Billy Red Lyons

Willem Snip (17 May 1932 – 22 June 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler, who wrestled under the ring name Billy Red Lyons. He was an active wrestler between 1956 and 1985, and won numerous championships throughout his career. He worked for promotions in both Canada and the United States, particularly in Ontario, California, Minneapolis, Texas, New York, Georgia, Oklahoma and Japan On March 27, 1965, Lyons teamed with Beyer, who was using the ring name The Destroyer, to win the AWA World Tag Team Championship from Don Manoukian and Ray Stevens. He held the championship for nearly six months, eventually losing it to The Spoiler #1 on March 29, 1968, in Houston, Texas.

Lyons won the NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Tri-State version) with Bill Watts in January 1971, by defeating Buddy Roberts and Jerry Brown. Bastien later said that he and Lyons "were perfect for each other" as tag team partners. Fellow professional wrestler Blackjack Mulligan said that Bastien and Lyons "were the greatest team of all time", and that watching them wrestle was watching "pure tag team wrestling at its basic". Backstage, he remained Jack Tunney's top assistant. Lyons was released in 1995, along with Tunney, due to budget cuts and dissolution of the WWF/Maple Leaf Wrestling association.

Personal life and death Snip was the real-life brother-in-law of Dick Beyer, with whom he won the All Asia Tag Team Championship.

Championships and accomplishments American Wrestling Association AWA British Empire Heavyweight Championship (2 times) Georgia Championship Wrestling NWA International Tag Team Championship (Georgia version) (1 time) - with Ray Gunkel Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling NWA Mississippi Tag Team Championship (Gulf Coast version) (1 time) – with Tom Jones Maple Leaf Wrestling NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ilio DiPaolo and Dewey Robertson (3) NWA American Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Fritz Von Erich NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time) American Wrestling Alliance AWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) (1 time) – with The Destroyer World Wrestling Alliance (San Francisco) WWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with The Destroyer