The All Elite Wrestling Tag division continues to gain depth, with a new debuting tag team in Butcher & Blade, a team who many won’t recognize.
Making their name in the Canadian indy promotion Smash Wrestling and Beyond Wrestling, the team of Andy Williams & Pepper Parks have become a destructive force to be reckoned with. They will bring a lot more power to a division normally controlled with speed. As a team, they’ve been working together since 2017.
They made their debut alongside Allie on last nights episode of Dynamite, and attacked Cody Rhodes. Are they to be aligned with MJF & Wardlow, or did they simply think attacking Cody would get them the most attention? Allie has had issues with Codys wife, Brandi. Could this be revenge for that? We don’t know their motivations just yet, but we do know who they are.
Andy Williams (The Butcher)
The big man of this new team, Andy Williams is also the guitarist of hardcore punk/metalcore legends Every Time I Die, and made his debut back in 2016 when he targetted Tarik of Smash Wrestlin. Things didn’t go as planned for the hardcore guitarist in his first match, as despite his imposing physique and intimidating facial hair, experience won out. Since then, he has became a frequent wrestler in promotions like Smash & Beyond, having honed his skills and became a very solid powerhouse. AEW has been needing more big men on their roster, and Andy Williams fits that role perfectly.
Talking about his childhood in an interview with Lourdwire, he shared, “When I was probably 10 years old, I got asked to do an art project where you take something out of a magazine and you paint over it and I chose a picture of Ric Flair stabbing Greg Valentine in the head and I still have the painting. My whole life I’ve been into pro wrestling.”
While his music career with Every Time I Die might take prescendant, and with them having started recording their ninth album in September, he will be balancing touring with the band and AEW. With Le Champion, Chris Jericho having similar commitments, it shouldn’t be hard to plan out for AEW.
Pepper Parks (The Blade)
Parks is the more experienced wrestler of the team, being a 19 year pro. He most notably worked in Impact Wrestling as Braxton Sutter, and is married to AEW’s Allie. A very technically sound wrestler for sure, he balances Williams sheer size & power perfectly. They create a fantastic duo, but Parks isn’t as immediatly attention grabbing as his partner. He will be the one who will be expected to carry matches, but Williams will be the star. It will take AEW some work to make Parks interesting, but it shouldn’t be impossible.
Potential Matchups
Seeing as Williams is probably the only man who can match up with Luchasarus in the tag divison, I’m keen to see them square up with The Jurassic Express. Other teams like The Best Friends & Young Bucks should help make Butcher and Blade look like absolute stars.
AEW giving a platform to another fairly unknown team is a reason why they are building up so much good will with fans, and I’m excited to see how they handle this new team. Their tag divison is arguably the best in the world, and it only gets better.
To get an idea of what to expect from this team, check out this free match they had with Beaver Boys from Beyond Wrestling this past May.
