WWE did their best to have the Bushwhackers become an all-time popular tag team with many changes to their act. Luke and Butch made their careers together and knew they always had to be on the same page to make this work in the bigger picture. WWE signed the Bushwhackers after almost two decades wrestling all over the territories.
Vince McMahon had them in the WWE tag team division for many years as an act defined by their gimmicks. Luke and Butch did everything WWE asked of them to positively contribute to the company in the way management wanted. However, plenty of things in their run require a deeper look at the Bushwhackers in WWE.
10 Never Won WWE Tag Team Championship
WWE was more selective about the title holders and names to win an important belt throughout the Bushwhackers run in Golden Era and New Generation Era. The Bushwhackers remained a popular babyface act, but WWE never trusted them to hold gold.
Other duos like the Hart Foundation, Steiner Brothers and Smoking Gunns were prioritized over the Bushwhackers at different points. WWE felt that Luke and Butch were over enough to be a fun tag team rather than putting the gold on them.
9 Vince McMahon Made Them Lose Previous Popular Name
Vince McMahon started a fad of changing wrestlers’ names when signing them after successful runs elsewhere in the 1980s. The Bushwhackers went by the Sheepherders tag team name for years to still have a mix of fans calling them each name.
WWE didn’t view the Sheepherders name as marketable enough and felt a change was pivotal. Luke and Butch were called the Bushwhackers in the start of their WWE run and kept that name moving forward. McMahon made that a common thing for decades with many names changed once joining WWE.
8 Completely Changed Gimmick From Sheepherders Days
The Sheepherders run saw the popular duo getting over as vicious heels in various companies before they ever hit WWE’s radar. Everyone assumed WWE would keep them in the same role, but the name wasn’t the only massive change.
Vince McMahon viewed them as lovable babyfaces and had them play the outlandish good guys. Fans enjoyed their antics of the unique entrance and strange moments like licking each other or even audience members. The duo played a drastically new gimmick and became even more famous in WWE.
7 Won Feud Over The Fabulous Rougeaus At WrestleMania 5
WWE made the Fabulous Rougeaus one of the first real rivalries for the Bushwhackers. The biggest stage of WrestleMania 5 saw the two teams getting to have a major match to pay off all the attention. Fans enjoyed the dynamic of the heel brothers against the endearing babyfaces.
Vince McMahon gave the big moment of a WrestleMania win to the Bushwhackers to come out looking stronger. This was a huge accomplishment for the Bushwhackers at the time to have such a win on the biggest platform against their rivals early in the WWE stints
6 Helped Get The Orient Express Over
Another early rivalry for the Bushwhackers in WWE that showed a lot of what they represented featured their feud with The Orient Express. Pat Tanaka and Akio Sato represented Japan at a time when very few wrestlers from outside of North America received WWE spots.
The Bushwhackers helped get The Orient Express over since they were able to carry the character side of the program. WWE could get by with Tanaka and Sato not speaking as much with the barrier. This showed why Vince McMahon loved the Bushwhackers gimmick and could use it in productive ways.
5 The Natural Disasters Formed Attacking Them
WWE had the idea for another outlandish but terrifying tag team known as the Natural Disasters with Earthquake and Typhoon. The Bushwhackers actually played a huge role in their formation as part of the heel turn storyline of Tugboat changing his name and persona.
A six-man tag match of Tugboat and the Bushwhackers vs Earthquake and the Nasty Boys ended with the shocking betrayal. Tugboat changed his name to Typhoon and joined Earthquake in a vicious attack on the Bushwhackers as the best way to get some heat.
4 Dressed As Doink For Survivor Series Tag Match
It was a natural fit for the Bushwhackers and Doink the Clown to have some fun comical moments together. Butch and Luke started to get involved when Doink was being targeted by big man heel Bam Bam Bigelow and his acquaintances.
Survivor Series 1993 saw this paying off with Doink, the Bushwhackers, Mo and Mabel all teaming up and wearing the clown masks to represent Doink. The babyface squad won a clean sweep eliminating all heel wrestlers of Bigelow, Bastion Booger and the Wild Samoans.
3 Received Memorable Roles On Family Matters TV Show Representing WWE
Television shows started to cast wrestlers when they could boost a special episode of various shows. Family Matters was among the most popular sitcoms at the time during the Urkel craze when the Bushwhackers received a great opportunity in a cameo appearance.
The wild WWE gimmicks made it easier to get on a television show for the wrestling episode of lead characters Urkel and Carl Winslow facing them in a tag team match. Butch and Luke played hilarious heels that contributed to one of the legendary show’s best episodes.
2 Had Short Stint With Kangaroo Mascot
WWE had the Bushwhackers off television for a short while before repackaging them in 1996. The gimmick was basically the same, but they started to implement more things about their Australian background that played on stereotypes.
A kangaroo mascot began coming to ringside with Butch and Luke for their matches. Even though wrestling was a bit cheesy at the time, fans still didn’t care about the mascot. The Bushwhackers actually came off worse and failed to get over again for more television time.
1 Final WWE Appearance Came At WrestleMania 17
WWE released the Bushwhackers in 1996 when Vince McMahon felt he got as much out of their gimmicks as he could as fans started to lose interest. Butch and Luke did not have a proper return until the all-time great WrestleMania 17 event.
The gimmick battle royal featured many of the most memorable and outlandish gimmicks trying to eliminate each other. Fans were excited to see the Bushwhackers one more time before Iron Shiek won the match. The legendary duo got to be part of a historic event in their final big wrestling moment.