Rock Star/Pro Wrestler Dies After Sudden Collapse: RIP to Andy ‘The Butcher’ Williams

Andy Williams, the metal musician who carved out a successful second career in professional wrestling, has died. He was 48.

Williams collapsed following his match in Millvale, Pennsylvania, on Saturday night. The event’s promoter, Enjoy Wrestling, said that their “doctors on staff tended to him immediately, administering CPR until the ambulance arrived.”

Sadly, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office in Pennsylvania disclosed to TMZ that Williams died overnight. A cause of death was not released.

Williams made his impact on popular culture in two distinct worlds: metal music and professional wrestling.

The late performer was the guitarist for the successful metal band Every Time I Die. Williams was with the band from their 1998 inception through their 2022 hiatus. Some of the band’s most-streamed songs include “Map Change,” The New Black,” “We’rewolf” and “Wanderlust.”

After training in pro wrestling before his music career took off, Williams returned to art in the 2010s. He saw mainstream success in All Elite Wrestling, performing under the name “The Butcher.”

He was part of a fan-favorite trio, simply known as “The Butcher, The Blade and the Bunny.” The act also included Williams’ tag team partner The Blade (Jesse Guilmette) and their valet The Bunny (Laura Dennis, also known as “Allie”).

The Butcher and Blade competed in AEW’s tag division between 2019 and 2024. After The Blade suffered a serious back injury, The Butcher competed as a singles star through early 2025. His final match for AEW came in February 2025; it was a losing effort that saw him fall to Gabe Kidd on AEW Collision.

While inactive in AEW for the remainder of his contract, which reportedly ended earlier in 2026, Williams continued to wrestle in independent promotions, including three matches in August, per the pro wrestling database Cagematch.

His final match on Saturday saw him teaming once again with The Blade to take on TME at Enjoy Wrestling’s FIVE YEARS, an anniversary show for the independent promotion. Enjoy Wrestling issued a two-word tribute to Williams after his passing: “Butcher Forever.”