Andy Williams knows all about the punk rock lifestyle and he says Tony Khan represents that independent spirit, whether he knows it or not.
Williams, aka The Butcher (of The Butcher and The Blade), was a recent guest on the Wrestling Perspective Podcast and talked about working under Tony Khan in All Elite Wrestling. Before he stepped inside the ring as “The Butcher”, Williams was touring the country as the bassist of hardcore band Every Time I Die, and he says Khan is creating a platform for wrestlers and it takes balls to pull it off.
“It literally is, and I know that like it’s a cliche for someone to say like, ‘Oh man, that guy’s punk rock.’ Tony Khan is—he doesn’t understand it, but he is punk rock. A lot of what he does is just because he wants to see it done, and it hasn’t been done before. And I think that just the balls that you have to have to do that is insane. And that’s like, [to Lars Frederiksen, Wrestling Perspective co-host] do you remember going on your first tour ever, where you were like leaving home and going across the country with like not the right amount of money? And now, looking back on that, there’s days where like, ‘Oh man I would die to be broke right now.’ You know what I mean? That type of thing because you’re so hungry. I’m saying like in music. You’re so hungry at that time and like everything is just flowing like music, you’re constantly humming a tune, and you’re broke and trying to make it happen and you’re making it happen. And then it’s so rewarding when it actually does pay off.”
“And I think that like in wrestling, a lot of these guys have that exact same feeling where like for years, they were told they had what it took. And then they got to that point and it got all taken away from them. And now we’re all here in AEW, and no one wants to step on each other. Everybody wants to build each other up and I feel like that’s kind of like, in punk rock, there’s no like point system. No one’s a better band than each other’s band, you have to realize that you’re playing the show for the people and like if you’re there, and you’ve kind of like struggled, when it gets easy, it’s not about you anymore. It’s just about them. You make them, the fans, enjoy the show more and more. And I think Tony understands that a lot of these guys have sacrificed and now [he’s saying] ‘Hey, I’m gonna give you the universe, you do you, and I’m gonna get it out there.’ And I think that the balls that that dude has to have to do that right now is insane. He is the most ‘motherf–cker’ of all motherf–ckers.”
Later in the interview, Williams spoke about getting into various entrance themes and was asked if writing for wrestling is something he’d like to explore. He pointed out that he’d like to perhaps one day write his own theme, but right now it’s something he doesn’t have to worry about. Williams also noted that he really digs the vibe of Thunder Rosa’s current theme song.
“Thunder Rosa’s music is insane. It’s like Sepultura song, it’s so cool.”
Read More: Vickie Guerrero Recalls What Stood Out About Tony Khan When They First Met
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The full episode is available below:
