Written by The niece of late Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr has become a WWE pro-wrestler under the ring name Lizzy Rain.
Rain, who wrestled on the British independent circuit as Rayne Leverkusen, appeared on Tuesday night’s (April 21) episode of NXT, the WWE’s weekly TV programme showcasing up-and-coming wrestlers. She debuted in a short video teaser, where she announced that she’ll have her first televised match on next week’s broadcast.
“They said I was too loud, too gritty, too unapologetic, but I will never apologise for who I am, and that is Lizzy Rain and heavy metal, baby!” she declares in the short snippet, with thunderous metal music in the background.
“The stage is set next week for my NXT debut and the world is about to find out that Lizzy Rain and heavy metal will never, ever, never, ever die!”
Rain wrestled on the independents under the moniker “The Maiden Of Metal”, in reference to her uncle’s former band. Until now, she was most famous for her time in the British promotion Progress, where she won the Progress Women’s Championship. She attended a WWE tryout in August 2025 and was named the MVP of all the potential signees.
Rain’s uncle Burr was born in East Ham, London in 1956 and joined Iron Maiden in 1979. He played on their first three albums – 1980’s Iron Maiden, 1981’s Killers and 1982’s chart-topping The Number Of The Beast – before being let go in December 1982, near the end of their worldwide Beast On The Road tour.
In 2005 documentary The History Of Iron Maiden, Part One, band members and management explained that Burr was dismissed due to his declining live performances.
“We gave him three months to sort himself out,” said bassist/founder Steve Harris, “and he didn’t.”
“It’s all about live,” added co-manager Rod Smallwood, “so if we start not being able to perform at max-out, 150 percent, then something’s got to change.”
After his Maiden firing, Burr drummed for a number of other bands, including French rockers Trust (replacing Nicko McBrain, who’d replaced him in Maiden) and the supergroup Gogmagog, featuring a fellow ex-Maiden member, singer Paul Di’Anno.
In the late 1990s, Burr was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). Maiden hosted a number of tribute concerts for him and set up the Clive Burr MS Trust Fund. He died on March 12, 2013, aged 57, due to MS-related complications.
Maiden – now with Simon Dawson as their live drummer, following McBrain’s retirement from the stage in late 2024 – are currently kicking off for the second European leg of their Run For Your Lives world tour, which kicks off next month. The band will tour heavily for the rest of the year, playing across the Americas as well as in Asia and Australia.
They’re the subject of a new documentary, Burning Ambition, which hits cinemas on May 7, and will be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in November. The band’s active members won’t attend the ceremony in Cleveland, Ohio due to their touring commitments.
