Bushwhacker Luke

The Bushwhackers released their autobiography "The Bushwhackers: Blood, Sweat & Cheers", along with writer John E. Crowther, on September 27, 2022.

On 11 September 2021, Luke defeated Gangrel at an event honoring the heroes of 9/11 in Ocala, Florida.[3]

In February 2018, the Bushwhackers reunited for one last tour of their native New Zealand. On 10 February, Bushwhacker Luke defeated Simon Seven at UCW's Invasion show, in Christchurch As well as defeating James Shaw at IPW's Kiwi as mate show, in Auckland.[2]

Along with Butch, Luke held championships including the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship, NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship, NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship, and UWF World Tag Team Championship. The duo were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015 and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2020.

On 23 February 2015, it was announced by WWE that The Bushwhackers would be 2015 inductees into the WWE Hall of Fame. On 28 March 2015, they both attended the event to accept their induction.[1]

In September 2013 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada Luke teamed with Odjig Thundercloud and defeated the Royal Guards to capture the Victory Commonwealth Wrestling Tag Team Championships.

On 9 January 2008 in Adrian Michigan Luke made his in ring return after 6 years out of the ring. He teamed with Big Chuck Wagon and lost to the BNU in the first round of a tag team titles tournament for Championship International Wrestling.

On 26 July 2008 in Detroit, Michigan Luke participated in the first ever Honor Rumble where the winner received a future ROH World Title shot. He was eliminated by Necro Butcher.

Luke made appearances with Ring of Honor starting with the final two shows in 2007, Rising Above and Final Battle. Luke hosted the Luke Williams show for Ring of Honor podcasts where he interviews ROH wrestlers.

In December 2007, Wickens again appeared on a wrestling program as Bushwhacker Luke. Wrestler Eric Young hosted a party on the Christmas-themed episode of Impact, and his family turned out to be the Bushwhackers.

In 2002, Luke started working behind the scenes as a booker in IWA Puerto Rico, retiring from active competition.

In 1999, Luke and butch participated in a "wrestling nostalgia" PPV called Heroes of Wrestling as the Men from Down Under. They took on and defeated former WWF Tag Team Champions The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff. Luke and Butch made one of their last appearances as active wrestlers on 1 April 2001, when they participated in the "Gimmick Battle Royal" at WrestleMania X-Seven. 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. Butch retired in 2001 after suffering a neck injury.

They made two appearances for Extreme Championship Wrestling in April 1998. They wrestled Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman to a no contest. Then wrestled Chris Chetti and Jerry Lynn.

In March 1996, the Bushwhackers return were beaten in the first round of a tournament for the tag titles 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 14 September, the Bushwhackers made their last appearance while under contract with the WWF.

In November, Luke and Butch helped Doink the Clown in the clown's feud with Bam Bam Bigelow. Luke and Butch, as well as Mo and Mabel, all appeared at Survivor Series 1993 wearing the trademark green wig and facepaint 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. The team also faced another recently signed team: Steven Dunn and Timothy Well also known as Well Dunn. By 1995, the Bushwhackers were used almost exclusively to put over teams such as The Blu Twins. They also worked for United States Wrestling Association in Memphis, Tennessee.

At the 1991 Royal Rumble, Luke set a rather unfortunate record as he lasted a total of 4 seconds. Using the trademark arm-swing entrance, he climbed into the ring, walked across in a straight path, and was thrown over the top rope by Earthquake. 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". 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 injury. 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. Luke and Butch the fun loving, "working class" guys started a feud with the rich, snobby bratty Beverly Brothers (Blake Beverly and Beau Beverly). The two teams first clashed at the 1991 Survivor Series where they were on opposite sides in a 4 on 4 elimination match. On that night, the Beverly Brothers got the upper hand and eliminated both Luke and Butch. The Beverly Brothers' manager The Genius kept interfering in the matches so the Bushwhackers brought in a manager of their own, the nerdy Jamison. Unfortunately even the addition of Jamison was not enough to prevent the Beverly Brothers from winning at Royal Rumble 1992. 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.

By 1990, the Bushwhackers were established as a solid mid-card comedy act feuding with the newly established 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. At Survivor Series 1990, Luke and Butch 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.

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 took 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 14 October Saturday Night's Main Event XXIII (taped 21 September); again, the Bushwhackers were victorious. The Bushwhackers and the Rougeaus clashed twice more, first at the 1989 Survivor Series and again at the 1990 Royal Rumble; the Bushwhackers got the best of the Rougeau brothers both times.

Luke and Butch signed on with the WWF in the midst of its aggressive national expansion giving them a national and international exposure unlike anything they had ever had before. The team changed their name to The Bushwhackers and changed their violent style to a comedic style which was an instant hit with the fans. The comedy act involved licking, arm motions, and more. The Bushwhackers made their debut on a matinee house show on 26 December 1988 facing The Bolsheviks.

In 1987, the Sheepherders returned to the CWA once more. On 10 January, the New Zealanders beat the up-and-coming team of Badd Company (Pat Tanaka and Paul Diamond) for the CWA/AWA International Tag Team Championship. Unfortunately, they lost them back to Badd Company as fast as they had won them. After the quick run with Badd Company, the Sheepherders again became entangled in a feud with the Fabulous Ones in a rivalry that seemingly would never end. In what turned out to the last series of matches between the Sheepherders and the Fabulous Ones, the Fabs dominated the matches and again "ran off" the Sheepherders.

When Luke and Butch returned to main land USA and signed on with Bill Watts’ UWF, they quickly cemented their status by beating Ted DiBiase and Steve Williams for the UWF Tag Team Championship on 16 March 1986. The Sheepherders worked for Bill Watts on and off over the next couple of years, taking time out to participate in the first ever Jim Crockett Memorial Tag Team Cup where they made it to the third round. In the third round, the Sheepherders 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 their big "Mid South Superdome Show", the Sheepherders clashed with the Fantastics once more. This time, Luke and Butch lost in a "New Zealand Boot camp" match to the UWF Tag champs.

Luke and Butch stayed with the SWCW through the rest of 1983 and into 1984. There, the two again came head to head with the Fabulous Ones; this time the prize was the SWCW World Tag Team Championship. The Fabulous Ones had supposedly won the titles in Australia, which is generally believed to be a fictitious tournament invented by the SWCW. The Sheepherders defeated the Fabs on 4 March and held the titles until the SWCW abandoned the tag team titles in September 1984. The next major stop for the Sheepherders was a return to Puerto Rico and the WWC, this time competing as "The Sheepherders" instead of "Los Pastores". On 6 January 1985, the team defeated Invader I and Invader III for the WWC North American Tag Team Championship in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Butch and Luke lost and then regained the titles from Invaders I & III in March and held on to the gold until August when the Invaders won the tag team title back for good.

Boyd and Williams moved slightly more north as they began to work in the Memphis based promotion Continental Wrestling Association owned and operated by Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler. In the CWA, the Sheepherders would start a feud that stood as their most memorable, bloody, and brutal as the team kicked off a long running feud with The Fabulous Ones (Stan Lane and Steve Keirn). The "pretty boy", well polished Fabulous Ones and the ugly, brawling savage Sheepherders were the perfect opponents and repeatedly drew big gates all over the country. The matches started out pretty evenly, but soon turned brutal and often without a definite winner. In late 1982, the Sheepherders won the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship from Lane and Keirn, which only turned the intensity of the matches up a notch. Between late December and mid-February, the two teams traded the belts back and forth 4 times with the Fabulous Ones ending up with possession of them in the end. On 28 March, the Sheepherders wrestled their last match in the Mid-South Coliseum before leaving the CWA.

After the team left WWC, Butch decided that he wanted to return closer to home and went to Australia to wrestle. Luke remained in the United States determined to keep the "Sheepherders" name on everyone's lips by teaming up with "Lord" Jonathan Boyd (formerly of the Royal Kangaroos). The duo of Williams and Boyd quickly gained a reputation of one of the most violent, hard hitting teams in the business. One of the first people to feel the wrath of the "new and improved" Sheepherders was Robert Fuller in South Eastern Championship Wrestling. In December 1981, the Sheepherders won the NWA Southeast Tag Team Championship that had been vacated when Robert Fuller and Jos LeDuc split. After winning the title, Boyd and Williams became embroiled in a bitter feud with Robert Fuller and various partners including his brother Ron Fuller and his cousin Jimmy Golden (later known as Bunkhouse Buck). One act that made the Sheepherders the most hated men in SECW for a while was when the duo kayfabe attacked and injured Jimmy's father Billy Golden. After almost 10 months with the title, the Sheepherders were finally defeated by Fuller and Golden; this ended the feud on a high note for the face duo, as the Sheepherders were "run out" of the territory.

After leaving Stampede Wrestling, the Kiwis began doing double duty in Japan for International Wrestling Enterprise (IWE). They would disband in 1975. Miller temporarily retired from the sport as Williams continued working for IWE until 1976 and was inactive until 1979. The Kiwis reunited working in NWA Pacific Northwest as well as the Canadian-based International All-Star Wrestling around 1979-1980 as "the Kiwi Sheepherders". In 1979, the team won the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship on three occasions between 21 July and 5 August 1980, before they left the territory. On 22 September, the Sheepherders lost the gold to Dutch Savage and Stan Stasiak, only to regain them a week later. On 11 February 1980, the Sheepherders became double champions when they downed Dutch Savage and Stan Stasiak, this time for the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship. Top faces Rick Martel and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper teamed up in May, to take the NWA Canadian tag title from the Sheepherders and, in effect, run the duo out of the Northwest region by August, gaining the NWA Pacific Northwest tag titles when the Sheepherders left the promotion.

Luke Williams started wrestling for NWA New Zealand (later known as All-Star Pro Wrestling) with his friend and long term tag team partner Butch Miller in 1962 where he achieved a great deal of regional success. After working Australasia and the Eastern Circuit (Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan), the duo was booked in North America in "Grand Prix" (Quebec, The Maritimes, Ontario, and Vermont), a very successful promotion owned by the famous Vachons and Edouard Carpentier, in 1972 by fellow New Zealander Steve Rickard, who was also the booker for "NWA Hawaii". Luke and Butch worked in Canada for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling billed as The Kiwis (Butch was known as "Nick Carter" and Luke was known as "Sweet William"). The first recorded title that the Kiwis won was in 1974, when the duo beat Bob Pringle and Bill Cody for the Stampede International Tag Team Championship on 6 January 1974. The Kiwis lost the titles to Tokyo Joe and the Great Saki, only to regain them a short time later. The Kiwis lost the titles for good when Stan Kowalski and Dutch Savage defeated them and kept the titles away from them in subsequent rematches.

Brian Wickens (born 8 January 1947) is a New Zealand professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Bushwhacker Luke, where he teamed with Bushwhacker Butch as The Bushwhackers. He is also known for his appearances under the ring name Luke Williams for promotions such as NWA New Zealand, Stampede Wrestling, Pacific Northwest Wrestling, Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling, Southwest Championship Wrestling, and the Universal Wrestling Federation, where he teamed with Butch as "The Kiwis" and "The Sheepherders".

After leaving the WWF, the team made special appearances in the independent circuit. This included 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 Terry Funk's WrestleFest in Amarillo to celebrate "50 years of Funk" where they lost to old rivals Mark and Chris Youngblood.