Andy Williams | |
|---|---|
 Williams playing atWith Full Force 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Andrew J. Williams (1977-12-12)December 12, 1977 (age 48) |
| Origin | North Tonawanda, New York, U.S.[1] |
| Genres | Metalcore,hardcore punk,Southern rock |
| Occupations | Musician, professional wrestler |
| Instrument | Guitar |
| Years active | 1998 (1998)–present |
| Labels | |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Andy Williams Billy Goat Williams[2] Ballsy Malone[2] The Butcher |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Billed weight | 273 lb (124 kg) |
| Billed from | Buffalo, New York |
| Trained by | Josh Barnett Mikey Everynite[3] Brandon Thurston[4] Pepper Parks |
| Debut | March 20, 2016 |
Andrew J. Williams (born December 12, 1977)[1] is an American musician andprofessional wrestler, best known as the former rhythm guitarist of themetalcore bandEvery Time I Die. As a wrestler, he is signed toAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) under thering nameThe Butcher, where he is one-half of atag team withThe Blade.
Williams had aspired to be a professional wrestler and trained at Renegade Wrestling Association inOntario,Canada for six months, until he sustained a knee injury. During the layoff, he learned to play the guitar, and formedEvery Time I Die alongside lead guitarist Jordan Buckley and drummer Michael Novak. He has appeared on every release that the band has done, and had not missed a live show, until January 2020, when he wrestledDiamond Dallas Page andDustin Rhodes atBash at the Beach.[5] From January to March, Every Time I Die had written and recorded their ninth album, and had been expected to tour the album in June, supportingParkway Drive andHatebreed, but this would be delayed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[6] Since he could not tour with the band,[7] he was able to continue working forAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), as they are based inJacksonville, andFlorida deemed wrestling as essential business critical to the state's economy. On January 17, 2022, Williams and Buckley announced on social media that Every Time I Die broke up.[8][9]
Williams had previously been with the other members of Every Time I Die (exceptKeith Buckley) attempting to form a new band and expressed interest in collaborating with AEW music producer Mikey Rukus on Twitter.[10]
In the mid-2010s, Williams resumed his training withJosh Barnett, initially as a workout session.[11] He continued working with Barnett, but only sporadically, since he does not live inCalifornia.[11] He began attending Grapplers Anonymous, based inLackawanna, and received further training from long-time friend and professional wrestlerJesse Guilmette.[1]
During the summer of 2015, he started working on theindependent circuit, and made run-ins at Smash Wrestling where he chokeslammed Tarik,[12] and atProgress Wrestling, where he powerbombedJimmy Havoc through a table.[13] His first tag match was on an Interspecies Wrestling Halloween show, partnering Wes in a dark match, and defeating Los Dumbfucks.[14] In February 2016, he returned to Smash Wrestling, and had another confrontation with Tarik, who laid him out in the ring.[15] His first singles match was confirmed the following month after the show, but at Any Given Sunday 4, he was defeated by Tarik.[16] During the match, he tore hismeniscus, which he had surgery for, before going on tour with Every Time I Die ten days later.[11]
In March 2017, Williams appeared atJoey Janela'sSpring Break, successfully teaming withPenelope Ford in an intergender tag team match against Guilmette (under his Braxton Sutter ring name) and his wifeAllie.[17] Janela had suggested that Williams should wrestle eitherNikolai Volkoff orGlacier at the event, but he declined, preferring the intergender matchup instead.[18] September saw the beginning of Williams and Guilmette regularly teaming with each other, and in their first match at a Pro Wrestling Rampage event, they won the PWR Tag Team Championship, defeating the Upper Echelon (Colby Redd andP. B. Smooth).[19] However, this reign was short-lived, lasting 63 days. In their first defence of the title, Williams was absent and was replaced by JJ Rumham (as he was playing inNewcastle during theLow Teens tour);[20] the pairing of Guilmette and Rumham were defeated by the Homewreckers (Anthony Gaines and Jet Rebel).[21] Known asthe Butcher and the Blade, Williams and Guilmette predominately wrestled in promotions acrossthe Northeast, as well as inOttawa, where Capital City Championship Combat (C4) is based.
On the November 27, 2019, episode ofDynamite, Williams (now known under thering namethe Butcher) made his debut forAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) in a post-match attack onCody, alongsidethe Blade andthe Bunny, establishing themselves asheels.[22] It was later revealed that the Butcher and the Blade had been hired byMJF, furthering his ongoing feud with Cody.[23] On the December 11 episode ofDynamite, the Butcher won his first tag match in AEW when he and the Blade defeated Cody andQ. T. Marshall, who was handpicked by MJF.[24] The following week on the December 18 episode ofDynamite, the Butcher and the Blade were defeated by Cody and his new partner,Darby Allin.[25]
On January 15, 2020, Williams missed a live show in Paris for the first time in twenty-two years, to appear atBash at the Beach.[26] Teaming with MJF, the Butcher and the Blade defeated Marshall,Diamond Dallas Page andDustin Rhodes in a six-man tag team match, where he took aDiamond Cutter from DDP.[27] In March 2020, the Butcher and the Blade had a brief feud with the Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy,Luchasaurus andMarko Stunt), which would lead to the Butcher and the Blade ending their alliance with MJF. On the March 11 episode ofDynamite, the Butcher and the Blade teamed with MJF for the second and final time, in a defeat of the Jurassic Express.[28] On the March 18 episode ofDynamite, they were defeated by Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus, following interference by MJF who called for the finisher, allowing Jungle Boy to send the Butcher to the outside and then he and Luchasaurus hit their finisher on the Blade.[29] During the summer, the Butcher and the Blade began working with theLucha Brothers (Rey Fenix andPenta El Zero Miedo) and later, formed a group, led byEddie Kingston.[30] However, the group disbanded on the November 18 episode ofDynamite, after the Butcher and the Blade sided with Kingston, while the Lucha Brothers reunited theirDeath Triangle stable withPac, who had returned the previous week.[31] They would feud with Death Triangle for the next couple of weeks.[32][33][34]
FollowingRevolution, the Butcher and the Blade ended their alliance with Kingston, after he turnedface and began teaming withJon Moxley, as they instead allied themselves withMatt Hardy, along withPrivate Party, forming a stable known as the Hardy Family Office.[35][36] At the House Always Wins, the Butcher won abattle royal to become the #1 contender for theAEW TNT Championship, but later in the night, he was defeated by then-champion Allin.[37] He spent a number of months away from the ring due to a thumb injury,[38] and returned atAll Out.[39] The Butcher and the Blade quickly became #1 contenders for theAEW World Tag Team Championship, but on the September 17 episode ofRampage (taped September 15), they were defeated by the Lucha Brothers, with the Butcher taking the pin.[40][41] Every Time I Die went on tour in November and December to promote their ninth albumRadical,[42] so Williams' appearances as the Butcher became far less prominent, although he did wrestle on the November 17 episode ofDynamite, in a defeat toChaos (Orange Cassidy andTomohiro Ishii).[43] During this match, Williams tore his bicep after taking a superplex from Ishii,[44] and while he felt he could continue wrestling injured,Tony Khan gave him some time off to recover.[45] Weeks later, Every Time I Die broke up, giving Williams the impetus to pursue professional wrestling full-time.
When the Butcher returned in January 2022, the stable was in the midst of a storyline involvingAndrade El Idolo,[46] who would become the new leader, after Hardy was kicked out.[47] Beginning in March, the tag team were involved in a month-long feud with Allin andthe Hardys, onceJeff Hardy joined the promotion.[48][49][50][51] On May 29, atDouble or Nothing, the Butcher and the Blade's alliance with Andrade came to an end, when he disbanded it in favor of bringingLa Facción Ingobernable to AEW.[52] Discussing his time in the stable, Williams said, "...we were all just along for the ride ... and it just kept splintering into different things and then Andrade became involved and luckily, it all ended and now everyone's kind of on a clear path. It was like no clear path at that point."[45] On theSeptember 23 episode ofRampage (taped September 21), the Butcher participated in a battle royal for a futureAEW World Championship match. He eliminated Matt Hardy andEvil Uno (who had previously eliminated him in a battle royal earlier in the year),[53] before being eliminated by eventual winner"Hangman" Adam Page.[54] Towards the end of the year, the Butcher and the Blade allied themselves withKip Sabian, and started a recurring feud withBest Friends (Trent Beretta,Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy).[55][56]
On the February 20, 2023 episode ofDark: Elevation (taped February 15), the Butcher and the Blade, alongside members of the Firm, were defeated by Best Friends andthe Dark Order (Alex Reynolds and John Silver).[57] On the February 22 episode ofDynamite, the Butcher put in a strong performance in theRevolution Tag Team Battle Royal, by eliminating six wrestlers (including Reynolds and Silver), before being eliminated by Rey Fenix.[58] On the March 1 episode ofDynamite, the Butcher and the Blade ended up being the last wrestlers to be eliminated in the Casino Tag Team Battle Royal, by Best Friends associateDanhausen.[59] After a defeat on the House Rules Tour,[60] they resumed their feud with Allin who had teamed with Cassidy that night,[61] and on the March 22 episode ofDynamite, they and Sabian were defeated by Allin, Cassidy andSting.[62] Nevertheless, the Butcher challenged Cassidy for theAEW International Championship,[63] but on the next week'sDynamite, he was defeated by Cassidy, despite interference from the Blade, as well as from Beretta and Taylor.[64] On the May 3 episode ofDynamite, the Butcher and Blade were involved in the Tres de Mayo Trios Battle Royal.[65] The Butcher eliminatedMax Caster, before being eliminated byBilly Gunn,[66] which led to a six-man match on the May 13 episode ofRampage (taped May 10), where they and Sabian were defeated by Gunn andthe Acclaimed.[67] On May 28, atDouble or Nothing, the Butcher participated in a Blackjack Battle Royal for the International Championship, but was eliminated by the Lucha Brothers.[68] The Butcher and2point0's Matt Menard were chosen in a blind eliminator tag team tournament, where on the July 5 episode ofDynamite, they were defeated by the team ofAdam Cole and MJF.[69] On the July 21 episode ofRampage (taped July 19), the Butcher participated in a battle royal for a title shot at the TNT Championship, where he eliminatedMinoru Suzuki, but was later eliminated by the Gates of Agony (Bishop Kaun andToa Liona).[70] On the July 28 episode ofRampage (taped July 26), the Butcher participated in a battle royal for a World Tag Team Championship title shot, where he scored three eliminations and made it to the final four, alongside the Blade. He was the final wrestler to be eliminated, afterBrian Cage andBig Bill hit an assisted chokeslam and clothesline combination move, before throwing him over the top rope.[71] On the October 4 episode ofDynamite, the Butcher, the Blade and Sabian received a title shot for theAEW World Trios Championship, but were defeated by Gunn and the Acclaimed.[72] On December 30, atWorlds End, the Butcher participated in a battle royal for a title shot at the TNT Championship, eliminating Silver, but would be eliminated by eventual winnerKillswitch.[73]
On the January 26, 2024 episode ofRampage (taped January 24), the Butcher and Sabian was involved in a four-way match for a title shot at the International Championship, which was won byKomander.[74] Soon afterwards, the Blade would be ruled out with a long-term injury,[75] and the Butcher began wrestling in singles matches, often in losing efforts, to the likes ofSwerve Strickland, Dustin Rhodes andClaudio Castagnoli.[76]
Beginning in May 2023, Williams started making appearances forRing of Honor (ROH), which by this point, had become the sister promotion of AEW. He usually featured in tag team matches and multi-man matches. On the June 1 episode ofRing of Honor Wrestling (taped May 24), the Butcher,the Blade andKip Sabian defeated Bryce Saturn, Jakob Austin Young and Shogun in a squash match.[77] On the September 1 episode ofRampage (taped August 30), the Butcher participated in a battle royal for a title shot at theROH World Tag Team Championship, scoring one elimination, before being eliminated byDutch.[78] On the December 14 episode ofRing of Honor Wrestling (taped December 5), he and the Blade defeated The WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry and JD Drake), The Outrunners (Truth Magnum and Turbo Floyd) and The Infantry (Carlie Bravo andShawn Dean) in a four corners survival match.[79] On the January 18, 2024 episode ofRing of Honor Wrestling (taped January 10), the Butcher and the Blade were defeated by Top Flight (Dante Martin andDarius Martin).[80]
OnRenee Paquette's podcastThe Sessions, Williams revealed he hasdyslexia.[81]
Thurston is the Head Trainer at Grappler's Anonymous in Buffalo, NY.
