Andy Williams, the founding rhythm guitarist for Buffalo metalcore veterans Every Time I Die and a professional wrestler known globally as “The Butcher“, has died at the age of 48.
Following earlier reports regarding his mid-match medical emergency on Saturday night, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed his passing to TMZ on Sunday morning. Williams collapsed in the ring while competing at an Enjoy Wrestling anniversary event at Mr. Smalls Theatre in Millvale, Pennsylvania, on September 5.
While wrestling in a tag-team match alongside his longtime partner The Blade against the team TME, Williams suffered a severe health crisis. On-site medical personnel administered CPR and utilized a defibrillator before an ambulance transported him to a local hospital, where he ultimately passed away.
Before his expansive wrestling career took off, Williams cemented a massive legacy in the heavy music scene. In 1998, he co-founded Every Time I Die alongside guitarist Jordan Buckley and drummer Michael Novak. Williams served as the band’s rhythmic backbone for nearly 25 years, playing on every release from their debut EP The Burial Plot Bidding War through their highly acclaimed final studio album, 2021’s Radical. After the group disbanded in 2022 following internal tensions, he continued writing and recording heavy music with his new metalcore band Atomic Rule.
Williams eventually transitioned his imposing stage presence into a successful professional wrestling career, making his official in-ring debut in 2016. Trained by industry veterans Josh Barnett, Pepper Parks, Brandon Thurston, and Mikey Everynite, he cut his teeth across the independent circuit in promotions like Game Changer Wrestling, Absolute Intense Wrestling, and Empire State Wrestling.
His major breakthrough arrived on the November 27, 2019, episode of “AEW Dynamite“. Debuting as the silent, menacing enforcer “The Butcher”, he ambushed Cody Rhodes alongside Braxton Sutter (competing as The Blade) and Allie (as The Bunny). Williams remained a formidable television presence in All Elite Wrestling‘s tag team division for five years until his contract expired in June 2026.
