wrestling / News
Matt Hardy, Athena, RJ City & Many More Remember The Butcher After His Passing
Image Credit: AEW
The wrestling world has come out to pay tribute to Andy “The Butcher” Williams following his tragic passing over the weekend. As reported, Williams passed away following a medical emergency when he collapsed at the the Enjoy Five-Year Anniversary event and was taiken to the hospital. He was 48 years old.
The Butcher’s sudden passing drew responses from across the wrestling world with many of his former AEW colleagues from Matt Hardy and Josh Alexander to AEW referee Bryce Remsburg and more paying tribute. The reactions spread far beyond AEW itself though, as posts from the likes of Beyond Wrestling, TNA’s KC Navvaro and Matthew Rehwoldt, WWE roster members Lexis King and Matt Cardona, and more show.
You can see a wide selection of the social media reactions below:
Saddened & shocked to hear about the passing of Andy Williams. Andy was a joy to work with – He was a kind, funny & deep individual who was an extremely talented musician & wrestler. My thoughts & prayers go out to all of Andy’s family, friends & fans. RIP brother. pic.twitter.com/BZBvBBadCr
— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) September 6, 2026
Andy Williams was a musician and wrestler.
He was one of the best people I ever met. Everytime we spoke I left the conversation better for it.
I’ll remember Andy for what he was. A dude with an enormous heart that could always put a smile on my face.
Rest in Peace brother.
♥️ pic.twitter.com/OHyhcDbJug— Josh Alexander (@Walking_Weapon) September 6, 2026
Andy Williams was consistently in rooms full of cool and interesting people.
And even so, Andy was consistently the most cool and interesting person in a room. Effortlessly.
He made you feel cool and interesting just by talking to you.
His smile could light up a stadium. 💔 pic.twitter.com/rhBpiAH24N
— Bryce Remsburg (@dabryceisright) September 6, 2026
Andy Williams was so smart and cultured that it made both his chosen careers all the more insane. He was the opposite of how he looked, we were lucky to know him. pic.twitter.com/mbC3bd3l9N
— RJ City (@RJCity1) September 6, 2026
Andy was a gentle & kind mountain of a man.
He looked like he could throw you through a wall (he could if he wanted!) but was so warmhearted & soft spoken.
I would affectionately call him father & we immediately bonded over our love of dogs.
He will be forever missed. pic.twitter.com/FVdzDA0C1S
— Viper Perabo 🇵🇷🐍👑 (@KingSerpentico) September 6, 2026
I love you dude. Thanks for being my friend. I wish I was in Ohio right now so I could take a picture of the message you wrote on my white board in my room when you and Pep stayed at my house when I was in England or Japan or something. I never erased it. I will miss you. pic.twitter.com/Fohg3wRaRi
— RSP リッキー・シェーン・ペイジ (@RickeyShanePage) September 6, 2026
Heartbroken. RIP Andy. He was such a good dude. I’m in shock. https://t.co/fo8uNHOVk8
— Alex Abrahantes (@TheHypeManAlex) September 6, 2026
I AM WITHOUT WORDS THIS MORNING.
I LOVE YOU ANDY.
BUTCHER FOREVER.
— BEEF (@BEEFTCB) September 6, 2026
Andy 🙏🏼
— Mike Mansury (@mr_mansury) September 6, 2026
My heart is broken this morning hearing about my friend Andy.
One of the sweetest people you’d ever meet. There’s something that always felt like back home when talking to him. Maybe it was the WNY accent but I think it was just who he was. Any time we’d end up sitting with each…
— Amanda (@MandaLHuber) September 6, 2026
Just extremely awful news to wake up to. You were always so kind and I truly do miss talking and exchanging food recipes.
Rip Butcher
My condolences to all friends and family.— Athena is ROH & All Elite! (@AthenaPalmer_FG) September 6, 2026
God Speed brother.
Andy Williams aka The Butcher— The Murderhawk Monster Lance Archer (@LanceHoyt) September 6, 2026
So gutted to hear about @andycomplains passing. Butch was an amazing guy who loved pro wrestling & music (all types including Jerry Garcia, which we spoke a lot about) & was hugely successful at both. His passion for life was infectious & made our locker room better. #RIPAndy
— Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) September 6, 2026
For a man his size, with all the tattoos, you’d assume he’d be this monster. But in reality, Andy Williams was always such a kind person to Tay and me anytime we saw him.
Very sad day. RIP brother 💔
— Sammy Guevara (@sammyguevara) September 6, 2026
Andy was one of the kindest people I have ever met. He just radiated LOVE: for his people, animals, everyone.
My fondest memories of him are when he had a room full of friends holding on to his every word. He was an incredible storyteller and a beautiful person.
RIP my friend pic.twitter.com/8tmZGPcHkz
— EVIL UNO of DARK ORDER 🇨🇦 (@EvilUno) September 6, 2026
I was hoping this story was misreported.
I only had a few interactions with Andy. But he was always complimentary. We laughed and joked about how silly the wrestling business can be.
We spoke about hopefully sharing a ring one day and how fun it would be.
In another life,… https://t.co/jHrms20ZGa
— Big Trouble Ben Bishop (@bigtroubleBB) September 6, 2026
Absolutely awful to hear about Andy Williams.
Awful news about someone who is respected and well liked by so many.
My thoughts and condolences to his friends and family 🙏❤️
— Matthew Rehwoldt (@DramaKingMatt) September 6, 2026
Rest in peace Andy Williams …😪💔
— PARKER BOUDREAUX (@TheParkerB_) September 6, 2026
Andy Williams 🩷 Thank you for always being so kind. This one stings. Praying for his family and loved ones. God Bless you brother see you in the other side 😔🙏🏽
— KC Navarro (@KCwrestles) September 6, 2026
If everyone were more like Andy Williams the world would be a better place. RIP to one of the best. pic.twitter.com/tu62TzS43r
— Sam Roberts (@notsam) September 6, 2026
Unbelievable. Andy Williams aka The Butcher has sadly passed away! RIP and may your memory be ever eternal! 🙏 pic.twitter.com/ugliSOYxcN
— Jimmy Korderas (@jimmykorderas) September 6, 2026
I’m broken this morning. We’ve repped Andy for about a year and a half and Andy and I spent hours upon hours on the phone in that time, talking life outside and after the ring. He had wonderful ideas and business plans, and he consistently impressed me with his creativity.
— Steve Kaye (@StevenMKaye) September 6, 2026
Life is seldom fair, and losing one of the good ones will never cease being the worst feelings in the world . I’ll miss you a ton, Andy. I will miss our marathon phone calls and I promise, that I won’t let your ideas fall by the wayside, and your memory will always be a blessing.
— Steve Kaye (@StevenMKaye) September 6, 2026
— Corey Graves (@WWEGraves) September 6, 2026
I’ve written and deleted so many thoughts.
It’s hard to write a limited tweet to explain how great of a person he was, or tell good stories about him.
He was NICEST man, everyone who met or worked with him will have nothing but praise about him.
Rest in Peace Andy. pic.twitter.com/OvhcPV31vB
— Jose The Assistant 🦇👊🏻 (@JoseAssistant) September 6, 2026
🙏🏿🙏🏿 HFO 4 Life pic.twitter.com/REi7qXQAso
— Private Party (@Marq_Quen) September 6, 2026
Love ya brother. 🕯️🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/fj3LWglYEO
— Cruz MONTANA🇵🇷 (@Montana_NYPR) September 6, 2026
Love you butch.
For ever.— Stu Grayson (@stu_dos) September 6, 2026
Butcher Forever.
— Enjoy Wrestling (@EnjoyWrestle) September 6, 2026
I was at a restaurant after a show one time and met a group of AEW fans. Like usual, I struck up conversation with them to gauge their interest in us and they told me something fascinating:
They weren’t big wrestling fans at all. They had discovered it via Andy Williams’s social… pic.twitter.com/7CASJo38uX
— Will Washington (@WillWashington) September 6, 2026
I don’t have the words right now. I can’t stop crying.
Gabby & I love you forever, Andy.
— Bear Bronson (@bearbronsonBC) September 6, 2026
Very sad to hear about the passing of “The Butcher” Andy Williams.
Some of my favorite memories in wrestling were with him. More importantly, he was an amazing guy and genuinely one of the nicest people you could ever meet!
Rest easy, Andy! pic.twitter.com/WIpyaw6zxn
— QT Marshall (@QTMarshall) September 6, 2026
— Colt Cabana🦦 (@ColtCabana) September 6, 2026
RIP Andy 💔. One of the nicest humans I’ve met. Rest easy 🪽 https://t.co/vnz4Wp9pzK
— Red Velvet (@Thee_Red_Velvet) September 6, 2026
I didn’t know Andy’s condition last night. I held off from texting assuming he was getting bombarded. Learned of his passing, and I am just sick with devastation. We bonded years ago over music, and became close through wrestling. A better dude, you won’t find. Godspeed my friend pic.twitter.com/QM7wshp7KR
— 👑 Frankie Kazarian 👑 (@FrankieKazarian) September 6, 2026
We join the wrestling world, the music world, and the entire world in mourning the loss of Andy "The Butcher" Williams. You can't say a bad thing about the guy. Positive, upbeat, funny, motivating, generous. Just a kind soul. Rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/a4GbbZHo4B
— Beyond Wrestling (@beyondwrestling) September 6, 2026
I just saw Andy and Pepper at an XICW show last month. We haven't seen each other in years and we were able to have a great discussion. He was such a genuine guy. My thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends ❤️. Gone way too soon.
— Rohit Raju (@TheRohitRaju) September 6, 2026
RIP Andy Williams. I wasn’t lucky enough to know him well, but he was always super cool to me when we saw each other. I was mad at him when he shaved his head because his Butcher figure had long hair and became inaccurate.
— Matt Cardona (@TheMattCardona) September 6, 2026
Just waking up to the new of Andy Williams. I only had a couple of correspondence with him. This is terrible. My deepest condolences to his friends and family. My heart goes out to all of you.
— Gabe Sapolsky (@BookItGabe) September 6, 2026
Andy was an incredible person to be around. He had permanent aux privileges because his taste in music was impeccable.
He always knew what song to play and when!
IYKYK
Rest in Peace to an amazing human being 💔
— King (@LexisKingWWE) September 6, 2026
Andy♥️
— Willow Nightingale (@willowwrestles) September 6, 2026
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