Life is so fragile.
In the professional wrestling business, an industry often built upon the larger-than-life performers, we often see so many death-defying maneuvers and over-the-top spectacles that it becomes routine that the grapplers that take the bumps and bruisers are back to their feet to continue the bout after thrilling moments in the ring. These guys are such top-notch performers that falling twenty feet, landing on the canvas from the top rope, or crashing through a table is a part of the job description, especially in modern pro wrestling. Sure, injuries happen, but at the end of the day, these athletes always find a way to lace up their boots and get back through the curtain one more time, which is why almost nobody truly retires from the ring.
Again, we see these performers, especially at the highest levels, always get back up. It happens so often after the legitimate risks they take as pro wrestlers that it’s expected that they can dust themselves off to make it to their next match.
Unfortunately, a tragic situation unfolded in Pittsburgh last night when a routine tag match, a contest without any of the risks that are often seen on national television today, ended with one of the performers not able to answer the bell.
Enjoy Wrestling, a progressive pro wrestling company that was celebrating it’s fifth anniversary before they plan to conclude their operations next month, held its event at the Mr. Smalls Theater in the Millvale neighborhood of the city. Enjoy had carved a sizable niche for itself in an area that has a plethora of sports entertainment options, with a lineage that traces back to the Bruno days of Pittsburgh Studio Wrestling. There are live cards somewhere around western Pennsylvania almost every weekend. Still, despite the variety already in the area, Enjoy brought something fresh and innovative to the table, garnering a dedicated following over the past few years. Running roughly half a dozen events a year, Enjoy showcased unique talent from outside of the region that wasn’t seen in Pittsburgh often such as Su Yung, Sonny Kiss, Effy, and others. At the same time, the group gave an enhanced spotlight on the stellar local crop of talent as well, while promoting inclusivity and acceptance.
The local league has a following that stretched beyond Pittsburgh through their Youtube content, and while the news of the end of the project was met with sadness, there was still a noticeable anticipation for the finale at Mr. Smalls.
As a commentator on the Pittsburgh scene, I didn’t get a chance to see Enjoy’s product in person, simply because I was often already scheduled to announce at different events on weekends that they had shows lined up, but I was always happy to see the fresh talent and opportunists for many of my friends from the local circuit. In particular, I was looking forward to getting to watch Lee Moriarty vs. Amazing Red at some point within the next few weeks.
The Butcher and The Blade, the former AEW duo, were scheduled to compete against TME, the pair of Duke Davis and Ganon Jones Jr. When it comes to some of the absolute best of the current Pittsburgh generation, TME are near the top of anyone’s list. They are great performers, but even better guys outside of the ring. Matt Cardona spoke very highly of Duke Davis on his podcast after they worked a match together at an International Wrestling Cartel event last August.
Sadly, around 8:45 PM last night, I heard from a few of my friends that were booked for the show that The Butcher had some type of medial emergency after the match and an ambulance was called immediately. I didn’t realize how serious it was until photos from fans in attendance were posted online. I knew it had to be very serious for the medical team to be working on the real-life Andy Williams directly at ringside in front on the audience. Credit to Enjoy Wrestling for not only having a medical staff there to address the situation so quickly, but for also ending the event after the medical incident. It goes without saying that this scenario was much more important than a pro wrestling event, and the Enjoy management made the right call.
I was told that a few of the other wrestlers had accompanied Williams to the hospital, but didn’t want to intrude for updates beyond what was already confirmed publicly. I was hoping for a positive follow-up at some point today, although, I have to be honest, I was very concerned because of the nature of the situation.
It was confirmed earlier today that Andy Williams passed away at the age of 48. As of this writing, no cause of death has been announced.
The Butcher broke into the sport later in life than most aspiring pro wrestlers, but not only did he land a contract for seven years with a national promotion of the decade that he spent in the genre, he also had a full-time music career as well. He was most known a a metal guitarist for the ETD band before he worked with Atomic Rule after the original group dissolved. When he wasn’t in the ring, he was often on extended tours with the bands, achieving notoriety within that music scene.
Even though he started as a pro wrestler in his late-30s, that’s probably what made The Butcher character work as well as it did. The trademark mustache and monocle made him look like a raging Monopoly man, as he alternated dropping to one knee to mimic an amateur wrestling exerciser in a menacing fashion. Someone that is in their early-20s simply wouldn’t be able to get that persona over. There’s no doubt that Andy Williams passed the airport test because you could look at the guy and know that he wasn’t working a 9-to-5 job in a cubicle.
All things considered, The Butcher and The Blade were a very solid tag team in terms of their performance in All Elite Wrestling, even if they didn’t get the opportunity to achieve as many accolades. The Blade suffered a serious neck injury that required surgery so he was on the shelf for the past few years. With The Blade on the sidelines, The Butcher only worked one match for the company in the past two years. He worked a handful of independent shows during that time, but continued working in music on an almost full-time basis. But, who was or wasn’t full utilized during their stint in a pro wrestling company seems so secondary in comparison to the tragic situation that happened last night.
Despite his imposing demeanor in the ring, tributes have poured into social media, praising his kindness. It’s an ironic dichotomy that the brooding persona that stomped around the squared circle was soft spoken in real-life interviews.
Obviously, Andy Williams is gone way too soon. Considering that the medical staff was there to work on him immediately, and from what I read online, he was taken to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, which is world-renowned for it’s level of care, everything that could be done was done to try to prevent this tragic result. As I said, it’s impressive that The Butcher had a national contract for seven of the ten years that he worked in wrestling, and the argument could be made that he was even more successful in the world of music with extensive tours.
Despite his life being cut tragically short, the biggest takeaway from Andy Williams was the positive impact that he had on fans and his peers. Sadly, situations like this remind us of how unexpected, and often unfair, life can be.
My sincere condolences to the friends and family of Andy Williams at this difficult time.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
