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Mike Bucci posted the following tribute to the late Metal Maniac, Jeff Miller:
"I know I speak for the entire “Brick Clique” including Donald Bucci, Rik Ratchet, Bobby Britt, Chris Colatrella,Notnek Retrop, etc when I say that Jeff was a great guy and always treated all of us very well. He was one of a kind, during a time when independent Wrestling, especially on the northeast scene, needed characters like Jeff. In the late eighties/early 90s, you saw him everywhere, especially when he was wrestling Jimmy, as he was his driver/handler and took care of him. Here’s a trivia fact. Jeff was the one that taught me how to use acrylic paints, when I first started painting the star on my eye as Super Nova. I remember the day he put me over clean at a Dino Sannas show, which was huge (at least to me) back then!! Rip Brother “Gimmick”. You were one of a kind. I’m sure you’re taking Jimmy‘s finish right now as we speak, smiling while you’re laying there looking up at him crashing down on you. You were the man Jeff."
Mike's brother Donald "Donnie B" Bucci, who worked as a booker, promoter and manager in the New Jersey independent scene in the 1990s for the late Dennis Coralluzzo before promoting his own Phoenix Championship Wrestling sent along the following remembrance of Miller:
"I’ll just add two quick stories about the Metal Maniac, which showed what an incredible character he really was.
The first would be when I was the booker of N.W.A. New Jersey. We had an event somewhere in South Jersey. I can’t remember why, but some of the talent was delayed getting to the show. Jeff was on the show as Doink the Clown (he was actually pretty good at it) and got really angry when I told him that, because we needed to kill some time, he had to go on before intermission. The issue was he wanted to do Polaroid pictures in the ring at intermission and felt like he would make more money if his clown makeup wasn’t destroyed from sweating and wrestling in it before intermission. He came up to me and started yelling, “Nobody wants to get a picture with a sad-looking clown.” I said, “Jeff, that would be the case with or without the makeup.” He got so mad and came towards me, and we almost threw hands. Several people stepped in and separated us, and then we hugged afterwards and it was fine. Just another day in the crazy, wacky world of the N.W.A. and Dennis Coralluzzo.
The second would be my all-time favorite rib in the wrestling business. For those of you who don’t know, Tommy Fierro has the best Metal Maniac impersonation of all time. I don’t even think it’s up for debate. Well, Tommy had gotten Bastion Booger’s phone number, and he called him with a pretty funny premise. Basically, he pretended to be the Metal Maniac and told Booger (whose wife actually answered the phone first and said, “Hello, Booger’s wife”) that they were supposed to be on an event in New Jersey for a promoter named Gino Caruso. Well, as you can imagine, poor Booger knew nothing about it, so Maniac told him to just go with it and tell Gino that they had travel difficulties and he would make it up to him and get him booked on several more events. He went as far as to say, “When Gino gets on the phone with us, just tell him it was a mistake. Just make sure you ‘KayFabe Caruso.’”
I can’t remember who it was, but someone else got on the call then and pretended to be Gino Caruso and started questioning him as to where they were and yelling at Bastion Booger, blaming him, to which Booger started yelling over and over, “He told me to KayFabe Caruso, he told me to KayFabe Caruso!” I’m pretty sure they hung up after that, and I’m not really sure what the fallout was. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed as hard in my life from a phone call when I heard that. Tommy probably knows the details a little better than me, but that’s what I remember.
Jeff was always a larger-than-life character, and I think that’s what’s missing from today’s wrestling business, especially on the Indies. Pretty much lived his life on his terms. He got to travel the world, working all over and with Jimmy Snuka. He was an accomplished musician and overall well-traveled journeyman. I last spoke to him a few years ago when he congratulated me on having a beautiful family after my first trip to Hawaii. We exchanged a few messages back-and-forth, and that was the last I heard from him.
Overall, a pretty good guy and another memorable character from my time in the wrestling business. From all of us associated with Mike Sharpe’s school, we send our condolences to his family, and may his eternal soul rest in peace.
Take care, brother. Daddy Daddy, brother."
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