The former AEW performer and Every Time I Die guitarist received emergency treatment after collapsing at an independent wrestling event near Pittsburgh.
MILLVALE, Pa. — Andy Williams, the professional wrestler known as The Butcher and longtime guitarist for Every Time I Die, died after collapsing following an Enjoy Wrestling event Saturday near Pittsburgh, the promotion and All Elite Wrestling said. He was 48.
Williams collapsed at ringside after a tag team match at Mr. Smalls Theatre in Millvale on Sept. 5, according to Enjoy Wrestling co-owner Kurt Hackimer. Two doctors working at the event attended to Williams, and the promotion ended the show as the medical emergency developed. Doctors performed CPR and used an automated external defibrillator before an ambulance took Williams to Allegheny General Hospital.
Hackimer said Williams fell at ringside after the match and struck his head on the floor. Williams was initially conscious but unresponsive, Hackimer said, before his condition quickly worsened and his pulse faded. The sequence described by the promoter does not establish what caused the medical emergency, and authorities have not said that the fall or resulting head impact caused Williams’ death.
Medics at the venue said Williams showed symptoms that were consistent with a cardiac event, according to Hackimer. That assessment was not an official finding. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office is responsible for determining the cause and manner of death, and no official cause had been released as of Monday. Millvale police also were investigating the circumstances surrounding the emergency.
Williams was competing alongside his longtime tag team partner Jesse Guilmette, known professionally as The Blade. The match was part of Enjoy Wrestling’s fifth-anniversary event. The promotion’s first statement said Williams collapsed at the end of the match and that doctors immediately began treating him. The rest of the event was stopped while Williams was taken for further medical care.
Williams became a nationally recognized professional wrestler through All Elite Wrestling, where he and Guilmette competed as The Butcher and The Blade beginning in 2019. The pair became regular parts of AEW programming during the company’s early years and worked both tag team and singles matches. Williams remained associated with AEW until 2026 before returning to a more active schedule on independent wrestling events.
His wrestling career developed after he was already established in heavy music. Williams was a founding guitarist of Every Time I Die, the Buffalo-area metalcore band formed in 1998. He remained with the group throughout its more than two-decade run and performed on its studio albums before the band broke up in 2022. The group built an international following through years of touring and recording.
Williams later continued making music with Atomic Rule while pursuing professional wrestling. The combination made him a familiar figure in two different entertainment communities. In wrestling, his imposing character and distinctive appearance contrasted with the way colleagues described him away from performances, where friends repeatedly remembered him as supportive, humorous and generous.
AEW said Williams had made a successful transition from music into professional wrestling and was “incredibly respected by his peers both in and out of the ring.” Tributes also came from wrestlers, musicians and former bandmates. Jordan Buckley, who played with Williams in Every Time I Die, remembered him in a social media post as someone whose character matched the positive stories being shared about him after his death.
Williams was a Western New York native and remained closely tied to the Buffalo music and wrestling scenes even as his work took him around the country. He had continued performing on independent wrestling cards after his AEW run and was still making music with Atomic Rule. His death brought memorial messages from both communities, reflecting a career that crossed concert stages and professional wrestling rings.
The official cause and manner of Williams’ death remained pending Monday. The promoter’s account that his symptoms appeared consistent with a cardiac event is preliminary, and officials have not announced whether that apparent medical problem, the fall at ringside or another factor caused or contributed to his death.
Author note: Last updated September 7, 2026.