What happened
Cody Rhodes has paid tribute to Andy Williams, the wrestler known to AEW audiences as The Butcher, following news of his death, according to Fightful, WrestleZone and Wrestling Headlines.
Williams was reported to have died after a medical emergency following a match at an independent wrestling event, according to WrestleZone, which identified the show as an Enjoy Wrestling event in Millvale, Pennsylvania, on September 5.
What we know
Williams was 48 years old, according to WrestleZone.
He was best known in AEW for his tag team with The Blade, forming The Butcher and The Blade, according to Wrestling Headlines.
Fightful reported that Williams passed away after wrestling a match at an independent show over the weekend.
Rhodes shared touching memories of bringing The Butcher to AEW, according to Wrestling Headlines.
Allie, who performed as The Bunny alongside The Butcher and The Blade during the early days of the team’s AEW run, also paid tribute to Williams, according to Fightful.
What is not confirmed
The exact cause of the medical emergency has not been detailed in the available reports.
Specific details of Rhodes’s tribute statement were not included in the supplied source summaries.
Why it matters
The Butcher and The Blade were a fixture of AEW’s early tag team scene, and tributes from figures like Cody Rhodes and Allie reflect the impact Williams had on colleagues throughout his career.
