He used a number of ring names over his career, including Bob Stanlee, Rip Miller, The Golden Terror, Giant Evans, and Mighty Joe Thunder.
Merrill made his professional wrestling debut in 1957 as Rip Carlson after training with Stu Hart in Calgary.
He stayed for nearly two years wrestling as the masked Golden Terror challenging then champion Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF World Heavyweight title.
Then he headed north to Roy Shire's San Francisco NWA territory as Rip Miller.
In 1982, after 14 years away from the business, Merrill returned to the WWF as Mighty Joe Thunder, managed by Captain Lou Albano.