AEW’s locker room has suffered back-to-back tragedies in recent weeks, due to which The loss of “The Butcher” Andy Williams at age 48and death Benjamin Satterly, Pa., just three weeks laterAt 40, Eric Bischoff, no stranger to transitions in the wrestling industry, discussed recent deaths and tribute shows In “83 Weeks”. Bischoff said it’s emotional for everyone involved, even if you haven’t had close relationships with your peers.
“You still feel the emotions that everybody else feels,” Bischoff said. “Going out and performing as a character and focusing on what you’re doing in the ring for your own safety as well as the person you’re in there with has to be difficult.”
Co-host Conrad Thompson said that while he wasn’t saying there was any foul play, sometimes “life gets the best of you,” and said the recent transitions reminded him of a time in the 1990s and early 2000s when it seemed like a lot of guys in their 40s were dying. Bischoff was not so convinced.
“Once in a while someone will be struck by lightning, but you have two 40-year-old sons. something’s going on,” he said. “It’s not natural, it’s not something you can just go, ‘sometimes something happens.’ It’s worrying and I hope we don’t see a pattern like we did in the 90s when it was common I think. Relatively speaking. It happened very often, so to speak. Let’s hope we don’t revise it. But, you know, somebody might want to look at it.”
The cause of death for Williams and Satterlee has yet to be released by officials. Preliminary reports Said Satterlee’s death was not suspicious.
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