on April 12, 2014. They defeated The Canadian NINJAs. Later that night, they challenged for the Shimmer Tag Team Championship again but lost. The next day, Ray and Leon won another tag team match. Ray's American tour ended with a loss to Mia Yim.
Time with Wrestling New Classic (2012–2014)
On April 5, 2012, Tajiri announced Wrestling New Classic (WNC). This was the new promotion after Smash. Byron was part of the WNC roster. At WNC's first event on April 26, Byron won a mixed tag team match. She continued to win matches in WNC. On July 16, Byron won the 2012 Kito Cup tournament.
On August 2, Byron wrestled her biggest WNC match so far. She lost to Último Dragón in an intergender match. On August 30, Byron formed a new tag team with Adam Angel. They also started a romance storyline. They won several mixed tag team matches.
On October 26, Byron entered the WNC Women's Championship tournament. She was eliminated in the first round. In early 2013, Byron aimed for the WNC Women's Championship. On April 25, she finally won the title. She pinned the champion, Makoto, in a seven-way match. This made her the third WNC Women's Champion. She successfully defended her title once. However, she suffered an ankle injury during the match. On July 27, it was announced she had a fractured ankle. This forced her to give up the WNC Women's Championship.
Byron returned from her injury on October 31. Her official return match was on November 2. On November 29, Byron had a rematch for the WNC Women's Championship. She was defeated by the champion, Syuri.
In January 2014, Byron refused to sign a contract with both WNC and Reina Joshi Puroresu. She said she didn't want to be linked to a group where Syuri was the main star. Byron started acting like a villain again in April. On April 25, she returned to her black outfit. She teamed with other wrestlers to defeat Makoto's group. On June 18, WNC announced it would close on June 26. Lin Byron's character returned to Hong Kong after WNC closed.
Freelancing and Special Events (2012–2015)
After leaving Ice Ribbon, Ray became a freelancer again. On November 15, 2012, she announced she would produce her own wrestling events. These events would lead up to her tenth anniversary show. The first event took place on December 2. Ray teamed with Tigre Blanco, a masked character of Tajiri.
Ray's second "10th Anniversary Road to Korakuen Hall" event was on April 21, 2013. She and Tajiri won a main event tag team match. On April 29, Lin Byron made her first appearance outside of Smash/WNC. She wrestled at a big event for World Wonder Ring Stardom. Ray's next self-produced event was on July 13.
On November 24, Ray returned to JWP Joshi Puroresu. She and Leon entered a tournament for the vacant JWP and Daily Sports Women's Tag Team Championships. They reached the finals but lost on December 15. On January 19, 2014, Ray produced another event. Ray and Leon put their masks on the line in a main event tag team match. Ray won the match, saving her mask.
From January to March 2014, Ray and Leon took part in JWP's Tag League the Best tournament. They reached the finals but lost. On March 16, Ray produced another independent event. On May 11, Ray produced an event where she wrestled as "Ray Misterico." On August 30 and 31, Ray wrestled in Pyongyang, North Korea.
On September 25, Ray produced her eleventh anniversary event. She teamed with Syu☆ri to win the main event. On October 10, 2014, Ray brought back her Lin Byron character at a Wrestle-1 event. On October 25, Ray wrestled at a main Wrestle-1 event and won.
On December 28, 2014, Ray and Leon, now called Voladoras L×R, won the JWP Tag Team and Daily Sports Women's Tag Team Championships. They lost the titles on July 26, 2015. On April 3, 2015, Ray joined the newly revived FMW promotion. She debuted for FMW on April 21 and worked several events.
On October 8, 2015, Ray held her 12th anniversary event.
Ray's Life Outside Wrestling
Outside of wrestling, Ray enjoyed music. She sang and played the piano. She also wrote her own songs. She performed these songs at special fan gatherings. On May 31, 2015, Ray competed in a bodybuilding competition. She finished second in the women's athlete category. She placed higher than fellow wrestlers Command Bolshoi and Meiko Satomura.
Ray's Passing
In December 2015, Ray was diagnosed with a brain tumor. This happened after she had an MRI scan following a concussion. On January 21, 2016, she had a brain biopsy to learn more about the tumor. On February 17, Ray announced that the tumor was a serious Stage III tumor. The cancer cells were attached to nerves, so the tumor could not be removed with surgery. Ray then began radiation therapy. She passed away on August 30, 2018.
Wrestling Achievements
- Ice Ribbon
- International Ribbon Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Emi Sakura
- JWP Joshi Puroresu
- Daily Sports Women's Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Leon
- JWP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Leon
- Universal Woman's Pro Wrestling Reina / Reina Joshi Puroresu
- CMLL-Reina International Junior Championship (1 time)
- Reina World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Leon
- CMLL-Reina International Junior Championship Tournament (2011)
- Wrestling New Classic
- WNC Women's Championship (1 time)
- Kito Cup (2012) – with Jiro Kuroshio and Tsubasa
See also
- List of premature professional wrestling deaths
