WWE Hall of Famer Bushwhacker Butch dies at age 78
WWE Hall of Famer Bushwhacker Butch dies at age 78, days after falling ill in Los Angeles after arriving for WrestleMania
WWE Hall of Famer Bushwhacker Butch has passed away at the age of 78, his cousin Luke said in a statement on Facebook.
“Our dear Bob passed away,” it read. “The ones we love never really leave us. There are things death cannot touch.
“We will always love your (sic) uncle until we meet again.”
Butch – real name Bob Miller – had arrived in Los Angeles for WrestleMania and fell ill shortly after. A GoFundMe has been set up to help pay these medical bills, but the exact issue has yet to be revealed.
Written up on Sunday, the description read: “We have sad news about one half of the team – Bushwhacker Butch Miller has been hospitalized after arriving in Los Angeles for a signing over Wrestle Mania weekend.
WWE Hall of Famer Bushwhacker Butch has passed away at age 78, his cousin Luke has said
Butch (right) – real name Bob Miller – was in Los Angeles for WrestleMania when he fell ill
Butch had arrived along with his tall friend and brother Luke Williams. The duo has been traveling together for over 50 years and everyone was looking forward to this comeback.’
He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015 as a member of the Bushwhackers.
Luke wrote on Instagram Monday, “Late last night I lost my friend, brother and tag team partner of over 50 years with the passing of Bob ‘Butch’ Miller.”
“From the early 1970s, when we were young friends wrestling for John da Silva in New Zealand, my first impression of Bob ‘The Chest’ Miller (as he was known at the time) was that he was a first-rate redneck was, and what a bloody redneck he was! But he was also an all round good guy and a good friend.
“If you read my life story it would say I am an only child, but that would be wrong. In life I had a brother and his name was Bob Miller. I love you, Bob.’
Miller is survived by a wife, Helen, two daughters and grandchildren.
He was born in New Zealand and started wrestling there in 1964 at the age of 20. His career led him to the WWF (now WWE), where he moved to the United States.
He retired in 2001 after a neck injury and moved from Florida back to New Zealand in 2003.