Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Buffalo-born musician and professional wrestler Andy “The Butcher” Williams has passed away at 48.
Williams was wrestling in Millvale, PA Saturday for the Enjoy Wrestling promotion alongside tag team partner “The Blade” before suffering a medical emergency in the ring.
Williams also wrestled for the All Elite Wrestling promotion as part of the tag team “The Butcher & The Blade.” His last appearance in Buffalo for AEW was June 26, 2024 at KeyBank Center, where he wrestled fellow Buffalo native Daniel Garcia.
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… pic.twitter.com/FZ5WhSGsFl
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) September 6, 2026
On July 31, 2026, Williams wrestled for Buffalo-based independent wrestling promotion ESW at their “Everything to Gaine” show at Buffalo RiverWorks.
Williams was also known for his work as rhythm guitarist for Buffalo metal band Every Time I Die which formed in 1998.
In a 2017 interview with Already Heard, Williams compared the act of performing in a wrestling ring to writing a song.
“If I have someone that I’m wrestling and they’re a musician, it’s so cool. I can be like ‘hey man we need a bridge, let’s get to the chorus, let’s get to the breakdown.’ It’s just opened my mind completely to how things are set up and how to work a crowd. It’s awesome.”
At the time of his death, Williams was a member of the band Atomic Rule. He posted a video on the band’s Instagram account Saturday teasing new music.
