WRESTLERS OF THE DAY: THE BUSHWHACKERS (The Sheepherders)

[RIPPA]

One of my most vivid memories from reading Apter magazines was how they pointed out how the Sheepherders got boned by having to wrestle twice in the 2nd Round of the 3rd Crockett Cup (they beat Lightning Express but then had to wrestle again - this time losing to the Midnights). I mean when the Apter mags aren't protecting your shitty booking...

 

Anyway - I think people forget because they might only know them from the comical WWF run but hoo boy did there used to be a lot of blood

 

[odessasteps]

All versions eligible here or just Luke/Butch?

-----

I will never forget watxhing the barbed wire cage match six man on UWF tv. Just razy crazy action.

[DEAN]

Jay Youngblood before being Jay Youngblood caught up with him.  MAN, this match is great.

[RIPPA]

All versions eligible here or just Luke/Butch?

 

Yes - just Luke and Butch

[J.T.]

I met the then Sheepherders now Bushwhackers when they worked an indie show in Myrtle Beach with two close friends of mine. 

 

My kid's co-godfathers are Chris Annon & Josh Annon aka Dr. Feelgood & Dr. Love aka the superstar indie tag-team known as Lethal Injection that worked the Carolina indes for like six or seven years. 

 

Chris helped train Ron Killings and is still good friends with Chris Hammrick.

 

For two crazy New Zealanders that made their names drinking other people's blood in Puerto Rico, Luke & Butch were really nice guys and very personable.

 

 

Bushwhackers get a lot of flack for their WWE antics, but you have to remember that those guys were old and broken down by the time they made it big.  Luke Williams told me that when he and Butch debuted in the WWE, Luke had already had one hip replacement surgery performed on him and would have his other hip replaced two years later.

 

Luke would always lay it down in the match that he couldn't take really crazy bumps because his hip would pop out of the socket.

 

Comedy was their only recourse and they did the best they could with what they had left.

[Matt D]

I had some stuff written here but lost it. 

 

Three things:

 

1. They're underrated as the Bushwhackers, hugely so. People speak of them with such derision, about how the Brainbusters were wasted, etc, but the problem was never them. It was us. They served a role, they told a different story, they appealed to the crowd in a different way, and they could barely have done what they were supposed to better than they did. There are some matches that I find fascinating and really well worked, especially their series vs the Rogs and the Beverly Brothers. I wish we had a few more of their Nasty Boys matches too.

 

2. They were so good at this role because they had played so many. Luke was Gorgeous Teddy Williams and Pretty Boy Floyd. They were monsters and fan favorite destroyers and goofballs, and they were OLD when they hit WWF and probably extended their careers by years by working the style they did. 

 

3. They scared the hell out of me as a kid, more than any other wrestler, an this is as the bushwhackers. This is in 1991. I was 10. The idea of them eating sardines and trying to lick my head was terrifying to me. My dad used to scare me on the way to the Boston Garden for house shows by telling me that he asked WWF specifically to have them lick me that night. Even though we were in the cheap seats, it still scared me.

 

----

and that's enough about that, because the Sheepherders were something else. They drew all over and they helped pop Portland as part of the Army and we are so damned lucky to have that stuff now.

 

There are, I think, three Piper/Martel vs Sheepherders matches online. It's the feud that got Portland tv kicked off of prime time. They're all worth watching. There are also a ton of six man tags with Buddy. Butch was positioned over Luke, weirdly enough, and he's the one who had the buddy feud. I'll post the singles matches of note.

 

Hair match vs Piper:

 

Butch vs Buddy:

 

Butch vs Buddy Lumberjack:

[odessasteps]

[odessasteps]

Is there a list of all the various flag bearers over the years?

Jack(o) Victory and Lady Maxxxine

Johnny Ace

Rip Morgan

[goc]

I thought Luke was almost unrecognizable the first time I saw him watching 1979 Portland and he has that really long, crazy hair. It's impressive how they were able to be essentially two completely different tag teams TOGETHER. It's rare that two guys freshen their acts like that as a unit instead of breaking up and getting different partners or going solo.

[jstout]

It always amazed me how they were such absolutely insane bloodletting freaks and then they get into WWF and they're the biggest hit with the kids ever. Has any other team or wrestler ever done that? It would be like Abdullah the Butcher popping up in WWF and giving kids forks at ringside.

[JRGoldman]

The Sheepherders cutting those indecipherable bogan promos in Portland is some of my favorite promo work of all time. Really, the whole thing with the Army is just so great. Everyone is on fire. The Sheepherders had this really unique style/ability to come across as monster wild man heels (like Kamala or someone) but also bump around like absolute freaks. Butch Miller used to routinely do this one bump off of an Irish Whip in to the corner where he'd leap and get huge air, turn and land with the back of his head right on the middle turn buckle. It was bonkers. 

 

I've written about this before, but even at their most violent you can see the comedy that they would later incorporate. There is a spot I love that Luke would do where he would get slammed down and immediately pop up like he was no selling it and about to kill some poor babyface....before dropping to his knees to beg off like prime Ric Flair. Very few serious tag teams interacted with the audience from the ring apron as much as the Herders did as well. They always managed to keep the crowd engaged, especially during the Portland run. 

 

The Sheepherders are probably my favorite tag team of all time, so I'm sure I'm biased, but I generally feel as though they don't get nearly enough credit for what they brought the the feuds that they are remembered for, most notably the Fantastics and the Fabulous Ones. 

[Curt McGirt]

 

If this is the right match from my external hard drive (even though it's probably clipped) this is the only Sheepherders match I've seen, sadly. 

 

 

 

These are two I wish I could watch RIGHT NOW. 

 

I loved the Bushwhackers as a kid and it was crazy to find out they were bloodsucking freaks back in the day.

[Tim Evans]

Bushwackers and Jeff Jarrett vs The Moondogs and The King Killer from Memphis in 1992.

[Big Fresh]

When someone told me they used to drink people's blood, they instantly became my favorite team ever. Despite the fact that now, like 10 years later, I still have not seen video of them doing it once.

[Curt McGirt]

You need to check out the '80s lucha set. There are tons of evidence of that happening.