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WWE Hall of Famer Bob 'Bushwhacker Butch' Miller, one half of the legendary New Zealand tag-team 'The Buschwackers' died Sunday (April 2) night at the age of 78 following his battle with a brief illness, his longtime tag-team partner of 50 years, Luke 'Buschwacker Luke' Williams, confirmed.
"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," Bushwhacker Luke wrote in a post shared on his Instagram account.
Miller had flown from New Zealand to the United States ahead of WrestleMania weekend last week and experienced a medical episode shortly after arriving in Los Angeles, PWInsider reported on Friday (March 31).
Miller and Williams initially began their tag-team careers as The Kiwis while wrestling in New Zealand, Australia and Japan before making their North American debuts for late legendary wrestler, promoter and wrestling family patriarch Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling. The duo later wrestled as the New Zealand Sheepherders for Jim Crockett Promotions, Pacific Northwest Wrestling and World Wrestling Council before later joining the then-WWF as the Bushwhackers in 1988.
The Bushwhackers are one of the most famous comedy acts in WWE history, having worked for the company full-time until 1998 and making several sporadic appearances in the years since, which included being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015.