I have some sad news to share this morning. Andy Williams, guitarist for the band Every Time I Die and one half of the tag team The Butcher and The Blade (he was The Butcher) suddenly passed away on Saturday after collapsing at an Enjoy Wrestling show in Millvale, Pennsylvania. The show was immediately halted and did not resume, but despite immediate medical attention being provided they were unable to revive him. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed his death this morning. (POST) Even though he and Blade’s tenure ended in June, they remained active on the independent circuit as a team, and given he was only 48 (and his tag team partner, real name Jesse Guilmette, is only 46) there’s no reason to think they couldn’t have continued on the independents for many years. My deepest condolences to Guilmette, to the family of Williams, and to his many fans from both music and professional wrestling.
I’m also sad to report that Memphis Wrestling legend Bill Dundee has passed at 82. (WO) His son Jamie announced his passing on Facebook today. He had been suffering from stage three dementia for several years before his departure, but his own memory loss doesn’t diminish our own memories of what he accomplished. You couldn’t even begin to list his championships and accomplishments in one paragraph, but his Wikipedia page has most of them. Whether working with or against Jerry “The King” Lawler, Dundee was a mainstay of the scene who also branched out for runs in AWA, CWA, NWA and was even a one-time Ohio Valley Wrestling Heavyweight Champion. My condolences to his family, his friends and his multitude of fans.
After successfully defending the National Title against Gabe Kidd on Collision last night, Andrade El Idolo vowed to defend the title on a weekly basis. (AEW)
Here’s the updated card for All Out on September 26th. (AEW)
- Chicago Street Fight for the AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship: The Brawling Birds (c) vs. The Divine Dominion
- Three-way Ladder Match for the World Tag Team Championship: Adam Copeland & Christian Cage (c) vs. FTR vs. The Young Bucks
- AEW World Championship Match: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Jon Moxley
Maple Leaf Pro has announced Nikki Storm (f/k/a Nikki Cross) will face Gisele Shaw for the Women’s Canadian Title on October 3rd.
Despite CMLL’s statement to the contrary, Tessa Blanchard called MLW her “second home” in an interview, which I doubt they are going to be happy with.
Adriana Rizzo released a statement about her WWE release: “My journey with WWE has come to an end. The last four years have taken me through some of the highest highs and hardest moments of my life, and through all of it, I’m proud that I always remained me. I’m incredibly grateful for my time as part of The D’Angelo Family. They truly became family to me. Becoming Adriana Rizzo was such a unique experience, and I loved every second of bringing her to life. That opportunity showed me that I was capable of so much more than I ever knew. My journey wasn’t an easy one. An Achilles rupture and surgery, followed by an ACL and meniscus surgery, kept me out of the ring for nearly half of my time in NXT. But I fought like hell to come back. And I did. What makes this ending difficult is knowing how hard I fought to get back, and not getting the opportunity to show all of you just how much more I had to give. But I’ll never regret the fight it took to get there. If any part of my journey means something to someone who has been knocked down, overlooked, injured, or told they were too far behind, I hope it reminds you to keep going. STAY RESILIENT! Thank you to every coach, producer, teammate, friend, and person who believed in me and helped me along the way. And thank you to everyone who supported Adriana Rizzo.”
Here are HOG Fallout results. (CMN)
- Joseph Sawyer & Samuel Shaw beat 5150 (Danny Limelight & Slice Boogie)
- Hook beat TJP
- Suicidal Six Way Match: Johnnie Robbie beat Onyx Amagi and Payne and Prince Valentino (w/ O’NIKO Prince) and Raymond Bright and Tiny Giant
- Triple Threat Match: Xelina defeats Brittnie Brooks and Shayna Baszler
- Chazz Hall defeats Raheem Royal
- HOG World Title Match: Joey Silver (c) beat Titus Alexander to retain the title
- HOG Women’s Title Hardcore Match: Shotzi Blackheart (c) vs. Steph De Lander ended in a No Contest after Shayna Baszler interfered
- Kyle Fletcher defeats Amazing Red
The last Dynamite did a 0.15 18-49 and 796,000 viewers. (WO)
A new match has been added to night one of TripleMania 34 — Elimination Tag Team Match: Fraxiom vs. Los Americanos vs. Tokyo Bad Boys vs. Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde. (AAA)
