Andy Williams, known as The Butcher, dies at 48 after collapsing at an Enjoy Wrestling event in Pennsylvania

Andy Williams, the pro wrestler known as The Butcher, died over the weekend at 48 after collapsing following a match at Enjoy Wrestling in Pennsylvania. WWE star Cody Rhodes, who helped set up Williams' debut in All Elite Wrestling, spoke about the loss in an interview with OutKick Dropkick, describing Williams as a person whose warmth and intelligence were concealed by the persona he carried in the ring.

A career across multiple promotions

Williams began training as a wrestler in the early 2010s and made his debut in 2015. He and Pepper Parks, known in the ring as The Blade, began teaming together in 2017 as The Butcher and The Blade. Their partnership took them through AEW, Ring of Honor, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and other promotions. The pro wrestling community mourned his death on Sunday.

Rhodes had a first-hand role in Williams' AEW introduction. Williams, Parks, and a partner known as Bunny came up from underneath the ring during that debut to attack Rhodes after a match. "He came up under the ring and they beat me up," Rhodes said, describing it in the OutKick Dropkick interview as "a really fun debut" that he had helped recruit the group for. He said he was glad to have been part of bringing Williams into that moment, and expressed regret that he had not spent more time with him as a person.

What those who knew him said

Williams held a parallel career as a member of the band Every Time I Die. Rhodes pointed to that as part of what made Williams stand out. He said Williams "didn't need the gig" because he had another career, and described him as "warm and charismatic" and "super cultured and intelligent." His presentation in the ring gave no indication of how "truly special, intelligent, artistic, and beautiful of a person that he was," in Rhodes' words.

Rhodes mentioned telling Brandi about the news that morning, calling the death "such a shock" given Williams' age. He said the people around Williams were very much in his heart, and that Williams "leaves behind multiple locker rooms of people that he touched," each carrying a good memory of him.