AEW opened its Rebel Heart episode of Dynamite on September 9 with a ten-bell salute for Andy Williams, the former AEW star known as The Butcher, who died last weekend at 48.
The tribute came during the broadcast from Akins Ford Arena in Athens, Georgia, with a black-and-white “In Memoriam” graphic marking Williams’ life as 1977 to 2026 shown for the crowd. A fan in attendance shared video and photos of the moment.
10 bell ring salute for butcher ?
— Travie ? (@tzgrey78.bsky.social) 2026-09-10T00:03:54.257Z
Williams joined AEW in 2019 and spent years as one half of The Butcher and The Blade alongside Pepper Parks, becoming a fixture of the promotion’s tag team scene before departing the company earlier this year. Outside the ring, he built a career as a guitarist for the bands Every Time I Die and Atomic Rule.
Williams collapsed during a match for independent promotion Enjoy Wrestling on September 5 at Mr. Smalls Theatre in Millvale, Pennsylvania. According to a statement from Millvale police, officers were dispatched after a report that he had struck his head on a ring post during the match. He was found unresponsive and being treated by two physicians on-site, then stopped breathing shortly before EMS arrived. CPR was performed and an AED was used before he was taken to Allegheny General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:43 p.m. Police said there were no signs of trauma or foul play, and the official cause and manner of death remain pending an autopsy.
Ring of Honor held its own ten-bell salute for Williams two nights earlier, with AEW president Tony Khan addressing the crowd at a taping in Jacksonville, Florida. Tributes have continued across the wrestling and music worlds since news of his passing broke, and a celebration of life is planned for September 27 in his hometown of Buffalo.
