"The Butcher (wrestler)" redirects here. For the wrestler billed as the Butcher in WCW, see
Brutus Beefcake. For the Canadian professional wrestler, see
Abdullah the Butcher.
Williams had aspired to be a professional wrestler and trained at Renegade Wrestling Association in
Ontario,
Canada for six months, until he sustained a knee injury. During the layoff, he learned to play the guitar, and formed
Every 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 wrestled
Diamond Dallas Page and
Dustin Rhodes at
Bash 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, supporting
Parkway Drive and
Hatebreed, but this would be delayed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.[6] Since he could not tour with the band,[7] he was able to continue working for
All Elite Wrestling (AEW), as they are based in
Jacksonville, and
Florida 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 (except
Keith Buckley) attempting to form a new band and expressed interest in collaborating with AEW music producer Mikey Rukus on Twitter.[10]
Professional wrestling career
In the mid-2010s, Williams resumed his training with
Josh Barnett, initially as a workout session.[11] He continued working with Barnett, but only sporadically, since he does not live in
California.[11] He began attending Grapplers Anonymous, based in
Lackawanna, and received further training from long-time friend and professional wrestler
Jesse Guilmette.[1] During the summer of 2015, he started working on the
independent circuit, and made run-ins at Smash Wrestling where he chokeslammed Tarik,[12] and at
Progress Wrestling, where he powerbombed
Jimmy 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 his
meniscus, which he had surgery for, before going on tour with Every Time I Die ten days later.[11]
In March 2017, Williams appeared at
Joey Janela's
Spring Break, successfully teaming with
Penelope Ford in an intergender tag team match against Guilmette (under his Braxton Sutter ring name) and his wife
Allie.[17] Janela had suggested that Williams should wrestle either
Nikolai Volkoff or
Glacier 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 and
P. 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 in
Newcastle during the Low Teens tour);[20] the pairing of Guilmette and Rumham were defeated by the Homewreckers (Anthony Gaines and Jet Rebel).[21] Known as
the Butcher and the Blade, Williams and Guilmette predominately wrestled in promotions across
the Northeast, as well as in
Ottawa, where Capital City Championship Combat (C4) is based.
All Elite Wrestling (2019–present)
On the November 27, 2019, episode of Dynamite, Williams (now known under the
ring namethe Butcher) made his debut for
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in a post-match attack on
Cody, alongside
the Blade and
the Bunny, establishing themselves as
heels.[22] It was later revealed that the Butcher and the Blade had been hired by
MJF, furthering his ongoing feud with Cody.[23] On the December 11 episode of Dynamite, the Butcher won his first tag match in AEW when he and the Blade defeated Cody and
Q. T. Marshall, who was handpicked by MJF.[24] The following week on the December 18 episode of Dynamite, 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 at
Bash at the Beach.[26] Teaming with MJF, the Butcher and the Blade defeated Marshall,
Diamond Dallas Page and
Dustin Rhodes in a six-man tag team match, where he took a Diamond Cutter from DDP.[27] In March 2020, the Butcher and the Blade had a brief feud with the Jurassic Express (
Jungle Boy,
Luchasaurus and
Marko Stunt), which would lead to the Butcher and the Blade ending their alliance with MJF. On the March 11 episode of Dynamite, 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 of Dynamite, 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 the
Lucha Brothers (
Rey Fenix and
Penta El Zero Miedo) and later, formed a group, led by
Eddie Kingston.[30] However, the group disbanded on the November 18 episode of Dynamite, after the Butcher and the Blade sided with Kingston, while the Lucha Brothers reunited their
Death Triangle stable with
Pac, who had returned the previous week.[31] They would feud with Death Triangle for the next couple of weeks.[32][33][34]
Following
Revolution, the Butcher and the Blade ended their alliance with Kingston, after he turned
face and began teaming with
Jon Moxley, as they instead allied themselves with
Matt Hardy, along with
Private Party, forming a stable known as the Hardy Family Office.[35][36] At the House Always Wins, the Butcher won a
battle royal to become the #1 contender for the
AEW 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 at
All Out.[39] The Butcher and the Blade quickly became #1 contenders for the
AEW World Tag Team Championship, but on the September 17 episode of Rampage (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 album Radical,[42] so Williams' appearances as the Butcher became far less prominent, although he did wrestle on the November 17 episode of Dynamite, in a defeat to
Chaos (
Orange Cassidy and
Tomohiro 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 involving
Andrade 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 and
the Hardys, once
Jeff Hardy joined the promotion.[48][49][50][51] On May 29, at
Double or Nothing, the Butcher and the Blade's alliance with Andrade came to an end, when he disbanded it in favor of bringing La 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 the
September 23 episode of Rampage (taped September 21), the Butcher participated in a battle royal for a future
AEW World Championship match. He eliminated Matt Hardy and
Evil 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 with
Kip Sabian, and started a recurring feud with
Best Friends (
Trent Beretta,
Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy).[55][56]
On the February 20, 2023 episode of Dark: Elevation (taped February 15), the Butcher and the Blade, alongside members of the Firm, were defeated by Best Friends and
the Dark Order (
Alex Reynolds and John Silver).[57] On the February 22 episode of Dynamite, the Butcher put in a strong performance in the
Revolution Tag Team Battle Royal, by eliminating six wrestlers (including Reynolds and Silver), before being eliminated by Rey Fenix.[58] On the March 1 episode of Dynamite, the Butcher and the Blade ended up being the last wrestlers to be eliminated in the Casino Tag Team Battle Royal, by Best Friends associate
Danhausen.[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 of Dynamite, they and Sabian were defeated by Allin, Cassidy and
Sting.[62] Nevertheless, the Butcher challenged Cassidy for the
AEW International Championship,[63] but on the next week's Dynamite, he was defeated by Cassidy, despite interference from the Blade, as well as from Beretta and Taylor.[64] On the May 3 episode of Dynamite, the Butcher and Blade were involved in the Tres de Mayo Trios Battle Royal.[65] The Butcher eliminated
Max Caster, before being eliminated by
Billy Gunn,[66] which led to a six-man match on the May 13 episode of Rampage (taped May 10), where they and Sabian were defeated by Gunn and
the Acclaimed.[67] On May 28, at
Double or Nothing, the Butcher participated in a Blackjack Battle Royal for the International Championship, but was eliminated by the Lucha Brothers.[68]
^Monday, Zach (June 10, 2019).
"Beyond Wrestling "Secret Show: Boston"". The Indy Corner. Retrieved December 30, 2020. Thurston is the Head Trainer at Grappler's Anonymous in Buffalo, NY.