Robert Miller, who wrestled professionally as Bushwhacker Butch for the WWE Hall of Fame tag team The Bushwhackers, has died, his longtime partner announced. He was 78.
The wrestler’s death was announced by the daughter of Luke Williams in an Instagram post. Williams and Miller wrestled first as The Sheepherders and then as The Bushwhackers, according to The World Wrestling Entertainment Encyclopedia. The pair was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015.
“Our dear Bob has passed away,” Williams’ daughter, identified only as Jackie, wrote on Instagram. “Those we love never truly leave us. There are things that death cannot touch. We will always love u uncle Bob Miller until we meet again.
Williams told TMZ Sports that Miller had a brief illness and was hospitalized in Los Angeles on Friday after arriving in the area for WrestleMania 39 at SoFi Stadium.
Williams told the entertainment website that his partner was hospitalized due to a “situation with medication.”
“He flew in from New Zealand on Wednesday, was all good,” Williams said. “Friday morning, he was incognito.”
BUSHWHACKER BUTCH I LOVE YOU FOREVER. RIP MY FRIEND YOU ALWAYS MAKE ME SMILE pic.twitter.com/OTQYLhDwqt
— The Iron Sheik (@the_ironsheik) April 3, 2023
The duo was purportedly from New Zealand and began wrestling in the WWF (now WWE) in December 1988, according to The World Wrestling Entertainment Encyclopedia.
The duo broke into pro wrestling during the 1970s as the Sheepherders but changed their name to The Bushwhackers when they joined the WWE, according to WrestlingInc.com.
Miller often served as the mouthpiece of the duo when they were not swinging their arms wildly and licking each other’s faces or the heads of fans near ringside, the website reported.
They defeated the Fabulous Rougeaus at WrestleMania V in 1989.
RIP Bushwhacker Butch
— On This Day in WWE (@OTD_in_WWE) April 3, 2023
Listen to that roar for the Bushwhackers! They were so over on the WWF
pic.twitter.com/Tdx0bUXb9X
The duo also went into business outside the ring on occasion, owning a restaurant in Tampa, Florida, where they would circulate among the customers, bellowing and signing autographs.
In a statement to TMZ Sports, Williams called Miller “my brother.”
RIP Bushwhacker Butch pic.twitter.com/wYukl9JvdE
— The Brass Ring (@TheBrassRing1) April 3, 2023
“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 said. “But he was also an all-around good guy and a great friend.
“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!”
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