| Variations of Name | Cyril Joseph | Ray Golden Apollon |
| Biography | American-born Ray Apollon, born Cyril Joseph, was a professional wrestler, often billed as from Trinidad. He studied at St. Mary's College in Trinidad and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C. He traveled to France to study medicine at the Sorbonne University, to become a doctor like his father.
Once in Europe, though, he became interested in wrestling and became a professional wrestler. He worked in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Trinidad. He was made a Chief of Nigeria and nicknamed the "Lion King". In Kenya, he stayed at the house of the president, Jomo Kenyatta. He was known for his headbutts, particularly the "coconut butt". His students included Ted Herbert, Des the Artist, Thunderbolt Williams, and his son Fernando.
In 1956 he would enter the Royal Albert Hall Heavyweight Tournament alongside Judo Al Hayes, Black Butcher Johnson, Mike Marino, a young Billy Robinson and the eventual winner Dennis Mitchell. "The Black Prince" would still travel to sharpen his skill whether it was facing Dara Singh in Nairobi, versus Prince Kumali in Kenya, or being one of the first major black wrestler to wrestle in Japan for the International Wrestling Enterprises (IWE) promotion. |