STW - The Bushwhackers [Show Notes] (Patreon)

Today’s show is all about the New Zealand Kiwi’s. Or...the Sheepherders….or to most of us who grew up hooked on the entertaining world of the World Wrestling Federation...The Bushwhackers.

We’re talking about Butch Miller and Luke Williams today - the originals! But they weren’t the only one’s in the team as we will learn today. We’re going back in time to learn all about the wacky team that once upon a time, was anything but cartoony.

Can you walk us through your first meeting with the Bushwhackers/Sheepherders?

Luke Williams and Butch Miller started wrestling as The Kiwis for NWA New Zealand (later known as All-Star Pro Wrestling) in 1966. From the beginnings together, the two had success together and seemed to have a unique chemistry. After working Australasia and the Eastern Circuit (Singapore, Malaysia, Japan), the duo was booked in North America in "Grand Prix" (Quebec, The Maritimes, Ontario, Vermont), a promotion owned by the Vachon family and Edouard Carpentier, in 1972 by fellow New Zealander Steve Rickard.

We’ve been talking a lot about the Vachon family lately, from Pat Patterson’s episodes now to this one and others. What were your experiences like working with the Vachons? They looked horrifying and yet, everyone talks about them so well!

Williams and Miller worked in Canada for various promotions, most notably Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling, billed as The Kiwis (Miller was known as "Nick Carter" and Williams was known as "Sweet William"). The Kiwis began their first recorded title reign by defeating Bob Pringle and Bill Cody for the Stampede International Tag Team Championship on 6 January 1974. So at this point, they’ve been a tag team for eight years already. The Kiwis lost the title to Tokyo Joe and the Great Saki, only to regain it a short time later. The Kiwis lost the title for good to Stan Kowalski and Duke Savage and were unsuccessful in subsequent rematches.

There’s an interesting story during this time, though. After being disqualified for using their flag pole as a foreign object against the tag team champions, Abdullah The Butcher threw four kids into the ring and instructs Luke and Butch to beat them up. After leaving the two wrestlers and four children helpless in the ring they went backstage to be greeted by an irate Stu Hart. He explained to them that they were stomping on his own flesh and blood. No long-term ill will was had by Stu but the beatdown of the four oldest of his male children earned the duo instant heel heat with the crowd.

What do you think Stu might have said to Luke and Butch in that heated moment?

They returned to their home country of New Zealand in late 1975 for the first wrestling television tapings On the Mat.

But this was prior to the two achieving great success as a duo. Several times in their journey, the Herders are going to go off the beaten path before returning to the road.

We see a lot of young talent come up on the Indy scene today in the form of singles competitors but it doesn’t feel like we see as many tag teams that try to make it together. Is that still a viable way to break into the business? Do you think some young talent might be missing opportunities by not exploring it?

After a break, The Sheepherders reunited in New Zealand in late 1978. They made a stop for All Japan Pro Wrestling in 1979. Returning to North America in late 1979, they worked for 50th State Big Time Wrestling. Later the same year, they moved to Oregon to work for Don Owen's Pacific Northwest Wrestling, working from Northern California to Vancouver, where they had a year-long feud with Roddy Piper and Rick Martel. This was when their name changed to The New Zealand Sheepherders.

What do you think Roddy Piper might have described the Sheepherders like?

Their next stop was NWA Crockett Promotions in Charlotte, North Carolina. They won the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team titles on their third weekend in the territory from Buzz Sawyer and Matt Borne. They later lost the belts to Rocky Johnson and Dewey Robertson.

The Sheepherders then worked for the World Wrestling Council (WWC) in Puerto Rico in 1981 as Los Pastores. A short time into their run with WWC, they defeated Carlos Colon and Invader I for the WWC North American Tag Team Championship, defending it for over a month until being defeated by Los Medicos. Los Pastores regained the belts on 22 May and held them until coming up short against Jack and Jerry Brisco on 8 August 1981.

So by the early 80s, the Sheepherders have been in some of the biggest territories and they’re being highlighted too. Was it their chemistry, stories from other territories about how easy they were to work with, their look, or something else that helped them out as they went to new companies?

After the team left WWC, Butch wanted to move closer to home to be with family and returned to Australia and New Zealand to wrestle. However, Luke remained in the United States, reforming the team with "Lord" Jonathan Boyd. The duo of Williams and Boyd quickly gained a reputation as one of the most violent, hard-hitting teams in the business. Some of their matches are on YouTube and there are die-hard wrestling fans who prefer this combination to the Butch/Luke team.

What combination do you prefer, the classic or the New Sheepherders with Boyd?

In late 1981 in South Eastern Championship Wrestling, the team of Robert Fuller and Jos LeDuc had split up after LeDuc turned on Fuller during a match. LeDuc brought in the Sheepherders to be a part of his Commonwealth Connection stable to fight against Fuller and his family. In December 1981, the Sheepherders won the NWA Southeast Tag Team Championship, which had been vacated when Fuller and LeDuc split and defended the title against Fuller and various partners. On 11 September 1982, the Sheepherders lost to Fuller and Jimmy Golden and were "run out" of the territory.

Boyd and Williams next appeared in the Memphis, TN-based promotion Continental Wrestling Association run by Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler. Making their debut in October 1982, the team quickly became involved in a feud with Jacques Rougeau and Terry Taylor, clashing weekly with them at the Mid-South Coliseum, with the Sheepherders brawling their way to victory. Taylor and Rougeau redeemed themselves in the end by defeating the Sheepherders in a "coal miner's glove" match. The Sheepherders returned to the ring later that same night and defeated the territory's main stars Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee.

Now, it’s a very different team at this time than the comedy act in the WWF. But...how would Jerry Jarrett have reacted to changing this vicious, brutal team into a couple of silly old guys that lick kids?

The next feud of Boyd and Williams was with The Fabulous Ones (Stan Lane and Steve Keirn). The contrast between the "pretty boy"-styled, technically polished Fabulous Ones and the ugly, brawling savage Sheepherders made them effective opponents and repeatedly drew big crowds wherever they fought. The series of matches started out fairly evenly, with the Fabulous Ones and the Sheepherders splitting the wins. Later, bouts often ended without a definite winner. In late 1982, the Sheepherders won the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship from The Fabulous Ones. Between late December 1982 and mid-February 1983, the title switched hands between the teams four times, with The Fabulous Ones ending up champions in the end. On 28 March 1983, the Sheepherders wrestled their last match in the Mid-South Coliseum before leaving the CWA.

Just from a visual perspective, is this one of those feuds that just matches up perfectly?

Fun little side-bar: The Mid-South Coliseum ran from 1963 to 2006 in Memphis, Tennessee and is probably most famous for being home to Jerry Lawler’s most famous matches throughout the era. Monday nights at the Mid-South were sold out. Always. WCW began running events there in the late 90s but for whatever reason, the WWF never did and always chose the Pyramid in Memphis. Neither venue holds events, now. The Pyramid is a literal Bass Pro Shop. Mid-South Coliseum stopped hosting events in 06, as we said. In 2018, a group known as the Coliseum Coalition was formed to pursue the preservation of the facility as part of the redevelopment of the Memphis Fairgrounds. So far, the Mid-South Coliseum has yet to be revived...but wrestling fans in the region treat the building like the Sportatorium, the ECW Arena, or the Hammerstein Ballroom. It’s the MSG of Memphis.

Boyd and Williams resurfaced in the San Antonio-based Southwest Championship Wrestling weeks later. Their first targets were the reigning Southwest Tag Team Champions The Grapplers (Len Denton and Tony Anthony). In May 1983, the Sheepherders captured the title when The Grapplers' manager Don Carson turned on them mid-match to ensure the Sheepherders' victory. The Sheepherders' run with the gold was short-lived; in June, Boyd legitimately broke his leg in a car accident, causing SWCW to name Bobby Jaggers as his replacement. After Williams and Jaggers lost a non-title match to Bob Sweetan and Sweet Brown Sugar, Williams turned on Jaggers and the title was vacated. While Boyd was out with the broken leg, Williams was reunited with his old tag-team partner Butch Miller.

Williams and Miller stayed with SWCW through the rest of 1983, and into 1984, when the team came head to head with the Fabulous Ones once again, feuding over the SWCW World Tag Team Championship. The Fabulous Ones had supposedly won the title “in Australia,” though it is generally believed the tournament they won to be crowned was actually a fabrication made up by SWCW. The Sheepherders dethroned The Fabulous Ones on 4 March and held the titles until they were retired by SWCW in September 1984. Miller and Williams then returned to Puerto Rico and the WWC, this time competing as The Sheepherders (Los Pastores). On 6 January 1985 they defeated Invader I and Invader III for the WWC North American Tag Team Championship in Bayamon, PR. They lost and then regained the titles from Invaders I & III in March, and then held on to the gold until August, when the Invaders won it back.

When did you first see the Sheepherders/Kiwis? Was it in JCP, in Texas, or somewhere else?

It was also in the mid-80s that a new team of Sheepherders came to be in the Memphis territory. Jonathan Boyd and Rip Morgan - nephew to Butch - teamed as the Kiwi Sheepherders trading wins with the Fabulous Ones until January 1986. The Kiwi Sheepherders lost a loser leaves town match, giving the Fantastics a big boost.

But we’re here to talk about the originals.

When Luke and Butch returned to mainland USA and Bill Watts' UWF, they defeated Ted DiBiase and Steve Williams for the UWF Tag Team Championship on 16 March 1986, but fell to The Fantastics on 30 March in Tulsa, OK. The Sheepherders continued for the UWF on and off over the next couple of years, taking time out to participate in the first-ever Jim Crockett Memorial Tag Team Cup, in which they beat Hector and Chavo Guerrero Sr. in the first round and The Rock 'n' Roll Express in the second round. In the third round, they clashed with the Fantastics in a match that ended in a double DQ. But the match was so good, according to Dave Meltzer, that he gave it the rare five-star match rating.

Have you seen this contest? What made it so good?

Back in the UWF for its big "Mid South Superdome Show", The Sheepherders clashed with The Fantastics once more; this time Williams and Miller lost in a "New Zealand Boot camp" match to the UWF Tag champions.

The teams fought in several rematches but the Sheepherders never could come out on top. Afterward, The Sheepherders returned to Puerto Rico during the summer of 1986 and beat the Rock’N’Roll RPMs (Mike Davis and Tommy Lane) for the WWC World Tag Team Championship on 3 August. They defended the titles for about six weeks before losing them to the RPMs on 21 September. When this short run with the WWC ended, Williams and Miller traveled to Florida where they worked for Championship Wrestling from Florida. On 7 October, The Sheepherders ended The Fabulous Ones' first reign with the NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship, but Lane and Keirn got the better of them on 30 November, regaining the belts.

The Sheepherders then returned to the CWA Memphis territory. On 10 January, they beat Badd Company (Pat Tanaka and Paul Diamond) for the CWA/AWA International Tag Team Championship but lost it back rather quickly. After the quick feud with Badd Company, The Sheepherders once again feuded with the Fabulous Ones. Keirn and Lane dominated the matches and once again "ran off" the Sheepherders.

Is this just the territorial style? And, is that a luxury that is missing from today’s brand - the ability to go away and come back hot later?

After leaving Memphis, The Sheepherders were invited to participate in New Japan Pro Wrestling's "IWGP Tag Team Title League 1987". The round-robin tournament took place from 23 February to 20 March. They only had a brief stay with New Japan, opting to return to Puerto Rico and the WWC. Here they started a feud with Chris and Mark Youngblood. The feud saw Williams and Miller win the WWC World Tag Team Championship on 4 April, and then defend it until the Youngbloods regained the titles on 10 May in a steel cage match.

After their spring run with the WWC, The Sheepherders returned to Florida and instantly became challengers for Mike Graham and Steve Keirn's NWA Florida Tag Team Championship. On 26 June 1987, they won the championship. During this time, Johnny Ace was their flag-bearer for a period - which would lead to him inducting them into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015.

A month later, The Sheepherders defended their Florida Tag Team title at The Great American Bash from the Miami Orange Bowl, brawling to a double disqualification with Jimmy and Ron Garvin. Their run with the title came to an end on 29 August at the hands of Graham and Keirn.

But this has to be where they’re starting to get a lot of attention in the states, right?

After losing the Florida titles, Williams and Miller returned to the UWF and began a second run as the UWF World Tag Team Championship after defeating the Lightning Express (Brad Armstrong and Tim Horner) on 16 October. The Sheepherders held the belts until the UWF was purchased by Jim Crockett and merged into Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), to form the forerunner of World Championship Wrestling (WCW). After this merger, The Sheepherders worked for JCP, participating in the third Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament Cup. At Clash of the Champions II, they faced off against the NWA United States Tag Team Champions, The Fantastics, in a losing effort. At Clash of the Champions III, they lost to Steve Williams and Nikita Koloff, despite the interference of Rip Morgan on their behalf. Just as it looked like the Sheepherders were about to face the Fantastics in the finals of a tournament to crown new United States Tag Team champions, Luke Williams and Butch Miller’s fate took a different turn. One day, Luke leaves his workout earlier than Butch - sort of like how they did Royal Rumbles :). He checks his calls at home and he had a phone call from someone named Pat.

Do you remember how conversations began about signing Luke and Butch? Did someone see them on JCP? Was this a deliberate part of Vince expanding into Crockett’s territory?

As Butch told during his Hall of Fame speech, Vince had to convince the team to be babyfaces because they didn’t think it would work (ha). One story even goes that Butch Miller got up on a table and into the face of Vince and told him, "If you can make these faces babyface, go for it." Vince McMahon then looked to the fan-favorites of his company at that time to show them that it could be done. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, and Hulk Hogan all were popular wrestlers who were not blessed with movie-star mugshots. Luke and Butch agreed to McMahon's vision and signed to his company.

Have you heard that story and do you know it to be true?

The team's name was changed to The Bushwhackers and developed a more comedic style. The comedy act involved licking (each other, fans, and even their opponents), as well as using their existing distinctive march, swinging their flexed arms. Vignettes began to run for about six weeks. Mean Gene was on a safari and would eventually come across the Bushwhackers out in the wild!

In December 1988, Williams and Miller debuted with the WWF in the midst of its aggressive national expansion. The Bushwhackers made their debut on a matinee house show on December 26, 1988 facing The Bolsheviks.

We’ve got to stop here and explore this gimmick.

Where did the idea come from?

No idea if this is the canon explanation, but one fan on Reddit described the team’s gimmick in a manner that maintained consistency across their entire careers: New Zealanders who wrestled in hundreds of bloody hardcore matches before arriving to the WWF. By the time they got there, their minds were so far gone that they'd become goofy slobs.

How does that sound?

Was it always going to be a comedy gimmick for the savage team?

Do you think that was the right choice, still to this day?

Let’s talk about the name Bushwhackers.

It’s defined by Merriam-Webster as “to clear a path or advance through thick woods especially by chopping down bushes and low branches.”

So is that what they’re doing with their arms?!!!?!

How did the name come about and who came up with it?

In February, the Bushwhackers began a feud with The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, the first feud to really feature the Bushwhackers on WWF television. The two teams took their conflict to WrestleMania V where the Bushwhackers were victorious. But it was a far cry from the five star match we had seen from them in the years before.

Here’s what Meltzer said about their first Mania match:

The Bushwhackers downed the Rougeaus in 5:10 after a double stomach-breaker on Raymond. Suffice to say this was one of the worst matches in the modern history of any civilized nation. Monsoon didn’t know Luke from Butch. The Sheepherder strut is really over(not so much here but in most places) but I can’t describe in words how bad this match was. Let’s just say that Paul Jones vs. Ivan Koloff is no longer the favorite to win worst match of the year. -****

Did you think their first match was as bad as Meltzer? What did the office think about it and were there hesitations about the direction for these two?

Thanks to OSW Review, the internet has a weird obsession over this match from the moment Ray Rougeau slams Luke and Luke rubs his package before squeezing it during the slam. Seriously.

https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/2cn8in/wrestlemania_v_quick_rub_followed_by_a_squeeze/

If there were hesitations, they didn’t last, because the teams clashed again on the Saturday Night's Main Event XXIII, and once again the Bushwhackers were victorious. The Bushwhackers defeated the Rougeaus twice more, first at the 1989 Survivor Series and again at the 1990 Royal Rumble.

Are the Rougeaus pissed about this or are they good sports? Was there any particular reason you were jobbing them out here (fight with Bulldogs maybe?)

In the midst of these low-Meltzer-rated matches, something weird seemed to happen, as we would see on TV each week: The Bushwhackers got MEGA over with kids. If they came out to the ring, every little pair of spaghetti arms would be doing the Bushwacker walk as the goofy New Zealanders came down to the ring. They were so into it! Butch and Luke didn’t hold back and fully embraced the goofy personas. The crowd embraced them back.

How did they make it work so well?

And their music didn’t hurt it either.

Still during an era where entrance music hadn’t existed for too long, the duo was given a twangy, catchy theme from the brilliant mind of Jim Johnston. It matched their walk to the ring, their silliness, it was identifiable.

Can you attribute part of the warm reception crowd had to these two lads to their theme music?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2biEBOfO7k4

(Note: That’s the original, twangy version. Several versions were made after but this is where it began).

By 1990, the Bushwhackers were feuding with the newly established team Rhythm and Blues (The Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine). The Bushwhackers' WrestleMania VI appearance came at the expense of Rhythm and Blues as they showed up during a segment, attacking Honky Tonk Man and Valentine.

Did you learn from the year before and decide not to make them work a match?

Talk about their role on the card here. Are they an attraction that doesn’t need to be in the title picture?

Later on, the team would be used to help establish newcomers The Orient Express (Pat Tanaka and Akio Sato). The feud with the Orient Express culminated at Survivor Series 1990 where Williams and Miller teamed up with Nikolai Volkoff and Tito Santana to form "The Alliance" and take on Sgt. Slaughter, Boris Zhukov and the Orient Express team dubbed "The Mercenaries". This was as Sarge was being built up as a serious threat to main event Mania against Hogan. Slaughter dominated, although his team lost by DQ at the end and Tito was the sole survivor.

Was there ever any consideration given to putting the tag belts on them? Or, as we talked about - did they need them?

Although the Bushwhackers worked much of early 1991 against either Demolition or the Nasty Boys on the house show circuit, they didn’t work a tag match at the 1991 Royal Rumble. But they did work the Royal Rumble match itself. Butch entered at number 8 and lasted about ten minutes but Luke set a record that night. He entered the Rumble at 50:34 and was eliminated at 50:38 by Earthquake. Yes. The quickest Rumble elimination in history, at that point, and a record that wouldn’t be broken until Santino Marella got tossed out even quicker a few decades later. Luke’s entire Rumble run here is actually a GIF.

Can you talk about where this decision came from and why? Was it to add to the comedy of the team (because it totally did!)? Did Luke have any angst about getting tossed out so quick?

We’re at the third Wrestlemania appearance for the Bushwhackers now, March 24, 1991 in Los Angeles at the LA Memorial Coliseum LA Sports Arena. It’s not a match and this year, it’s not even an in-ring segment. But it’s definitely funny! The show featured a pre-taped debate on instant replay with George Steinbrenner and Paul McGuire, moderated by Vince McMahon; the debate was inspired by Randy Savage costing the Ultimate Warrior the world title at the Royal Rumble; during the segment, the Bushwhackers were portrayed as referees that were tied up in video film while trying to make a call.

Do they still get a Mania payday for doing this?

An interesting note, in late March, the WWF ran shows in New Zealand and the Bushwhackers headlined all of those shows, defeating the Nasty Boys.

The Bushwhackers received a shot at the WWF World Tag Team Title on the 27 April Saturday Night's Main Event 29, which was taped on April 15 in Omaha, Nebraska. Their match was against The Nasty Boys, but they were defeated.

Although they were still using the double gutbuster as their finish, around this time, they were also using the “Battering Ram” finisher. And as a finishing move, that’s just about the peak of comedy/funny. Butch would grab a headlock on Luke and ram his head into the opponent. Somehow, this would paralyze the opponent so the New Zealanders could get the win.

Where did the Battering Ram come from? Who made the decision to give that to them and was there any concern about it being TOO comedy?

What is better, the Cobra or the Battering Ram?

On May 28 in Tuscon at WWF Superstars tapings, a televised 6-man tag-team match saw the Bushwhackers teamed with Tugboat against Earthquake and the Nasty Boys. It ended up being a memorable angle as Tugboat turned on his partners after a few minutes of action and joined Earthquake in attacking the two Bushwhackers. After the heel turn Tugboat changed his name to Typhoon and together they became known as The Natural Disasters. The big men began a feud with the Bushwhackers that lasted through the fall. Throughout this time frame, Andre the Giant began to appear at ringside with the Bushwhackers. Andre had been kayfabe injured by Earthquake.

The Bushwhackers were easily defeated at SummerSlam 1991 by the team. The match received ¾ * from Meltzer. It ended at 6:27 when Earthquake pinned Luke with the sit-down splash. After the bout, the Natural Disasters made their way toward the injured Andre on the floor until the Legion of Doom came to the ring, scaring Earthquake & Typhoon from ringside.

How did Andre like working with the Bushwhackers and did it work, as a group?

Their next feud was with the Beverly Brothers (Blake and Beau). Or as the Bushwhackers called them during the awesome insert promos, “Beverly Sisters.” The two teams first clashed at the 1991 Survivor Series where they were on opposite sides in a 4 on 4 elimination match. On the night the Beverly Brothers got the upper hand and eliminated both Williams and Miller.

The Beverly Brothers' manager The Genius kept interfering in the matches so the Bushwhackers brought in a manager of their own, Jamison. Despite the addition of Jamison, the Beverly Brothers defeated the Bushwhackers at Royal Rumble 1992.

The Bushwhackers did gain some small measure of revenge on the Beverly Brothers when they defeated the team in a "dark match" at WrestleMania VIII. Luke and Butch continued their feud with the Beverlys throughout the spring and summer of 1992, generally coming out victorious in these encounters.

Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom, or Beau and Blake, had been a very formidable tag-team in the AWA before you guys brought them in. Did they have any issues working with a comedy team here? And why do you think more didn’t end up happening with the Beverly Sisters?

On the 23 August 1992 "SummerSlam Spectacular" show that preceded the PPV in the United Kingdom, the Bushwhackers received a title shot against WWF Tag-Tam Champions Money Incorporated. However, in this match, which aired on the USA Network, they fell short as Irwin R. Schyster pinned Butch following interference by Jimmy Hart.

Their next PPV appearance came at SummerSlam '92, where they tag-teamed with Jim Duggan on the pre-show (in a match that was subsequently aired on Prime Time Wrestling) and defeated The Mountie and The Nasty Boys. They were slated to team with The Natural Disasters against Money Inc. and The Beverly Brothers at the 1992 Survivor Series; however on the 7 November edition of WWF Superstars they agreed to let former Jimmy Hart charges The Nasty Boys take their place after the duo turned on their manager. The Bushwhackers concluded the year by resuming their long-running feud with the Beverly Brothers on house shows, this time teaming with Tiger Jackson against Beau, Blake, and Little Mickey Moses in six-man matches.

1992 ended with the Bushwhackers winning the Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Worst Tag Team award.

But is that really fair? Were they ever meant to have five-star matches or were they meant to be entertaining to kids?

The Bushwhackers opened 1993 with another opportunity against WWF Tag-Team Champions Money Inc. Once again they were defeated, this time on a 25 January taping of WWF Superstars in San Jose, California.

Beginning in February they began a new feud with the newly signed team the Headshrinkers (Fatu and Samu), and were used to "put over" the team. Following a winless stretch against Fatu and Samu, the Bushwhackers restarted their now over-year-old rivalry with the Beverly Brothers. As in late 1992, these were comedy matches alongside midget Tiger Jackson against the Beverly Brothers and Little Louie.

Had they become a bonafide attraction on their own, by this point? Or maybe by much earlier?

On 22 March 1993 the Bushwhackers appeared on Monday Night RAW, defeating Damien Demento and The Repo Man. This would be Luke and Butch's first RAW appearance; meanwhile, it would be the final WWF appearance for Repo Man (Barry Darsow).

In August, the Bushwhackers made a quick trip to Puerto Rico to appear at the WWC 20th Anniversary show on 8 August where they defeated the team of Mr. Hughes and The Warlord.

When the team returned to the US, Williams and Miller gave the new WWF duo The Quebecers their first defeat when Butch pinned Jacques Rougeau on the 23 August 1993 edition of All American Wrestling. In the fall of 1993 they transitioned to a feud with another new team, this time facing Well Dunn in a house show series.

In November 1993 at a sold-out Boston Garden, they helped Doink the Clown in the clown's feud with Bam Bam Bigelow. Williams and Miller, as well as Mo and Mabel, all appeared at Survivor Series 1993 wearing the trademark green wig and face paint associated with Doink the Clown. The Bushwhackers and Men on a Mission defeated Bigelow, Bastion Booger and the Headshrinkers. If Dave Meltzer was Clark Kent, this match would have been kryptonite. The match was voted the worst of the card, Meltzer called it a DUD, and on top of that...it was voted the 1993 Worst Match of the Year by WON readers.

A highlight of the match was when Booger had Butch pinned but saw a banana on the mat and got off Butch to go for it. Also, one of the Samoans slipped on a banana peel in this match, like Mario Kart.

Did this miss the mark or do you think fans found it legitimately entertaining?

In March 1994, the Bushwhackers started feuding with SMW Tag-Team Champions The Heavenly Bodies (Tom Prichard and Jimmy Del Ray). Williams and Miller were undefeated against the Bodies until WrestleMania X, where they lost a dark match.

In April they began a house show series with WWF Tag-Team Champions The Quebecers, but unlike the previous year the team was winless against Rougeau and Oullette. In the summer of 1994 they reversed fortunes and were undefeated against the preliminary tag-team The Executioners (Dwayne Gill and Barry Hardy). They finished the year defeating Well Dunn in numerous house show encounters, although at this point Well-Dunn was, well...done.

The Bushwhackers are now five years into their tenure into the company, and their prospects for a world championship run seemed dim. But what’s interesting is, the company still used them in prominent events.

For example. WWF Superstars were on hand for the White House Easter Egg roll in 1994. Doink and Dink attended along with...the Bushwhackers. Butch tried to eat the White House cat (Socks, I think, was his name).

We found this old photo of Luke and Butch with a very, very young Shane McMahon in front of the White House. Who put that event together and how was it decided that Luke and Butch should go?

How would you describe Butch and Luke at this stage of their career? They seemed to almost be ambassadors for the brand.

Also in 94….The Bushwhackers appeared as themselves in a 1994 episode of the sitcom Family Matters, wrestling against Carl Winslow and Steve Urkel, who are forced to fill in for and wrestle as The Psycho Twins.

Would that have been a WWE organized thing or something they got...somehow…?

The WWF was entering a "New Generation" era in 1995, and the Bushwhackers were now one of the last legacy acts. Still quite popular with the fanbase, they began the year with a successful series of encounters on the house show circuit against The Heavenly Bodies. Both Luke and Butch appeared in the 1995 Royal Rumble as separate participants. Luke lasted about 12 seconds this time and both were eliminated by Shawn Michaels.

They continued to wrestle throughout the spring, defeating the Bodies and Well Dunn and remaining undefeated against preliminary opposition on television. However, their appearances had been cut back significantly in the first half of the year, compared to years before. By the second half of the year, they barely wrestled at all for the company, losing to WWF Tag-Team Champions Owen Hart and Yokozuna and the newly arrived Blu Twins.

Was this just the end of the road for them after a pretty incredible run?

In March 1996, the Bushwhackers returned to the WWF after a six-month hiatus to participate in a tournament to crown new tag team champions. The Bushwhackers were beaten in the first round by eventual winners The Bodydonnas (Skip and Zip). When the Bushwhackers returned in 1996, they displayed traditional Australian stereotypes, including being accompanied to the ring by a giant kangaroo mascot.

WHY did we not get more Kangaroo? Those bastards are mean, though. Did you ever worry about the Kangaroo shooting on everyone?

On 14 September, the Bushwhackers made their last appearance while under contract with the WWF, defeating Justin Bradshaw and Uncle Zebakiah at a house show. Of course, that’s JBL and Dutch Mantell, for those who don’t know.

After leaving the WWF, the team made special appearances in the independent circuit, including a return to WWC for its 24th Anniversary show, where they were billed as the Sheepherders and took on old rivals, Invaders I & II. They also appeared at Terry Funk's WrestleFest in Amarillo to celebrate "50 years of Funk" where they lost to old rivals Mark and Chris Youngblood.

In 1998, they made a couple of appearances in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) under the names Luke and Butch Dudley as "cousins" of The Dudley Brothers.

In 1999, the Bushwhackers participated in Heroes of Wrestling, where Williams and Miller took on and defeated former WWF Tag Team Champions, The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff. If you’d like to watch that masterpiece, check out AdFreeShows.com. Word is that a very popular watch-along episode happened surrounding that shit show.

Williams and Miller made one of their last appearances as active wrestlers on 1 April 2001 when they participated in the WrestleMania X-Seven "Gimmick Battle Royal" which The Iron Sheik won.

Were they shoe-ins for this kind of match? Did they enjoy being part of it?

On 15 June the team returned to Memphis one last time, fighting The Moondogs to a double disqualification on a special "Mid-South Clash of the Legends" show. During this period, they toured the UK with All Star Wrestling, often appearing in six-man tag matches teamed with Frank Casey, who had been wrestling for several years as the "British Bushwhacker" – a 'tribute' to Williams and Miller.

On 23 February 2015, it was announced by WWE that The Bushwhackers would be 2015 inductees into the WWE Hall of Fame. On 28 March 2015, they both attended the event to accept their induction. During their speech, they acknowledged Killer Kowalski, Jean Ferre (Andre), and High Chief Peter Maivia. Butch recalled wrestling him and getting too much offense in - causing the crowd to turn on Butch! Maivia got all the offense in during their rematches.

What would you say about the legacy of the Bushwhackers?

Are these two proof that, if you give it your all, even a crazy gimmick can be gotten over?

QUESTIONS

The Man of the 90s asks...Was their appearance on Family Matters a WWF deal or one they got on their own? #AskBruce

Big Chop Man asks...Was it ever considered to have them revert to the “Sheepherders” style of their character at any point? #AskBruce

Chiefsmallpp asks...Was the licking of kids discussed with Vince beforehand for safety reasons or was that a go out have a good time do what you like thing?

Rayla811 asks...Whose idea was it for Luke and Butch to be licking people on their way to the ring? And more importantly, why? Why the hell was this a thing? #AskBruce

GJ Refill asks...I want to know who came up with the line for Gorilla Monsoon to say on the "Primetime Wrestling" 1989 episode titled "Survivor Series Showdown" when he said the Bushwhackers would be "whacking and licking".  Seems like it did not age well now in '21 or even in '89!

McTavish asks...How well did the boys in the locker room get along with Luke and Butch seeing they were from New Zealand? Was there any cultural differences to be had while they were in the WWE or in JCP??

Justin asks...How were two New Zealanders with being sold as two Australians? Considering that's like Canadians being sold as Americans.

Jay Lee asks...I remember them 35-40 years ago as The New Zealand Sheepherders, vicious motherfuckers that would come to Puerto Rico and battle The Invaders,  The Super Medics, The Youngblood Brothers and the duo of Miguel Perez jr and Huracán Castillo jr.

Dr. John Taylor asks...#askbruce how much convincing did McMahon have to do to get Luke & Butch to do the Bushwhackers gimmick after being the sheepherders? Also, how much practice did Vince do with them to get their strut down? Also, who came up with the licking, sardines, and “yooo!!” chant?

Kevin Dern asks...After Bushwhacker Luke's legendary short time in a Royal Rumble match, was there ever thought to bring him back as a surprise entrant to make up for that moment?

Scott has a great question! During their 1994 run, who came up with the hongi gimmick? Instead of licking fans they would rub noses, similar to the Daniel Tiger ugga mugga for current parents. #AskBruce

Marco asks...I loved the Bushwhackers I just wish they would have won the wwf tag team championships. My question is are there any great funny Bushwhacker road stories? #AskBruce

Kent asks...Was there ever a worry about their age when they got hired by Vince? Nowadays it's not odd but hiring two wrestlers in their 40s back then does seem out of the ordinary. #AskBruce

Matt (Wear Your Mask, Idiots) asks If they had been broken up and pushed as singles, who would have been the Marty and who would have been the Shawn?

Did they ever lick your face with the red makeup on?

Sir Ivor Theories asks….Did vince ever do the bushwacker walk backstage Thinking face?

@PrichardShow

Damien asks...If the Bushwhackers turned Heel, which face team from the late 80s early 90s would you have liked to have seen the Bushwhackers face? #AskBruce

Scott Johnson asks...What was the Secret Service reaction to the Bushwhackers when they were on hand for the ‘94 White House Easter Egg Roll? #Askbruce

Joe Minor has a good question...Did the WWE ever get upset parents because their kids got licked by them? #AskBruce

BillyGunnFact asks...Despite fans clamoring for it, we never got a match between The Smoking Gunns and The Bushwhackers. Does Bruce take this failure personally?

I like this question. Adam asks...The Bushwhackers came over in 1988, the same year Crocodile Dundee 2 came out. Did that movie franchise and the success it had over the past 2 years play any part in the team's new gimmick? #AskBruce

J. Gatto asks something similar...Was the popularity of Australian stuff in the late 80s (Crocodile Dundee, the Energizer battery ad guy, etc.) the main reason the Bushwhackers gimmick was created?

Jordan asks...Where were the sardines purchased? #AskBruce

Ken asks..how much Rona do you think these guys would have gotten?

TJ asks...Was there ever a plan to turn them heel and have them work a style like their days as the Sheepherders? Or did any of those ideas go away once their kid/family friendly gimmick took off? #AskBruce