Luke Williams

At 77 years old, Luke Williams has this physical status:

Brian Wickens (born 8 January 1947) is a semi-retired New Zealand professional wrestler best known as Luke Williams, one half of the national Wrestling Alliance and as "The Sheepherders" on the independent scene and in the National Wrestling Alliance, as well as as the Bushwhackers in the WWF.

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Professional wrestling career

Luke Williams began wrestling with NWA New Zealand (later known as All-Star Pro Wrestling) with his buddy and long-time tag team partner Butch Miller in 1962, where he enjoyed a great deal of regional success. The pair was booked in North America in "Grand Prix" (Quebec, Ontario, and Vermont), a huge success for Australian television and "NWA Hawaii") after serving Australasia and the Eastern Circuit (Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan). Luke and Butch were branded as "the Kiwis" in Canada by Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling (Butch was also known as "Nick Carter" and Luke was called "Sweet William"). The Kiwis won the Stampede International Tag Team Championship in 1974, defeating Bob Pringle and Bill Cody for the first time. The Kiwis lost their titles to Tokyo Joe and the Great Saki, only to recover them a short time later. When Stan Kowalski and Dutch Savage defeated them and kept the titles away from them in subsequent rematches, the Kiwis lost the titles for good.

The Kiwis took over in Japan for the International Wrestling Enterprise (IWE), following Stampede Wrestling. In 1975, the band would disbanded. As Williams continued working for IWE until 1976 and was inactive until 1979, Miller briefly dropped out of the sport. The Kiwis returned to work in the NWA Pacific Northwest, as well as the Canadian-based International All-Star Wrestling around 1979-1980 as "the Kiwi Sheepherders." The team won the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship on three occasions between July and August 1980, before they left the territory. The Sheepherders lost the gold to Dutch Savage and Stan Stasiak on September 22nd, only to recover them a week later. The Sheepherders became double champions after defeating Dutch Savage and Stan Stasiak in the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championships on February 11, 1980. 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 area by August, winning the NWA Pacific Northwest tag titles since the Sheepherders left the country.

Jim Crockett's next stop for the Sheepherders was a brief stay in the Midatlantic Championship Wrestling territory. The two girls captured the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship by defeating Matt Borne and Buzz Sawyer for the gold in MACW. For almost three months, the Sheepherders held the gold before handing it over to Dewey Robertson and Rocky Johnson on December 12th. Luke and Butch, who had been battling the bad weather, moved to Puerto Rico and started as Los Pastores for the World Wrestling Council, but they soon learned about the World Wrestling Council. While visiting Puerto Rico, the team won the WWC North American Tag Team Championship twice while touring the island.

Butch decided he wanted to return home and went to Australia to wrestle after the team left WWC. Luke stayed in the United States determined to keep the "Sheepherders" name on everyone's lips by teaming up with Jonathan Boyd (formerly of the Royal Kangaroos). Williams and Boyd quickly established themselves as one of the most competitive, hard hitting teams in the industry. Robert Fuller, one of the first people to feel the wrath of the "new and improved" Sheepherders in South Eastern Championship Wrestling, was one of the first people to feel the wrath of the "new and improved" Sheepherders. The Sheepherders captured the NWA Southeast Tag Team Championship in 1981, 1981, when Robert Fuller and Jos LeDuc split. Boyd and Williams became embroiled in a bitter rivalry with Robert Fuller and his uncle Jimmy Golden (later known as Bunkhouse Buck) after winning the title. When the duo kayfabe assaulted and injured Jimmy Golden, one act that made them the Sheepherders the most hated guys in SECW for a while was when they assaulted and injured Jimmy's father Billy Golden. The Sheepherders were eventually defeated by Fuller and Golden after almost ten months as champions; this brought the feud to a close end for the face duo, as the Sheepherders were "run out" of the country.

Boyd and Williams were even farther north when they began to work in the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association, which was owned and operated by Jerry Jartt and Jerry Lawler. The Sheepherders would launch a feud that would have been both ancient, bloody, and brutal as the team began a long-running feud with the Fabulous Ones (Stan Lane and Steve Keirn). The "pretty boy," well-crafted Fabulous Ones, and the savage, brawling Sheepherders were the eloquent enemies, and they drew huge gates throughout the country. The matches started out fairly evenly, but the matches soon became tense and there was rarely a definite winner. The Sheepherders won the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship from Lane and Keirn in late 1982, but the intensity of the matches has only risen a smidgeon. The two teams traded the belts back and forth four times between late December and mid-February, with the Fabulous Ones gaining possession of them at the end. The Sheepherders played their last match in the Mid-South Coliseum on March 28th before abandoning the CWA.

Boyd and Williams resurfaced in Southwest Championship Wrestling just weeks later, continuing their brutal and destructive ways. The reigning Southwest Tag Team Champions "The Grapplers" was their first target (Len Denton and Tony Anthony). The Sheepherders captured gold from the duo in May through nefarious methods; before the game, Williams and Boyd had bribed the Grapplers' boss Don Carson and promised to become a tag team champion, Carson took the Sheepherders' mid match to ensure the Sheepherders' triumph. Jonathan Boyd was seriously injured in a car crash in June that forced the SWCW to call Bobby Jaggers as a replacement, and the Sheepherders' run with the gold was short lived. Williams and Jagger were disqualified from a non-title match to Bob Sweetan and Sweet Brown Sugar, but Williams and Jagger refused to play Jaggers and the titles were vacated. Williams was reunited with his old tag-team partner, Butch straight from Australia, as Boyd was out with the broken leg.

Luke and Butch remained with the SWCW through the remainder of 1983 and 1984. The two teams went head to head with the Fabulous Ones again this week; this time, the SWCW World Tag Team Championships were up for auction. The Fabulous Ones are said to have won the titles in Australia, which is commonly believed to be a fictitious tournament created by the SWCW. On March 4, the Sheepherders defeated the Fabs and retained the titles until the SWCW stopped the tag team championships in September 1984. The Sheepherders' next major stop was Puerto Rico and the WWC, this time as "The Sheepherders" rather than "Los Pastores." The team defeated Invader I and Invader III of the WWC North American Tag Team Championship in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, on January 6, 1985. Butch and Luke lost and recovered the titles from Invaders I & III in March and then retained them until August, when the Invaders captured the tag team championship for good.

They quickly established their fame by defeating Ted DiBiase and Steve Williams for the UWF Tag Team Championship on March 16, 1986. Luke and Butch returned to main land USA and joined Bill Watts' UWF. The Sheepherders played for Bill Watts on and off for the next two years, taking time out to compete in the first ever Jim Crockett Memorial Tag Team Cup, where they made it to the third round. The Sheepherders clashed with the Fantastics in an out of control brawl that culminated in a double DQ in the third round. The winners of this match will advance to the next round of the Road Warriors, the eventual tournament champions. The Sheepherders clashed with the Fantastics once more at the UWF for their big "Mid South Superdome Exhibition." In a "New Zealand Boot camp" match to the UWF Tag champions this season, Luke and Butch lost.

After being unable to defeat the Fantastics on several occasions, the Sheepherders returned to Puerto Rico for a six-week match with the WWC World Tag Team Championship on August 3. When WWC's short stint as champions came to an end, Luke and Butch found new challenges and travelled to Florida to compete for Championship Wrestling from Florida. The Sheepherders of Florida discovered their ancient arch enemies, the Fabulous Ones, who immediately reignited their violent feud. Luke and Butch were the beginning of the Fabulous Ones' first stint with the NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship, but they kept the titles away from the Fabs until Lane and Keirn finally got the better of them on November 30.

The Sheepherders returned to the CWA in 1987. The New Zealanders defeated the up-and-coming Bad Company (Pat Tanaka and Paul Diamond) for the CWA/AWA International Tag Team Championship on January ten. They were unfortunately unable to return them to Badd Company as quickly as they had won them. The Sheepherders became involved in a feud with the Fabulous Ones that may never end after their brief association with Badd Company. The Fabs dominated the matches and "ran off" the Sheepherders in what turned out to be the Fabs' last series of matches.

The Sheepherders returned to Puerto Rico and the WWC after leaving Memphis. In Puerto Rico, the Sheepherders began a blood feud with Chris and Mark Youngblood that attracted huge audiences. Luke and Butch gained the WWC World Tag Team crowns on 4 April and then fought them tooth and nail until the Youngbloods regained the gold in a cage match on May 10th. The Sheepherders returned to Florida and immediately became challengers for Mike Graham and Steve Keirn's NWA Florida Tag Team Championship after their spring experience with WWC. Luke and Butch's collection was completed on June 26 by brawling and bribery. On August 29, Keirn and Graham's Florida titles came to an end.

After losing the Florida titles, Luke and Butch returned to the UWF and began a second match with the UWF World Tag Team Championship, defeating Brad Armstrong and Tim Horner on October 16th. Before Jim Crockett bought the UWF and merged into Jim Crockett Promotions to create the forerunner of WCW, the Sheepherders retained the UWF tag team titles. Luke and Butch joined JCP in the third Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial, Tag Team Tournament Cup, losing to The Midnight Express in the second round (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane). The Sheepherders took on the NWA United States Tag Team Champions the Fantastics at Clash of the Champions II, but they did not win the gold, but did not win the gold. Despite Rip Morgan's interference, the Sheepherders lost to Steve Williams and Nikita Koloff at Clash of the Champions III. Just as it looked that the Sheepherders were going to face the Fantastics in the finals of a tournament to crown new United States tag team champions, Luke and Butch joined Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation.

Luke and Butch joined the WWF as a result of the organisation's rapid national and international exposure, something they had never seen before. The team changed their name to The Bushwhackers and updated their violent look to a comedic style, which was a big hit among the fans. The comedy act involved licking, arm movements, and other things. On December 26, 1988, the Bushwhackers made their debut on a matinee house display against the Bolsheviks.

The Bushwhackers began a feud with The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers in February, the first feud to really feature the Bushwhackers on WWF television. In their WWF Pay Per View debut as a team, the two teams competed in WrestleMania V, which saw the Bushwhackers victorious. The WrestleMania match ended with the Bushwhackers/Rougeau feud on Saturday Night's Main Event XXIII (taped 21 September), and the Bushwhackers were victorious; again, the Bushwhackers were triumphant. The Bushwhackers and the Rougeaus clashed twice more, first at the 1989 Survivor Series and then again at the 1990 Royal Rumble; the Bushwhackers were the best of the Rougeau brothers both times.

The Bushwhackers were included in a long line of comedic vignettes, often exposing "Mean" Gene to their wild and wacky ways (and sardine eating antics). These vignettes were often included in Coliseum Home Video releases, where they served as the "link" between matches.

The Bushwhackers were established as a solid mid-card comedy act battling with the newly formed heel team Rhythm and Blues (The Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine). The Bushwhackers' WrestleMania VI performance came at the expense of Rhythm and Blues as they appeared on a segment, attacked Honky Tonk Man and Valentine, and then screamed R & B's guitars to the delight of the audience. Luke and Butch formed "The Alliance" alongside Nikolai Volkoff and Tito Santana in 1990 to face Sgt. Boris Zhukov, the murderer, and the Orient Express staff dubbed "The Mercenaries." The Bushwhackers stifled the Orient Express, but the Bushwhackers were not able to recover themselves.

Luke set a new low on the 1991 Royal Rumble, crashing in a mere four seconds. He scaled into the ring, walked in a straight direction, and was thrown over the top rope by Earthquake, using the iconic arm-swing entrance. The Bushwhackers teamed with Tugboat against Earthquake and the Nasty Boys in a televised 6-man tag-team match; after a few minutes of action and joined Earthquake in laying the two New Zealanders out cold, Tugboat lost their partners. "The Natural Disasters" emerged after the heel turn Tugboat changed his name to Typhoon, and the two became a team. At the 1991 SummerSlam PPV, the Bushwhackers longed to be a member of the major team but were quickly defeated. The Disasters targeted André the Giant, who was on crutches due to an injury after destroying the Bushwhackers. The Legion of Doom, the Natural Disasters' leader, stopped the attack.

The Bushwhackers encountered a team that was complete opposite of what they were before the Natural Disasters began feuding with the Legion of Doom. Luke and Butch, the fun loving, "working class" guys, got into 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 of a 4 on 4 elimination match. The Beverly Brothers had the upper hand and eliminated Luke and Butch on the night, defeating both Luke and Butch. The Beverly Brothers' manager, The Genius, continued to interfere in the matches, so the Bushwhackers brought in the nerdy Jamison, their own manager. Unfortunately, Jamison's arrival was not enough to discourage the Beverly Brothers from winning at Royal Rumble 1992. The Bushwhackers appeared in comedy matches against the Beverly Brothers and "Little" Louie in 1993 and 1994, when they were used to "put over" the newly signed team the Headshrinkers (Fatu and Samu) and made just a few appearances against midget "Tiger" Jackson (later Dink "The Clown" Jackson (later).

Luke and Butch helped Doink the Clown fight with Bam Bam Bigelow in November. Luke and Butch, as well as Mo and Mabel, all appeared at Survivor Series 1993 wearing Doink the Clown's famous green wig and facepaint. In a game that resembled more for laughs than serious wrestling, the Bushwhackers and Men on a Mission defeated Bigelow, Bastion Booger, and the Headshrinkers. Steven Dunn and Timothy Well Dunn were also signed to a Well Dunn team shortly after. The Bushwhackers were used almost exclusively to beat teams like the Blu Twins in 1995. They also worked with the United States Wrestling Association in Memphis, Tennessee.

The Bushwhackers' return to the bodywhackers in March 1996 was disqualified in the first round of a tournament for the tag championships by eventual winners The Bodydonnas (Skip and Zip). When the Bushwhackers returned to the ring in 1996, it was a marginally updated version that ignored the fact that both members were from New Zealand as they displayed traditional Australian Stereotypes, including being led by a massive kangaroo mascot. The Bushwhackers made their last appearance when under WWF sponsorship on September 14th.

The team made some memorable appearances in the independent circuit after leaving the WWF. This was a return to WWC for the 24th Anniversary show, where they were billed as the Sheepherders and faced old rivals Invaders I & II. They also attended "50 years of Funk" in Amarillo, where they lost to old rivals Mark and Chris Youngblood.

In April 1998, they appeared in Extreme Championship Wrestling for the second time. Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman were pushed to a no contest by them. Chris Chetti and Jerry Lynn fought Chris Chetti and Jerry Lynn, then wrestlers.

Luke and Butch performed in a "wrestling nostalgia" PPV called Heroes of Wrestling as the Men from Down Under in 1999. They defeated former WWF Tag Team Champions The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff, who had to be crowned. On April 1, 2001, Luke and Butch made one of their last appearances as active wrestlers during the "Gimmick Battle Royal" at WrestleMania X-Seven. The team returned to Memphis for one last time on June 15th, defeating the Moondogs to a double disqualification on a special "Mid-South Clash of the Legends" display. Butch retired in 2001 after suffering a neck injury.

Luke began working behind the scenes in IWA Puerto Rico in 2002, when he retired from active competition.

Since being in the final two shows in 2007, Luke has performed with Ring of Honor, including the Final Battle. Luke Williams appeared on Ring of Honor podcasts where he talked with ROH wrestlers.

Wickens appeared on a wrestling show as Bushwhacker Luke in December 2007. Eric Young, a wrestler, hosted a party on Impact's Christmas-themed episode, and his family was dubbed the Bushwhackers.

After six years out of the ring, Luke made his in ring return in Adrian Michigan on January 9, 2008. In the first round of a tag team championship tournament for Championship International Wrestling, he teamed with Big Chuck Wagon and lost to the BNU.

Luke was in Detroit, Michigan, on July 26, 2008, during the first ever Honor Rumble, where the winner received a future ROH World Championship shot. Necro Butcher had him killed.

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

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