Just based on his outward appearance, some might assume that Andy Williams was an intimidating figure. Based on the heartfelt tributes by his friends and peers after his death, it's now clear that he was actually quite the opposite.Former WWE and AEW star Malakai Black knew the musician-turned-wrestler on both a personal and professional level, and according to him, the world will never see anyone else like Williams, a "wonderful" and "unique" human being whom he was fortunate to call a best friend."He will always have an effect on me, Black said on "Zelvx and Charlie Girl," visibly emotional. "What if it's like stupid conversations about food or sending me music? Because he always sent me music from his projects. The new band that they just did, he sent me all their music months ago because I wanted to listen to it. It was so good. I've never met a person who was really good at being a human being. Andy Williams was fantastic at being a human being."I will do my absolute best to be more like you every single day for as long as I'm still here," Black continued. "I hope that the effect of Andy's passing will have a similar effect on everybody who had known Andy because Andy deserves that. The first guy to cheer you on and the last guy to ever leave just to make sure that you're not by yourself. I love you, Andy."Williams, known to professional wrestling fans as "The Butcher," unexpectedly died on September 5 after suffering an undisclosed medical emergency in the midst of a tag team match at Enjoy Wrestling. Since then, Black has preserved his memory by listening to personal voice memos, past interviews, and other people's touching accounts of the Buffalo native. Photos of Williams have also hit home, especially as Black is still trying to come to terms with the sudden, personal loss.
Williams died at a local hospital in Pennsylvania. Black, meanwhile, was thousands of miles away, preparing for a high-stakes title match against Cara Noir at PROGRESS Wrestling in England. It was there that Black also recalled first learning of his friend's death.Backstage at PROGRESS' September 6 show, Black overheard an interview in which Donovan Dijak issued his condolences to the family of an unnamed wrestler that had just died. Naturally curious about the identity of the wrestler, Black then approached Dijak, who informed him that it was Williams.Black initially responded to the news with confusion. Once Dijak reconfirmed that he was indeed talking about Andy "The Butcher" Williams, the soon-to-be PROGRESS World Champion collapsed into a state of sadness and disbelief."I fell down and he just caught me," Black said. I'm just hanging in his arms. I'm going, 'Wait, no, no, no!' I'm kind of clawing against him. It's like, 'No, no, wait, what?' I just started sobbing. I became almost hysterical. I'm 41 years old; becoming hysterical is not something that I would associate with someone as me who for the most part is a pretty stoic individual."I'm a bit frozen," he continued. "I couldn't compute it. I was fighting it as if he's purposely telling me something that is not true, as if he's lying to me. I'm almost getting mad at him. I'm like, 'No, what the f***, dude.' I'm trying to claw away from him and he's holding me. He's like, 'No, I'm sorry.' I can see in his eyes that he's like, 'Oh, I should not say anything,' but it's not his fault."After eventually regaining his composure, Black apologized to Dijak, noting that the news caught him especially off guard due to his long-time closeness to Williams. Black then tried to hide it from his wife Xelina (fka Zelina Vega) in an effort to not upset her before own match against Myla Grace. Xelina and PROGRESS co-owner Big Damo were already aware of Williams' death by that point, however.
Black himself went on to challenge Cara Noir for the PROGRESS World Championship in the show's main event, and during it, he successfully managed to compartmentalize the devastating loss of his friend. After he pinned Noir to secure the title, though, the emotions began to flow."We do the deal. I cover him, and in my head I hear, 'You can cry now.' I rolled through the corner and that's the first thing I did," Black recalled.The next thing he did was deliver a post-match promo informing the crowd that he overcame travel issues and a hefty flight price to ensure that he'd be able to perform in front of them. The new PROGRESS World Champion also asked them to loudly cheer for Williams one final time. The England audience did as such, giving Black a moment to let out of his emotions once more before Xelina joined him in the ring."I cut the promo and I didn't know she was coming out," Black said. "She comes out, and at that point, I completely lost it. Then the realization hits that I'm never going to speak to my friend ever again. I'm not going to hear his voice. I'm never going to see him again, never have that interaction with him that I had grown so accustomed to. And even to this day, we're like a week or something away from it. It's like every morning I have to tell myself that it's true despite the fact that I don't want it to be true so bad."Williams was 48 at the time of his death. Wrestling fans best knew him as one half of The Butcher and The Blade, one of the original tag teams in AEW. In the music world, Williams made a name for himself as a founding member of the metalcore band Every Time I Die.If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Zelvx and Charlie Girl" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
