Robert ‘Butch’ Miller, a Kiwi wrestling pioneer, has passed away. Butch made up one-half of the beloved by fans and feared by opponents hall-of-fame wrestling duo the Bushwhackers.
During Butch’s trip to Los Angeles during WrestleMania earlier this week he fell ill. He was rushed to the hospital but sadly passed away at the age of 78.
The other Bushwhacker, Luke Williams, made the announcement in a Facebook post that sums up their incredible rise to wrestling royalty and close friendship that lasted over five decades.
“Late last night, I lost my friend, brother and tag team partner of over 50 years with the passing of Bob ‘Butch’ Miller,” he wrote.
“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!”
“But he was also an all-around good guy and a great friend. By the time we reached our mid-20s, we found ourselves travelling 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!”
“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 honoured 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 an 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!”
RIP, Butch.
