Andrew Williams, the longtime rhythm guitarist for metalcore band Every Time I Die, who went by “The Butcher” in his other career as a professional wrestler, has died, All Elite Wrestling has confirmed.
asserted
Wrestling → die → wrestler
Williams’ death was announced hours after he collapsed during an independent wrestling show in Millvale, Pennsylvania, and was rushed to a hospital by ambulance Saturday night.
asserted
he → announce → ambulance
“Andy collapsed at the end of his match this evening,” Enjoy Wrestling, the promoter putting on Saturday’s event, said on X.
asserted
Wrestling → collapse → event
“Our doctors on staff tended to him immediately, administering CPR until the ambulance arrived.”
asserted
ambulance → tend → CPR
Williams grew up in the Buffalo, New York, area, thinking he was going to follow his father’s and uncles’ footsteps and work at a factory when he got older.
asserted
he → grow → factory
“I remember being like, ‘Oh, my God, I got to get out of here,’” he told Renee Paquette in a 2022 interview.
asserted
he → got → interview
Williams recalled living with learning disabilities, including dyslexia, which prevented him from learning how to read music.
asserted
which → recall → music
But, he told Paquette, “I just picked up a guitar and it just made sense.”
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it → tell → sense
Williams played with Every Time I Die from the group’s inception in 1998 to it’s disbandment in 2022.
asserted
I → play → 2022
“The band became known for turning chaos into catharsis, pairing breakneck intensity with anthemic hooks and off-kilter grooves,” according to Epitaph Records, which signed the group in 2008.
uncertain
which → know → 2008
In 2025, Williams’ new band, Atomic Rule, released a demo EP.
asserted
band → release → EP
On Saturday, just hours before his collapse, Williams spoke in a video on the group’s Instagram page, saying they’d just wrapped up writing new music and would be appearing on tour with Gwar in November and December.
asserted
they → speak → November
“Get ready, because Atomic Rule is going to be coming and smashing it,” Williams said in the video.
asserted
Williams → get → video
Between the ropes, Williams dispensed with his soft-spoken, easygoing demeanor and instead went by “The Butcher,” putting his burly, heavily tattooed body to hard-hitting use as one half of the tag team “The Butcher and The Blade.”
asserted
Williams → dispense → team
Though he’d loved pro wrestling as a child, he told the “HardLore” podcast in 2025 that it wasn’t until he attended a show held by Southern California indie promotion Pro Wrestling Guerrilla around 2014 that the idea of becoming a wrestler himself finally crystallized in his mind.
asserted
idea → love → mind
In 2015, at age 37, he finally wrestled his first full match.
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he → wrestle → match
Four years later, he’d debut on All Elite Wrestling, performing on television until his contract expired in 2026.
asserted
contract → debut → 2026
Williams described the similarities between music and wrestling to “HardLore.”
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Williams → describe → HardLore
“Anyone who’s written a song can wrestle a wrestling match,” he said.
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he → write → match
“It’s very similar to like — putting a song together is just like putting a wrestling match together.
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putting → ’ → match
Despite his talents in two different arenas, Williams told interviewer and wrestling personality Alicia Atout in 2017 that his “true life calling is just to make my friends laugh.”
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friends → tell → 2017
“That makes me feel like a million bucks, if I can get dudes rolling,” he said.
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he → make → bucks
Former colleagues and fans began paying tribute to Williams on Sunday.
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colleagues → begin → Sunday
Josh Eppard, the drummer for rock band Coheed and Cambria, called Williams’ death “beyond heartbreaking” and recalled his kindness, saying he met Williams during a 2019 tour.
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he → call → tour
“Peace to Andy, the kind giant who I thought was doing some backyard wrestling s--- with his buddies until one day I saw his mug on the TV and was in stunned disbelief,” Eppard said.
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Eppard → think → disbelief
“Andy was not only a pillar of one of the most true and influential bands in heavy music, he was also pulling double duty as a pro wrestler????”
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he → pull → wrestler
In a statement, actor, musician and “HardLore” host Colin Young said Williams was a “beacon of kindness, the benchmark of cool, and an unbreakable pillar of love and support to everyone in his life.”
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Williams → say → life
“To know Andy was to love Andy,” Young wrote, “but more importantly, to know Andy was to feel loved by Andy.”
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know → know → Andy
Wrestler Matt Hardy, who worked with Williams at AEW, called him a “kind, funny & deep individual who was an extremely talented musician & wrestler.”
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who → work → him
RJ City, an AEW interviewer and member of the company’s creative team, highlighted Williams’ intellect.
asserted
City → highlight → intellect
“Andy Williams was so smart and cultured that it made both his chosen careers all the more insane,” City said.
asserted
City → make → ?
“He was the opposite of how he looked, we were lucky to know him.”
asserted
we → look → him
Former AEW women’s world champion Willow Nightingale recalled Williams encouraging her, raising her confidence and advocating for her before she’d been signed to the company.
asserted
she → recall → company
“He had every right to have an ego, but he didn’t,” Nightingale said.
asserted
Nightingale → have → ego
“He reached his hand out and did what he could to help others.”
uncertain
he → reach → others
Wrestler Josh Alexander called Williams “one of the best people I ever met.”
“I’ll remember Andy for what he was,” Alexander wrote on X. “A dude with an enormous heart that could always put a smile on my face.”
uncertain
that → call → face
The Aporia
