Every member of Every Time I Die‘s final lineup has now written publicly about guitarist Andy Williams, who died on Saturday, September 5 at the age of 48.
Williams collapsed at the end of a tag-team match at an Enjoy Wrestling event at Mr. Smalls Theatre in Millvale, Pennsylvania, where he was competing alongside his longtime partner Jesse Guilmette, known as “The Blade“. Doctors working the show administered CPR and used a defibrillator before an ambulance took him to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed his death. No cause has been released.
Before the news was confirmed, guitarist Jordan Buckley had posted: “If you’re a prayer (the praying type), please pray for Andy tonight.”
Jordan Buckley
“Once on warped tour Andy asked production if, when we got to Chicago, he could try and break the Guinness book of world records for most hugs given, because that was the most highly attended date. They said no due to the congestion it would cause, but, I am so lucky to have spent 28 years next to someone that would even think to ask that.”
“Today is the saddest day of my entire life. I just had to use a calculator to figure out 44-16=28 because my brain and heart feel so broken. Everything you read about him is true. I’ll cherish every minute we spent together, regret every minute we didn’t, and promise to spend the rest of my life being more like him. We all should.”
“I love you so much Andy. I don’t want to keep typing because I’d never stop, but I don’t want to hit send because I don’t want this to be real. I’ll see you in everything forever.”
Stephen Micciche
“I had lunch with Andy 6 weeks ago when he played Buffalo. I couldn’t stay too long cause I had a busy day but wanted to catch up before the show. As soon as I walked in, we were immediately laughing, telling stories, and I cancelled the rest of my plans. That lunch turned out to be 4hrs. I told him at the end that, and I don’t know how it’s humanly possible, but how am I witnessing the best version of Andy Williams after 48 years & 26 of them knowing him? He looked great, happier than ever, and I was so glad we had that hang.”
“Andy was a lot of incredible things. But his true gift, almost cheat code like, was next level excelling at everything he put his creative mind and energy to, the infectious passion that he carried with it, always moving forward, & how he made everyone feel welcome & loved around him no matter who you were. And I’m lucky and honored to have had a front row seat to witness it for nearly 3 decades.”
“I have a very small family. I looked up to Andy like an older brother who I learned from every day. When he decided to give wrestling a go at age 35, I was just so in awe and inspired by him. Beating odds, dual careers living out childhood dreams. He was a walking superhero to me who I just thought would always be here.”
“No one I’ve met on earth could captivate a room full of people & be the best narrator of one of the craziest stories you’ve ever heard like him. There were times where I’d see a circle of 12 people around him, hypnotized, soaking up every word he was saying. I would always stop to hear it, even if it was 10 seconds, cause you knew it was going to be the best. Homies on tour, strangers he just met at merch at a show, didn’t matter. He made everyone feel like they were his best friend. He cared, a lot. That’s something I’ll truly miss the most.”
“The last thing ETID ever recorded was a cover of ‘Youth Overrided‘ by Cave In. It was Andy and I’s favorite song of theirs. I will always think of you when I hear it.”
“Andy, I love you. Life will never be the same. Thank you for making me & many others better people for knowing you. What an eternal gift. Share an Andy moment if you got one so I can read them forever. Til the other side.”
Clayton ‘Goose’ Holyoak
“Andy,
“It’s hard to say anything that hasn’t been said about you. My feed is full of incredible memories and stories from people I don’t even know. You were truly loved. You were a true example of kindness with a beautiful mix of chaos and adventure.”
“I’ll never forget the way you were always ready to include new people along your journey and thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to be one of those people. We did so much cool s**t together.. I remember you telling me a story about your music teacher. He said, you’d never be a musician – and look what you became. I loved that you lived life that way.”
“You wanted to do the things that couldn’t be done. Anything you put your mind to you would attain. You showed us how to live life to the fullest and I was lucky enough to be in the seat with you. I’ll remember you every day for the rest of my life. See you in the beyond, Big Man.”
Keith Buckley and Josh Newton
Former vocalist Keith Buckley, now of Many Eyes, wrote on Instagram: “I love you, Big Man.”
Former bassist Josh Newton wrote: “Until next time. Tell your friends you love them. He did.”
Daniel Davison
“Hard to process this news. Andy was one of the most kind and special people I’ve ever known. I’ll be eternally grateful for his friendship. This is going to hurt to bad for so long for so many people. Love you Andy.”
He added: “What a true priviledge and joy it was to look up while playing every night and lock in with Andy. Was magic in its purest form. His presence, kindness, humor, perspective, and approach to live were absolutely otherwordly. The ways that he showed up for his friends and family were truly inspiring to me, that’s a core Andy memory that goes back to when we first became friends in 2002.”
AEW
All Elite Wrestling, where Williams spent seven years, issued its own statement.
“All Elite Wrestling is saddened to learn of the passing of Andy Williams, aka ‘The Butcher‘. A trailblazing musician with ETID and Atomic Rule, Williams made a successful transition into the world of professional wrestling and was incredibly respected by his peers both in and out of the ring. Our condolences go out to Williams‘ family, friends and fans.”
The promoter of Saturday’s event also spoke publicly. “Andy collapsed at the end of his match this evening,” Enjoy Wrestling said. “Our doctors on staff tended to him immediately, administering CPR until the ambulance arrived. We sent everyone home and are at the hospital now waiting for more information. Thanks to everyone who helped and has reached out.”
Williams grew up in Buffalo, New York, where he had expected to work in a factory. He has spoken about living with dyslexia and about what changed things: “I just picked up a guitar and it just made sense.”
He co-founded Every Time I Die in 1998 and stayed until the band broke up in January 2022, playing on all nine of their studio albums, the last of them 2021’s Radical. After the split, Jordan Buckley, Micciche and Holyoak formed Better Lovers, while Williams started Atomic Rule, the band he was still working in.
The wrestling came later. He had loved it as a child but only settled on doing it himself after attending a Pro Wrestling Guerrilla show around 2014, and wrestled his first full match in 2015. In 2019 he signed with the newly formed All Elite Wrestling as ‘The Butcher‘, debuting alongside ‘The Blade‘ on the ninth episode of AEW Dynamite. The pair became a fixture of the promotion’s tag division until their contracts expired in June, after which they returned to independent shows. Saturday’s match was one of those.
Hours before it, Williams had appeared in a video discussing new music and an upcoming tour.
