Post by srossi on Apr 29, 2024 21:15:30 GMT
'90s northeast indy star Billy Riel is dead at 43. I had heard rumors this morning, but now his mother has confirmed it. No cause of death yet. Riel was an ECW fan who hung out at shows with his childhood friend Trent Acid trying to make contacts. He was eventually trained by The Pitbulls and Reckless Youth as a 16-year-old and had his first match at 17. He was a big name in the NY/NJ indies from 1997-2002 before fizzling out and never making it. He was a favorite of tape traders for a little while. His home promotion was Jersey All Pro Wrestling, where he won the Light-Heavyweight and Tag titles many times. Riel also was a regular for Dennis Coralluzzo's NWA New Jersey. He battled all the names from the scene at that time, including Low-Ki, Homicide, Da Hit Squad, Mike Quackenbush, Joey Matthews, Slyk Wagner Brown, Kevin Matthews, Damian Dragon, etc. He also had matches against national names like Sabu, Jim Neidhart, Little Guido, and Tom Brandi. He continued to wrestle regularly until 2009, then took sporadic dates until his retirement in 2013.