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TMZ.com is reporting that former AEW star The Butcher Andy Williams passed away last night after a medical episode following his match at Pittsburgh's Enjoy Wrestling. Williams was only 48 years old.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed Williams' passing to TMZ.com.
According to numerous fan reports, Williams had issues towards the end of his tag team bout at Mr. Small's Theater in Millvale, PA. Williams collapsed following the bout and was brought to the back, where medical procedures, including CPR and the usage of an AED, were undertaken before he was rushed to a hospital via ambulance.
Williams, a guitarist for punk band Every Time I Die before reinventing himself as The Butcher, first dreamed of becoming a professional wrestler. A knee injury interrupted his initial in-ring training in Canada, which sent him instead to pursue his musical gifts, Williams learned to play guitar and, alongside Jordan Buckley and Michael Novak, kicked off a two-decade run for Every Time I Die. As the band's rhythm guitarist, Williams appeared on every record release and became a fixture of the band's famously relentless touring schedule, not missing a live performance for 22 years, a streak that finally ended in January 2020 because he was booked to perform for AEW.
In the mid-2010s, Williams resumed training as a pro wrestler, working with Josh Barnett and later training at Grapplers Anonymous in Lackawanna, New York, under his longtime friend Pepper Parks. In 2017, Williams and Parks began regularly teaming together as The Butcher and The Blade. The duo, alongside Allie aka the Bunny, made their AEW debut in November 2019 with the story being that they had been hired by MJF to attack and take out Cody Rhodes. The duo remained with AEW until their deals expired earlier this year, mostly positioned as a mid-card team that had competitive bouts, working against The Hardys, The Lucha Brothers, Best Friends, Kenny Omega & Konosuke Takeshita and other tandems.
PWInsider.com sends our deepest condolences to Williams' family, friends and fans.
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