Brett Lauderdale of GCW shared the news that former
Philadelphia-based independent wrestler Billy Reil has died.

Reil began wrestling as a teenager and grew up as a close
friend of Trent Acid (the late Michael Verdi).

Reil was a big fan of the WWF and attended shows at the
Philadelphia Spectrum and started attending shows at the ECW
Arena. He was introduced to Reckless Youth and later trained
under The Pitbulls and went to Ocala, Florida in 1999 for
further training under Dory Funk Jr.

Reil was heavily involved in the Tristate wrestling scene
where he wrestled for Jersey All-Pro Wrestling (JAPW) among
multiple promotions. Reil won the JAPW light heavyweight
title in 1999 but had to give up the title when he suffered
an injury. Throughout the next several years, he wrestled
for ISPW, Jersey Championship Wrestling, USA Pro Wrestling,
Pro Wrestling Unplugged, National Wrestling Superstars, and
American Championship Pro Wrestling. His in-ring career
essentially ended by 2009 and he came back for one match in
2013 for IWA Vintage.

One of the matches he was most associated with was a three-
way match with Sabu and Low Ki in February 2000 for JAPW
with Low Ki being a frequent opponent. In the 2000 JCW
Jersey J-Cup tournament, Reil lost to Low Ki in the
quarterfinals with Judas Young winning that year’s
tournament.

After wrestling, he got involved in acting as a non-union
worker and participated in small projects.

In 2002, Reil received coverage in the South Philly Review
when he spotted a man on rollerblades attempting to mug
Reil’s 61-year-old female neighbor. Reil left his house
tackled the man and recovered the woman’s purse.

• Original article/Post Wrestling.com