WWE Hall of Famer and wrestling legend Bob “Bushwhacker Butch” Miller has passed away.
He was 78 years old.
The news was announced by his tag team partner of over 50 years, Luke Williams, known as Bushwhacker Luke. Several days ago, Miller had flown into the United States from New Zealand to take part in the WrestleMania weekend festivities and events but fell ill shortly after arriving in Los Angeles. The cause of the illness is unknown, but he was in the hospital for a number of days, and a GoFundMe was set up to offset the costs of his medical bills.
Miller passed away last night in the hospital.
Butch Miller first began teaming with Luke Williams in 1966 as The Kiwis in NWA New Zealand. In the late 1970s, they began to make an impact in the United States as the Sheepherders, wrestling for the NWA Crockett Promotions, WWC, and PNW, where they had a long feud against “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Rick Martel.
The duo achieved their greatest success as The Bushwhackers, debuting with the WWF in December 1988. Their Bushwhacker walk and audience interactions, as well as licking each other’s foreheads, made them extremely popular with children and adults alike. While they would never win the Tag Team Championship in the company, they were an oft-featured act that was used to help establish other teams.
The Bushwhackers were active as a tag team until 2001. Throughout their over three decades of teaming together, they won numerous championships all over the world. They were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016 and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2020.
On behalf of the entire staff of Wrestleview, we send our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Bob “Butch” Miller.