NZ Bushwhackers inducted into WWE Hall of Fame

The Bushwhackers: Ambassadors for New Zealand in the pro-wrestling ring. Photo / Supplied

Kiwi wrestling stars The Bushwhackers, famed for their marching, gurning, grimacing and arm-waving, will be honoured with a spot in world wrestling's premier Hall of Fame.

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) announced today Kiwi legends Luke Williams and Butch Miller, now in their 60s, will join the Hall of Fame's class of 2015.

The tag team were renowned for their "battering ram" and "double gutbuster" finishing moves.

"Though Butch briefly left America in the early 1980s, he soon returned to join forces with Luke once again.

"Then known as The Sheepherders, the New Zealanders quickly earned a reputation as one of the most vicious tag teams in all of professional wrestling, leaving crimson-covered opponents in their wake from the Pacific Northwest to Puerto Rico and everywhere in between," WWE said today.

"Their brawls with teams like The Fabulous Ones and The Fantastics are still remembered as some of the most brutal ever.

"The Bushwhackers marched their way into the hearts of the WWE Universe during the 1980s and '90s.

"Cousins Luke and Butch will knock down the doors of the WWE Hall of Fame with their patented Battering Ram, as the Kiwis join the Hall's Class of 2015."

Williams told Fairfax Media he was proud of their achievement.

"All I can say is, 'About bloody time.' I'm proud to be a Kiwi going into the Hall of Fame. We're the first people from Australia or New Zealand to go in. I'm like an ambassador for the country."

The Bushwhackers will be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame on March 28.