Ring Of Honor Wrestling issued the following today:

Ring of Honor officials, management, and the locker room would all like to take this time to acknowledge the passing of one of our alumni, a former member of The Embassy, Mark “Bison” Smith. Late last night word began to travel that Bison, aged 38, had passed away due to cardiac issues shortly after returning from a tour of Pro Wrestling NOAH. Smith first debuted in ROH back in January of 2009 at “Full Circle” and competed regularly throughout the year until his final appearance in March of 2010 at “Phoenix Rising”. During his tenure with ROH, Bison primarily competed alongside The Embassy and had several memorable bouts against Bryan Danielson and The Necro Butcher.

More importantly, during his short time in ROH, Bison touched the lives of many individuals as noted by the outpouring of memories on Twitter shared by many of those who crossed his path:

Roderick Strong – Heartbroken right now by the loss of Bison Smith!! I’m going to miss you big guy! R.I.P Bison #youwillbemissed

Jay Briscoe – RIP to a fellow #RaiderNation fan and awesome dude, Bison Smith. You will be missed my friend

Todd Sinclair – So very very sad to hear about Bison Smith passing away.

Grizzly Redwood – Just awful news, RIP Bison, you were the man.

Prince Nana – Bison Smith was a true pro in and out of the ring.. RIP.. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

And Kevin Steen & El Generico both shared fond memories of their time with Bison: http://www.twitlonger.com/show/eb87ku & http://www.twitlonger.com/show/eb34t9.

All of us here at Ring of Honor will have the family of Mark “Bison” Smith in our thoughts during this trying time, but we will also look back on the memories of our time with Bison and smile. He was truly one of a kind and will be greatly missed.