The Bushwhackers The Bushwhackers were a professional wrestling tag team that also competed as The Sheepherders during their long career . They wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation and Jim Crockett Promotions as well as a nearly 40 - year run on the independent wrestling circuit . The Bushwhackers consisted of Luke Williams and Butch Miller , while the Sheepherders also included Jonathan Boyd and Rip Morgan as members at times . History . Luke Williams and Butch Miller started wrestling as " The Kiwi Sheepherders " for NWA New Zealand ( later known as All - Star Pro Wrestling ) in 1964 , where they achieved a great deal of regional success . The duo was brought to America in 1965 by fellow New Zealander Steve Rickard , who was also the booker for “ NWA Hawaii ” . Williams and Miller initially 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 Williams ” ) . The Kiwis began their first recorded title reign by defeating Bob Pringle and Bill Cody for the Stampede International Tag Team Championship on January 6 , 1974 . 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 . The Sheepherders then worked for the World Wrestling Council as " Los Pastores " . A short time into their run with WWC , they defeated Puerto Rican legends Carlos Colon and Invader I for the WWC North American Tag Team Championship , defending it for a month and a half until being defeated by “ Los Medicos ” . Los Pastores regained the belts on May 22 , and held them until coming up short against Jack and Jerry Brisco on August 8 , 1981 . The New Sheepherder . After the team left WWC , Miller decided he wanted to move closer to home and went to Australia to wrestle . Williams remained in the United States , determined to keep the " Sheepherders " name on everyone ’ s lips by reforming the team with " Lord " Jonathan Boyd ( Formerly of the Royal Kangaroos ) . The duo of Williams and Boyd quickly gained a reputation as one of the most violent , hard hitting teams in the business . One of the first people to feel the wrath of the new Sheepherders was Robert Fuller in South Eastern Championship Wrestling . In late 1981 , 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 Robert Fuller and the entire Fuller 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 Robert Fuller and various partners , including his brother Ron Fuller , and his cousin Jimmy Golden ( later known as Bunkhouse Buck ) . The Sheepherders became the most despised heels in SECW after the duo attacked and injured ( storyline ) Jimmy ' s father , Billy Golden . The Sheepherders kept the upper hand in this feud for months , as Robert Fuller recruited partner after partner in futile attempts to defeat them . On 11 September 1982 , the Sheepherders finally lost to Fuller and Golden , ending the feud on a high note for the faces , as the Sheepherders were " run out " of the territory . Boyd and Williams next appeared in the Memphis , Tennessee 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 heated feud with Jacques Rougeau ( who wrestled in Memphis as Jerry Roberts at that point ) and Terry Taylor , clashing weekly with them at the Mid - South Coliseum , with the Sheepherders brawling their way to victory time and again . Taylor and Rougeau redeemed themselves in the end by defeating the Sheepherders in a brutal " Coal Miner ' s Glove " match . The resilient Sheepherders returned to the ring later that same night and defeated the territory ' s main stars Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee . The next feud of Boyd and Williams ' was arguably their most memorable and certainly their most bloody and brutal ; a long running series of heated encounters 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 , but soon turned brutal , and bouts often ended without a definite winner . In late 1982 , the Sheepherders won the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship from The Fabulous Ones , which seemingly turned the intensity of the matches up a notch . Between late December 1982 and mid - February 1983 , the title switched hands between the teams 4 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 . Boyd and Williams resurfaced in Southwest Championship Wrestling only weeks later , continuing their brutal and destructive ways . Their first targets were the reigning Southwest Tag Team Champions “ The Grapplers ” ( Len Denton and Tony Anthony ) . In May 1983 , the Sheepherders defeated Dinksy for the title through nefarious means ; before the match Williams and Boyd had bribed the Grapplers ’ manager Don Carson , and he promised they would become tag team champions . Carson turned on the Grapplers mid - match to ensure the Sheepherders ’ victory . The Sheepherders ' run with the gold was short lived ; in June , Jonathan 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 , straight in from Australia . Butch Miller Returns . 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 ; this time the prize they fought over was 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 would hold the title until the it was retired by SWCW in September 1984 . The next major stop for the Miller and Williams was a return to Puerto Rico and the WWC , this time competing as “ The Sheepherders ” instead of “ 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 would lose and then regain the titles from Invaders I & III in March , and then hold on to the gold until August , when the Invaders won it back . Jonathan Boyd and Rip Morgan . While the Sheepherders were enjoying the weather and the action in Puerto Rico , another Sheepherders team was spreading destruction all over the CWA in Memphis . For the first time , a Sheepherder team existed without Luke Williams as a member , as Jonathan Boyd teamed up with Rip Morgan ( former flag bearer for the Sheepherders ) to continue the legacy of violence under the name “ The Kiwi Sheepherders ” . Boyd and Morgan quickly made a mark on Memphis by beating their recurring nemeses , the Fabulous Ones , for the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship on 17 June 1985 . The team was soon stripped of the titles due to their excessive cheating , but had the titles returned to them when they threatened to sue CWA management . Instead of taking the belts from the Kiwi Sheepherders by bureaucratically stripping them away , the Fabulous Ones took them from them the old fashioned way – beating them 4 times in a row between 5 September and 12 October . After the series of violent matches with the Fabulous Ones came to an end , The Kiwi Sheepherders began feuding with another team that would eventually turn out to be a constant thorn in their side : the Fantastics ( Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers ) . In the winter of 1985 , the Kiwi Sheepherders and the Fantastics traded wins back and forth with no side gaining a clear advantage in the feud . In January 1986 , the Kiwi Sheepherders defeated the team of Koko Ware and Rick Casey as well as team of Tojo Yamamoto and Dirty Rhodes to reach the finals of a tournament to crown new Southern Tag Team Champions , but they fell in the finals to the Fantastics . This loss only intensified the Sheepherders ’ anger , bringing the feud to its high point as the two teams clashed in a “ No DQ Loser Leaves Town ” match on 20 January 1986 . The Kiwi Sheepherders lost and left Memphis , while the Fantastics rode a new wave of popularity gained from the feud . The Originals . When Williams and Miller returned to mainland USA and Bill Watts ' UWF , they quickly reminded everyone who the original Sheepherders were by beating Ted DiBiase and Steve Williams for the UWF Tag Team Championship on 16 March 1986 , but fell to their namesake ’ s enemies 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 , then downed The Rock ' n ' Roll Express in the second round . In the third round , they clashed with the Fantastics in an out of control brawl that ended in a double DQ . The winners of this match would have gone on to face eventual tournament winners the Road Warriors in the next round . 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 . After being unable to beat the Fantastics in several rematches , The Sheepherders traveled back 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 6 weeks before losing them back to the RPMs on 21 September . When this short run with the WWC ended , Williams and Miller sought new challenges and traveled to Florida where they worked for Championship Wrestling from Florida . There , The Sheepherders came across their old archenemies , the Fabulous Ones , instantly rekindling their violent feud . On 7 October , The Sheepherders ended The Fabulous Ones ’ first reign with the NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship , and would keep them away in rematches until Lane and Keirn finally got the better of them on 30 November , and regained the belts . In late November 1986 , the Kiwi Sheepherders returned to the CWA . Boyd and Morgan ( now billed as “ Bigfoot ” ) cut through the competition and won their fourth Southern Tag Team Championship when they beat Jeff Jarrett and Billy Joe Travis in the finals of a tournament . Their run with the titles was brief , as Jarrett and Travis won the titles a week later , and then ran The Kiwi Sheepherders out of the CWA in a “ Loser Leaves Town ” match a week after that . The Kiwi Sheepherders had hardly left the Memphis area before Williams and Miller , the original Sheepherders , entered the territory . On 10 January , they beat the up - and - coming team of Badd Company ( Pat Tanaka and Paul Diamond for the CWA / AWA International Tag Team Championship but lost it back to Badd Company as fast as they had won it . After the quick feud with Badd Company , The Sheepherders once again became entangled in a feud with the Fabulous Ones . In what would turn out to the last series between the Sheepherders and the Fabulous Ones , Keirn and Lane dominated the matches and once again “ ran off ” the Sheepherders . 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 , with The Sheepherders finishing in the bottom three of the standings . They only made a brief stay with New Japan , opting to return to Puerto Rico and the WWC . Here they started a bloody feud with Chris and Mark Youngblood , which drew large crowds . 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 gold 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 added that title to their resume by brawling and cheating . 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 August 29 at the hands of Graham and Keirn . After losing the Florida titles Williams and Miller returned to the UWF and began a second run with the UWF World Tag Team Championship after beating Lightning Express ( Brad Armstrong and Tim Horner ) on 16 October . The Sheepherders held the belts until the UWF was bought out by Jim Crockett and merged into Jim Crockett Promotions , to form the forerunner of WCW . After this merger , The Sheepherders worked for JCP , participating in the third Jim Crockett , Sr . Memorial Tag Team Tournament Cup . They beat the “ Cruel Connection ” in the first round , then defeated Tim Horner and Brad Armstrong in the second round . The Sheepherders then faced and lost to The Midnight Express ( Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane ) , Also in the second round . At , they faced off against the NWA United States Tag Team Champions , The Fantastics , in a losing effort . At , 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 signed with Vince McMahon ’ s World Wrestling Federation . The Bushwhackers . 1989 - 1990 . Williams and Miller debuted with the WWF in the midst of its aggressive national expansion , giving them greater exposure than they had ever had before . The team ' s name was changed to " The Bushwhackers " , and they changed their violent style to a comedic style which was an instant hit with WWF fans . The comedy act involved licking ( each other as well as their opponents ) , exaggerated arm movements , and more . The Bushwhackers made their WWF in - ring debut on 3 January 1989 at a WWF Superstars of Wrestling taping . Only a few days into their run with the WWF , the Bushwhackers had their first match with a team they would encounter repeatedly over the next year and a half , The Bolsheviks ( Boris Zhukov & Nikolai Volkoff ) . 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 would take their conflict to WrestleMania V which saw the Bushwhackers victorious in their WWF Pay Per View debut as a team . The WrestleMania match was not the end of the Bushwhackers / Rougeau feud as the teams clashed again on the 14 October edition of Saturday Night ' s Main Event ( taped 21 September ) , once again the Bushwhackers were victorious . The Bushwhackers and the Rougeaus would clash twice more , first at the 1989 Survivor Series and again at the 1990 Royal Rumble both times with the Bushwhackers getting the best of the Rougeau brothers . During this time the Bushwhackers began to feature in a long series of comedic vignettes , usually subjecting ” Mean ” Gene Okerlund to their wild and wacky ways ( and sardine eating antics ) . These vignettes were often featured on Coliseum Home Video releases where they served as the “ link ” between matches . The Bushwhackers quickly became one of the most popular duos among the viewers , chiefly due to the wildly comedic nature of their antics ( including their trademark " Bushwhacker Walk " ) , their catchy faux - Australian musical theme , and the high level of their friendly interaction with the audience . By 1990 the Bushwhackers were established as a solid mid - card comedy act feuding with the newly establish heel team known as 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 , attacked Honky Tonk Man and Valentine and then broke R & B ’ s guitars to the delight of the crowd . 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 ” . The Bushwhackers eliminated the Orient Express but were eliminated themselves as well . 1991 - 1992 . At the 1991 Royal Rumble , Williams set a rather unfortunate record as he lasted a total of 4 seconds . Using the trademark arm - swing walk , he climbed into the ring , was immediately grabbed by Earthquake , dragged across the ring in a straight line and thrown over the top rope , and proceeded to leave the arena — without missing a beat — using the trademark arm - swing walk . The Bushwhackers received a shot at the WWF World Tag Team Title on the 27 April edition of Saturday Night ' s Main Event against The Nasty Boys , but on that night Williams and Miller were not able to add the gold to their impressive collection as the Nasty Boys retained their titles through underhanded tactics . In a televised 6 man tag - team match the Bushwhackers teamed with Tugboat against Earthquake and the Nasty Boys , Tugboat turned on his partners after a few minutes of action and joined Earthquake in laying the two New Zealanders out cold . After the heel turn Tugboat changed his name to Typhoon and together they became known as “ The Natural Disasters ” one of the heaviest tag - teams in the world . The Bushwhackers demanded a chance to get even with the big team but were easily defeated at the 1991 SummerSlam PPV . After destroying the Bushwhackers the Disasters targeted André the Giant who was at ringside on crutches due to an earlier attack from Earthquake . The assault was stopped by the Legion of Doom who ran off the Natural Disasters After the Natural Disasters began feuding with the Legion of Doom the Bushwhackers came across a team that was the total opposite of what they were . Williams and Miller the fun loving , “ working class ” guys started a feud with the rich , snobby bratty Beverly Brothers ( Blake and Beau ) . 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 , the nerdy 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 . The Bushwhackers ’ next PPV was at Summer Slam 1992 where they teamed up with Jim Duggan to defeat “ The Mountie ” Jacques Rougeau and the Nasty Boys in a dark match . 1993 - 1996 . In 1993 , the Bushwhackers were used to “ put over ” the newly signed team the Headshrinkers ( Fatu and Samu ) and made a few appearances in comedy matches alongside midget “ Tiger ” Jackson ( later “ Dink The Clown ” ) against the Beverly Brothers and “ Little ” Louie . In August , the Bushwhackers made a quick trip to Puerto Rico to appear at the WWC 20th Anniversary show on August 8 where they defeated the monstrous team of Mr . Hughes and The Warlord . When the team returned to US soil Williams and Miller 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 in a match that played more for laughs than serious wrestling . In 1994 , the Bushwhackers started feuding with The Heavenly Bodies ( Tom Prichard and Jimmy Del Ray ) , losing to the team in a dark match at WrestleMania X . The team also faced another recently signed team : Steven Dunn and Timothy Well also known as Well Dunn . By 1995 , the Bushwhackers are used almost exclusively to put over teams such as The Blu Twins . In March 1996 , the Bushwhackers returned to the WWF after a 6 - 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 it was a slightly revamped version that ignored the fact that both members were from New Zealand as they displayed traditional Australian Stereotypes , including being accompanied to the ring by a giant kangaroo mascot . On September 14 , the Bushwhackers made their last appearance while under contract with the WWF . After the WWF . 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 a special event in Amarillo to celebrate “ 50 years of Funk ” where they lost to old rivals Mark and Chris Youngblood . In 1999 , the Bushwhackers participated in a “ wrestling nostalgia ” PPV called Heroes of Wrestling , Williams and Miller took on and defeated former WWF Tag Team Champions , the Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff . The Bushwhackers toured the UK in 2000 . 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 ” . 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 In June 2008 , WWE ' s SmackDown and ECW brands returned to New Zealand ( Auckland and Christchurch ) . WWE Superstar MVP guested Butch Miller from the Bushwhackers and Tony Garea on his international edition of the VIP Lounge . Retirement . Both Williams and Miller have retired from professional wrestling but work behind the scenes in Puerto Rico and New Zealand respectively . Williams is attempting a comeback and wrestled in a barbed - wire steel cage match . Other media . 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 . " They also appeared in The 1998 How Many Times music video for The Insane Clown Posse .