WWE Hall of Famer Bushwhacker Butch (Robert Miller) has passed away at the age of 78.
The passing was announced on Facebook by WWE Hall of Famer Bushwhacker Luke, who confirmed that Butch (pictured above in the foreground) passed away late last night in Los Angeles.
Butch spoke with WrestleBinge while in Los Angeles for WrestleMania 39 Weekend and revealed that Butch was also in town for a signing, but he had to be hospitalized. Luke added that Butch was hospitalized over an issue with his medication. He said Butch flew into Los Angeles from New Zealand on Wednesday and was fine, but became ill on Friday, and had to be hospitalized in the ICU. It was later said on Luke’s Facebook page that Butch had a medical emergency.
Luke’s daughter Jackie took to Luke’s Facebook page on Sunday to announce the hospitalization, and to link to a GoFundMe campaign to help with Butch’s medical bills before the passing. You can find the campaign at this link. They have raised $3,008 through 58 donations as of this writing, but the donations are steadily coming in now that the news of Butch’s passing is being shared. Former ROH owner Cary Silkin and Bobby Fulton have both donated $500.
Luke’s Facebook page then posted an update this afternoon, writing, “Update; Our dear Bob has passed away. 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.”
Luke then posted a lengthy message of his own to Facebook, noting that Butch passed away late last night.
“Late last night, I lost my friend, brother and tag team partner of over 50 years with the passing of Bob ‘Butch’ Miller,” Luke 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 traveling 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 the the biggest crowds professional wrestling had ever seen! And we were eventually honored 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 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!”
WWE inducted The Bushwhackers into the Hall of Fame in 2015, while The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum inducted them in 2020. The Bushwhackers never held the WWE Tag Team Titles, but Butch held tag team gold with Luke in UWF, Stampede Wrestling, WWA, Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, Championship Wrestling from Florida, CWA, and Puerto Rico’s WWC, among others.
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