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They were unpredictable but now they are unleashed on the WWE Hall of Fame. In 1989, they went from the Outback to the WWE. While they were known to wear camoflauge, they were very visible in the WWE. Whether it was their lifestyle or their licking of their opponents. Their appetite for the exotic extended to their opponents.
They were 26 time tag team champions around the world. Even if they were imitated, they could not be replicated.
Jerry mentions that people are watching this around the world on the WWE Network. Jerry mentions there are nine inductees and you will feel like you are ninety nine years old.
Jerry says no one would say the next man is charismatic, but Jerry says the $100 bill he was given will let him say the originator of People Power, John Laurinaitis is charismatic.
John thanks everyone and he says tonight is not about People Power, it is about the Bushwhackers. The New Zealand flag is a symbol of where he started. The beginning shapes who we have become. This flag gave him the opportunity to find two unforgettable men who shaped his career.
After he got done with his first training camp, Dusty Rhodes told him he is going to send him to Florida to meet the Sheepherders. He held the flag for them. Luke and Butch never told him his hairstyle wasn’t as cool as he thought. They didn’t just tell him what to do, he told them when and why.
They started together in 1968 in New Zealand and turned into the Kiwis and Sheepherders before becoming the Bushwhackers. They were roommates for a year and he has some stories that might not be appropriate. Being on the road for 45 to 50 days with Luke and Butch could be a problem.
They ended up in the WWE as two entertaining individuals who had a march like no others. They had their hats on sideways and they licked kids. John says that they licked him too and it wasn’t as much fun. They shaped his career and the industry. They were his friends, his family, his mates, and his beginning.
John brings out Luke and Butch.
Butch thanks everyone and he lets out a scream. Luke tells Butch that isn’t how you do it today. Luke says it has been a long journey since coming to the United States in 1972 and today they stand on the biggest stage in the business, the Hall of Fame. Butch says just like Johnny Ace, they have lots of mentors. One was Killer Kowalski. Luke says they were with him in Australia in the late 1960s. Andre the Giant also was a mentor.
Luke says there was another person influential in their early career, Peter Maivia. Butch says he is a god in Western Samoa and Butch was only in the business for about six months. He was very green and he never met Peter. It was the tenth anniversary of Western Samoa’s independence from New Zealand. He says he got into that ring and he was so nervous he did not know what to do. He threw Peter out of the ring and then everyone in the crowd was going after him.
Hundreds of people wanted to string him up on a coconut tree. He was lucky to get out of there with his life. The promoter says they decided to keep him in Samoa for two more days for a rematch. He says he is not going to do it again, but he did and he learned to fly that night. Peter grabbed him and threw him all over the ring. He says he didn’t mind. He was happy because the more Peter beat him up, the safer he was.
Luke mentions their time in Stampede Wrestling in 1973 working in Calgary. They got disqualified and the next minute they were put in the ring with four young wrestlers. They left everyone laying in the ring and Stu was there in the back. Stu asks them what did they do to their kids. They had so much heat for it airing on television after three days.
Butch says they were hardcore before there was hardcore. Luke mentions a call he got from someone named ‘Pat’ and it was Pat Patterson. Luke calls back and in three days, there were in Connecticut. Luke says they wanted to make them the good guys and Butch says he didn’t like it. Butch says he got on the desk and looked at them and asked how are you going to make good guys out of these ugly heads?
They bloody did. It is amazing. They started doing vignettes for six weeks to get into the characters. Butch suggested the marching and Luke talked about how his arm hurt and Butch reminded them about the money so he started marching. Butch came up with the licking. He says you bloody Americans taste great.
Luke says they were the Crazy Sheepherders but now they are the fun loving Bushwhackers. Butch thanks everyone. Luke mentions the Royal Rumble when he marched to the ring and the then Earthquake throws him out and he marches to the back. Butch was in the ring for 25 minutes and he was pissed off at Luke for only being in there for a few seconds. Butch mentions that Luke earned the same that he did that night.
Luke says they worked all over the world, but it wasn’t until the WWE that they went from wrestlers to celebrities. WWE made them stars around the world. Butch says there are a lot of Hall of Famers who have been in the ring with the Bushwhackers. Butch wants Roddy Piper to stand up. Roddy marches his way to the stage but then he marches back to his seat. Luke mentions Ted DiBiase and he marches to the stage. Luke mentions Stu Hart, but he wants Bret Hart to come to the stage and he marches to the stage and back. Butch mentions SummerSlam in Wembley Stadium and their partner was Jim Duggan. Jim gives a Hooooooooooooooooooooooooo for everyone. Butch says there were plenty of Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas and plenty of hoooooooooooooooooooooooooos.
Butch thanks his wife and he asks her to stand up. Luke blesses her for living with Butch. Butch thanks his daughters who are watching this in New Zealand and for letting him live his dream while not being there all the time for them. Butch says that he wants to thank his cousin Luke. Luke teases licking Butch and he says he doesn’t want to get sick. Butch says Luke was the best partner you could have for 34 years. The only thing that pissed him off in 34 years was the Royal Rumble. Luke thanks the WWE Universe for giving them the opportunity to be on this stage tonight and be in the Hall of Fame. Even though they have been marching around the world together for 34 years, they will never run out of slime. Butch licks Luke’s head.
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