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Bios

Billy Red Lyons

Height: 6' 2"

Weight: 240 lbs

From: Dundas, Ontario, Canada

Birthday: May 17th

Pro Debut: 1959

Aliases: Crusader #2

Feds Worked For: TSW, NWA, AWA, All-Japan, San Francisco, WCCW, Canada, Georgia

Finisher: Tomahawk Chop

Career Highlights: -Asian Tag Team Champion (w/ The Destroyer)
-AWA British Empire Champion
-AWA California Tag Team Champion (w/ The Destroyer)
-NWA American Champion
-NWA American Tag Team Champion (w/ Fritz Von Erich)
-NWA Canadian Tag Team Champion (w/ Ilio DiPaolo)
-NWA Canadian International Tag Team Champion (4x; 3 w/ Crusader #1; 1 w/ Billy Watson)
-NWA International Tag Team Champion (w/ Ray Gunkel)
-NWA Mississippi Tag Team Champion (w/ Tom Jones)
-NWA Texas Champion
-NWA Texas Tag Team Champion (w/ Red Bastein)
-TSW United States Tag Team Champion (2x, 1 each w/ Bill Watts & Tom Jones)

Affiliates: Red Bastien, The Destroyer, Crusader #1, Tom Jones, Bill Watts

Other Facts: -Real name was William Snip
-Was "Billy Red" to wrestling fans because of his red hair.
-After his retirement, he joined the offices of Frank and Jack Tunney, Toronto's long-time promoters.
-Hosted WWF's Maple Leaf Wrestling (in Canada), with his famous catch phrase was "Don'tcha dare miss it!"
-Brother-in-law of pro wrestler Dick "The Destroyer" Beyer
-Gave the Killer Bees the idea of putting on masks to confuse their opponents. It was something he had done in tag team matches while in Canada tagging with Dewey Robertson. They were the masked team The Crusaders. There masks, tights, and build were so similar, you could not tell them apart.
-Holds the record as the longest reigning TSW United States Tag Team Champion (w/ Tom Jones; 9 months, 21 days)
-Passed away June 22, 2009 at age of 77 from cancer of the spine.
-Posthumously inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2018