WWE legend Bushwhacker Butch dead at 78

WWE Hall of Famer Bushwhacker Butch, the former pro wrestler whose real name is Robert Miller, has died, the company announced on Monday. He was 78.

Miller was half of the famous WWE tag team named The Bushwhackers. The New Zealand native teamed up with Bushwhacker Luke, whose real name is Luke Williams, and they became fan favorites in WWE and in wrestling promotions around the world.

“The Bushwhackers became one of WWE’s most popular tag teams of all time, competing in multiple WrestleManias,” WWE said in a news release. “They thrilled the WWE universe with their signature march to the ring, swinging their arms and hugging fans along the way. The duo also appeared as themselves in a memorable episode of the television show ‘Family Matters,’ where The Bushwhackers wrestled against Carl Winslow and Steve Urkel.”

Williams announced Miller’s death on his Instagram account.

“Late last night, I lost my friend, brother and tag team partner of over 50 years with the passing of Bob ‘Butch’ Miller. My heart goes out to his wife Helen, his lovely daughters Sharon and Kirsten, and all of his grandchildren. From the early-1970s when we were young mates wrestling for John da Silva in New Zealand, my first impression of Bob ‘The Chest’ Miller (as he was called in those days) was that he was a first-class redneck, and what bloody redneck he was!” Williams wrote on Instagram. 

“But he was also an all-around good guy and a great friend. By the time we reached our mid-20s, we found ourselves traveling the world together, from New Zealand to Australia to Malaysia, Singapore and Japan, before ‘invading’ the North American territories in Canada and the United States as The Sheepherders. In 1988, we were in our 40s and still at the top of our game when we got a call from the offices in Connecticut with an offer to join the largest and fastest growing wrestling promotion in the world, the WWF/E- The Bushwhackers were born! 

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“As The Bushwhackers we appeared in the largest venues in the world, in front of the biggest crowds professional wrestling had ever seen! And we were eventually honored by our fans and peers with our inclusion in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015 and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2020. We did it all, we saw it all, and we accomplished it all together. This past weekend in Los Angeles, Bob flew in from New Zealand to join me for Wrestlemania weekend and the related festivities, neither of us knowing it would be our last days together and his last days of life. If you were to read the story of my life it would say that I am only child, but it would be wrong. In life I had a brother and his name was Bob Miller. I love you, Bob. Until I see you again, WOOOOAHH YEEEEAAHH!”

The tag team won championships in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, the Continental Wrestling Association, Stampede Wrestling and Pacific Northwest Wrestling, among other promotions.

The two were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015.