RIP Jon Huber aka Brodie Lee, Luke Harper

[JL Styles]

As a husband and father, it always guts me to read about things like this that leads to young kids having to grow up without their dad. When you add to this how highly regarded he was, how his peers truly respected and loved him as a husband, father, and performer, it makes it even more sad.

[shenmue]

Always enjoyed his look and moveset, His I.C title reign was too short, will rewatch his ladder match with ziggler soon, remember it bring pretty good.

It looked like he might have been put into a world title fued with Orton and Wyatt but after a match with Orton his involvement in it stopped.

He got to show a different side if him in aew and i enjoyed it, gone far too soon, hope his family and friends can stay strong and remember and cherish the good times with him.

[drifter]

Decided to post the responses from both Seth Rollins and Randy Orton

Seth Rollins:
"I was hoping at some point that the perfect words would come to me, but the truth is I still can’t even come to terms with reality on this one. My heart is so broken. I loved Brodie. He was truly all the great things everyone has already said he is and if you ever met him you’d have known it in an instant.

He was a loving husband. A devoted father. He was a kind soul. A loyal friend. He was a grinder too, man. Passionate and thoughtful. Smart and funny. Dude had an infectious laugh and was such a crapstirrer. He was a person I looked forward to...and it god damn kills me to know I’ll never be able to do that again...

Back in FCW, I vouched HARD for Brodie to get hired at WWE based on knowing and working with him briefly in ROH. We spent a little time in Tampa together, but The Shield debut took me on the road pretty soon after he moved down. Luckily, the Wyatt Family followed us out of developmental shortly thereafter and let me tell you he was a real treat to have on the road. That’s where we really got to know each other.

I’ll always love him for prodding Bray and Braun to see how far they’d take their ridiculous oneupsmanship. He was often a monitor sellout because we’d all be waiting to see how many of Dana’s poses he’d sneak in during his match. He even came to me to try CrossFit when he wanted to lean up. I think he hated burpees more than I do. Funnily enough, he and I almost came to blows backstage during the Shield/Wyatt series. We were both so fired up trying to do right by our respective squads that we tended to get a little snippy towards each other. It was the best. He was the best.

And I’m smiling so big as I’m remembering all this good stuff, fighting back tears. I thought writing this would just be all crying and sadness, but it’s impossible to remember Brodie without laughing. He was just a light of good energy.

I looked up to Brodie. Not just because he was a physical mountain of a man, but because of how he was as a father and husband. And as I venture into those realms myself now, I really hope I can carry a bit of him with me. I hope I can be to my family even a little of what he was to his.

Love you, big man. Miss you already."


Randy Orton:

"I knew Luke from work. I always called him Luke. Some of us call each other by our ring names, some real names. It gets confusing, but I always called him Luke. I’ve been in a wwe lockeroom more than half of my existence, and there is an unwritten code. Respect is at the top. You all have heard about how much we all respected Luke, about how much we all enjoyed his presence. It is a fact. I’m telling ya, on the back of a bus, traveling and away from family for weeks in a row, he was one of the ones I’d make sure to secure a seat on that bus next to. I’m not perfect, never thought I was. Neither was he. But talking to him, and conversing about our families, as most husbands/fathers do on these trips at some point, I learned that he was near perfect when it came to how he loved his sons and his wife Amanda. His wife was close to my wife, and she considers Amanda one of her dear friends when it comes to the word ‘friend’ in this biz. You see, many times there are acquaintances, or co workers, or fellow talent, but with Kim and Amanda, I felt as if they had that female intuition thing going on and were meant to be friends. Amanda’s attitude about the business her husband was in was a very positive one. It had given them everything, as it has me and my family. But often, as in most professions there are times when you get down on your current status. Luke and I often talked about the biz, and how it affected our lives, our families, and us as men. I remember him saying that he wanted to do more, and knew that he was capable of doing more. He was. Seeing him have the balls to take that leap of faith and seeing him make the decision was an inspiration to me. I was always very proud of him and out of my peripheral vision I watched him as a fellow 20 year vet and saw many things that impressed me. Not just his work inside the ring, but how he treated others in the back. I’m telling you guys reading this, that this mans character IS unmatched. I have many stories involving Luke and I, and I will always cherish them. Know that he was a great human being. I will be in that same lockeroom tomorrow and look forward to sharing stories about my friend, Luke. #RIPLukeHarper."

[Jim Cornette’s Wendy’s Order🍔]

Dec 28, 2020 16:04:59 GMT -5 drifter said:

Decided to post the responses from both Seth Rollins and Randy Orton

Seth Rollins:
"I was hoping at some point that the perfect words would come to me, but the truth is I still can’t even come to terms with reality on this one. My heart is so broken. I loved Brodie. He was truly all the great things everyone has already said he is and if you ever met him you’d have known it in an instant.

He was a loving husband. A devoted father. He was a kind soul. A loyal friend. He was a grinder too, man. Passionate and thoughtful. Smart and funny. Dude had an infectious laugh and was such a crap stirrer. He was a person I looked forward to...and it god damn kills me to know I’ll never be able to do that again...

Back in FCW, I vouched HARD for Brodie to get hired at WWE based on knowing and working with him briefly in ROH. We spent a little time in Tampa together, but The Shield debut took me on the road pretty soon after he moved down. Luckily, the Wyatt Family followed us out of developmental shortly thereafter and let me tell you he was a real treat to have on the road. That’s where we really got to know each other.

I’ll always love him for prodding Bray and Braun to see how far they’d take their ridiculous oneupsmanship. He was often a monitor sellout because we’d all be waiting to see how many of Dana’s poses he’d sneak in during his match. He even came to me to try CrossFit when he wanted to lean up. I think he hated burpees more than I do. Funnily enough, he and I almost came to blows backstage during the Shield/Wyatt series. We were both so fired up trying to do right by our respective squads that we tended to get a little snippy towards each other. It was the best. He was the best.

And I’m smiling so big as I’m remembering all this good stuff, fighting back tears. I thought writing this would just be all crying and sadness, but it’s impossible to remember Brodie without laughing. He was just a light of good energy.

I looked up to Brodie. Not just because he was a physical mountain of a man, but because of how he was as a father and husband. And as I venture into those realms myself now, I really hope I can carry a bit of him with me. I hope I can be to my family even a little of what he was to his.

Love you, big man. Miss you already."


Randy Orton:

"I knew Luke from work. I always called him Luke. Some of us call each other by our ring names, some real names. It gets confusing, but I always called him Luke. I’ve been in a wwe lockeroom more than half of my existence, and there is an unwritten code. Respect is at the top. You all have heard about how much we all respected Luke, about how much we all enjoyed his presence. It is a fact. I’m telling ya, on the back of a bus, traveling and away from family for weeks in a row, he was one of the ones I’d make sure to secure a seat on that bus next to. I’m not perfect, never thought I was. Neither was he. But talking to him, and conversing about our families, as most husbands/fathers do on these trips at some point, I learned that he was near perfect when it came to how he loved his sons and his wife Amanda. His wife was close to my wife, and she considers Amanda one of her dear friends when it comes to the word ‘friend’ in this biz. You see, many times there are acquaintances, or co workers, or fellow talent, but with Kim and Amanda, I felt as if they had that female intuition thing going on and were meant to be friends. Amanda’s attitude about the business her husband was in was a very positive one. It had given them everything, as it has me and my family. But often, as in most professions there are times when you get down on your current status. Luke and I often talked about the biz, and how it affected our lives, our families, and us as men. I remember him saying that he wanted to do more, and knew that he was capable of doing more. He was. Seeing him have the balls to take that leap of faith and seeing him make the decision was an inspiration to me. I was always very proud of him and out of my peripheral vision I watched him as a fellow 20 year vet and saw many things that impressed me. Not just his work inside the ring, but how he treated others in the back. I’m telling you guys reading this, that this mans character IS unmatched. I have many stories involving Luke and I, and I will always cherish them. Know that he was a great human being. I will be in that same lockeroom tomorrow and look forward to sharing stories about my friend, Luke. #RIPLukeHarper."

Man, this is all just surreal. Both of these post really hit hard.

[drifter]

Looks like Mick Foley is following in CM Punk's footsteps and donating any money made on his Pro Wrestling Tees merch to Brodie's family.

[cordless2016]

Having watched wrestling since 1994, I kinda fell out of it until around 2012/2013, and a huge part of that was due to the Shield and Wyatt Family. Brodie/Harper was a big part of why I found my passion as a fan again and he always entertained me no matter what he was doing. Thank you Brodie and RIP.

[LK3]

Xavier Woods gave a nice tribute to Brodie on Raw Talk. I know there are people online calling out WWE for not doing more than the graphic at the start of the show, but it was at least cool to see it mentioned on a form of WWE programming. I would’ve been satisfied had they let someone, whether Woods or whoever, actually say a few words during Raw. I’m sure it’s a little awkward for WWE with him being a former superstar in the company and being in AEW, but just a little something extra besides the graphic would’ve been nice to see.

[BØRNS]

Dec 29, 2020 5:50:33 GMT -5 LK3 said:

Xavier Woods gave a nice tribute to Brodie on Raw Talk. I know there are people online calling out WWE for not doing more than the graphic at the start of the show, but it was at least cool to see it mentioned on a form of WWE programming. I would’ve been satisfied had they let someone, whether Woods or whoever, actually say a few words during Raw. I’m sure it’s a little awkward for WWE with him being a former superstar in the company and being in AEW, but just a little something extra besides the graphic would’ve been nice to see.

WWE definitely SHOULD have done a 2 minute video package highlighting his WWE career. He's dead and gone and never coming back. He spent 7 YEARS in WWE and less than 1 year in AEW. He wasn't like most of the older ex-wrestlers who haven't wrestled for WWE since the 90's. I was never a fan of Luke Harper, but he deserved more than a generic flash graphic, especially as one of the youngest active-wrestler deaths in the industry. WWE had 4 days to slap together some video clips over a song, it wasn't like it was short notice. They really lost my respect tonight.

[LK3]

Dec 29, 2020 6:10:48 GMT -5 BØRNS said:

Dec 29, 2020 5:50:33 GMT -5 LK3 said:

Xavier Woods gave a nice tribute to Brodie on Raw Talk. I know there are people online calling out WWE for not doing more than the graphic at the start of the show, but it was at least cool to see it mentioned on a form of WWE programming. I would’ve been satisfied had they let someone, whether Woods or whoever, actually say a few words during Raw. I’m sure it’s a little awkward for WWE with him being a former superstar in the company and being in AEW, but just a little something extra besides the graphic would’ve been nice to see.

WWE definitely SHOULD have done a 2 minute video package highlighting his WWE career. He's dead and gone and never coming back. He spent 7 YEARS in WWE and less than 1 year in AEW. He wasn't like most of the older ex-wrestlers who haven't wrestled for WWE since the 90's. I was never a fan of Luke Harper, but he deserved more than a generic flash graphic, especially as one of the youngest active-wrestler deaths in the industry. WWE had 4 days to slap together some video clips over a song, it wasn't like it was short notice. They really lost my respect tonight.

It was 2 days, but still. Personally I don’t need a video package, or even a 10 bell salute. Hearing a wrestler(s) worlds means more to me, but sure if that wasn’t going to be allowed during Raw then slapping together some kind of video package would’ve worked. I’m sure in Vince’s mind he didn’t meet the criteria to be featured like a Pat Patterson for example.

[Jim Cornette’s Wendy’s Order🍔]

Dec 29, 2020 6:29:56 GMT -5 LK3 said:

Dec 29, 2020 6:10:48 GMT -5 BØRNS said:

WWE definitely SHOULD have done a 2 minute video package highlighting his WWE career. He's dead and gone and never coming back. He spent 7 YEARS in WWE and less than 1 year in AEW. He wasn't like most of the older ex-wrestlers who haven't wrestled for WWE since the 90's. I was never a fan of Luke Harper, but he deserved more than a generic flash graphic, especially as one of the youngest active-wrestler deaths in the industry. WWE had 4 days to slap together some video clips over a song, it wasn't like it was short notice. They really lost my respect tonight.

It was 2 days, but still. Personally I don’t need a video package, or even a 10 bell salute. Hearing a wrestler(s) worlds means more to me, but sure if that wasn’t going to be allowed during Raw then slapping together some kind of video package would’ve worked. I’m sure in Vince’s mind he didn’t meet the criteria to be featured like a Pat Patterson for example.

There lies the problem, Vince’s mind.

[BoJack Hogan]

Honestly I’m just glad WWE acknowledged him at all. The graphic was the minimum that they could do, but I’m ok with it. He was with the competition, and to be fair (even though he should’ve been) he wasn’t that much of an impact player during his WWE tenure. The graphic itself may have been more at the behest of all of his friends. As a huge fan of Jonathan Huber in all of his incarnations I’d have absolutely been over the moon for a ten-bell salute and a video package, and he truly deserves one, however I’m not going to give WWE $#!t for not doing it. I’m happy that he at least got the graphic, and a few personal acknowledgements. It would’ve been BS, but they could’ve just not acknowledged him on the air at all and left everything on the web site.

[rob29]

I heard this very sad piece of news over the weekend - RIP Jon. 41 is no age for a human being to die at all.

[Turnbuckle Zealot(Phil)]

He deserved a ten bell salute, damn it. He helped make the Shield bigger stars and elevated several wrestlers over his time in the WWE.

Seriously, Shield vs Wyatt family will live on among the truly historic feuds in WWE specifically and Harper’s chemistry with Ambrose and Rollins played an invaluable part in that.

And to reiterate, the Ten Bell Salute is supposed to be sacred. An honor among honors. One of the greatest demonstrations of respect in the turnbuckle craft. A wrestler’s work and their merit as a person is what warrants the salute.

[Next Manufactured’s Sweater]

Very sad news, such a shame for his family. I think he’s the only wrestler I’ve bought an unofficial t-shirt of (the “yeah yeah yeah” one from the backstage group photo a few years back). Loved him as the Wyatt workhorse and always hoped he’d do more in WWE, then he went to AEW and started to do more and it kinda showed me why he wasn’t cut out for doing more. I heard he got better towards the end of his run though, which is cool, and more importantly he always seemed like a great guy. It’s nice to see so many positive stories from his colleagues.

[Deleted]

Dec 29, 2020 11:34:26 GMT -5 Next Manufactured’s Sweater said:

Very sad news, such a shame for his family. I think he’s the only wrestler I’ve bought an unofficial t-shirt of (the “yeah yeah yeah” one from the backstage group photo a few years back). Loved him as the Wyatt workhorse and always hoped he’d do more in WWE, then he went to AEW and started to do more and it kinda showed me why he wasn’t cut out for doing more. I heard he got better towards the end of his run though, which is cool, and more importantly he always seemed like a great guy. It’s nice to see so many positive stories from his colleagues.

Can't even really say it was a case of Brodie showing you he wasn't cut out for more imo. He walked in as the leader of Dark Order. At the time, that was pretty much like Mustafa Ali taking over Retribution. A last ditch effort to save a failing group that was relatively despised universally. Very much what people call 'go away' heat. Literally took the group from being the catastrophic failure of AEW to being the most over group in the entire company. Being the Elite may as well have been Being the Dark Order when Brodie was on, because they were the absolute stars of the show.  I bolded the workhorse part because that's absolutely why. He was a freaking workhorse. Knew what he had to do with this group, and spent countless hours researching cult leaders, etc to make it work. It's fair to say things improved as his run went on, they definitely did. I just don't think it's even a case of Brodie not being ready for it/capable, but Brodie having to take a s*** sandwich and make it shine, which he did. 


PSA: Just in case anybody misreads what I'm saying, I am not bringing in retribution to start a stupid AEW/WWE war in a memorial thread. I know Next Man's... doesn't like AEW/doesn't watch regularly (and that's cool, it's not gonna be for everybody. Would be a weird thing to get upset about), so offering a comparison to a WWE main roster group going through a similar timeline as Brodie's AEW group is my attempt to offer a meaningful comparison, nothing more. It's not a perfect comparison, but I think it's honestly pretty darn close. 

I've heard a lot of WWE guys were taping tribute clips, probably to go up on youtube, which is super cool. You know a guy had a big impact backstage when everyone is still making those for a guy who didn't even work there anymore. 

[cordless2016]

Dec 29, 2020 11:03:36 GMT -5 Turnbuckle Zealot(Phil) said:

He deserved a ten bell salute, damn it. He helped make the Shield bigger stars and elevated several wrestlers over his time in the WWE.

Seriously, Shield vs Wyatt family will live on among the truly historic feuds in WWE specifically and Harper’s chemistry with Ambrose and Rollins played an invaluable part in that.

And to reiterate, the Ten Bell Salute is supposed to be sacred. An honor among honors. One of the greatest demonstrations of respect in the turnbuckle craft. A wrestler’s work and their merit as a person is what warrants the salute.

The Shield and Wyatts were what got me back into wrestling after about a 5 year break. Harper was a big reason for that. I think it gets thrown around too much that “x star” got wasted/burried, but I think this perfectly sums up his WWE career. His run up to WM33 proves this when he was getting cheered over AJ (something almost nobody does, even against a heel AJ).

I don’t care about video packages as much but I agree the guy deserved a 10 bell solute. He was employed by the WWE within the past year and based on the outpouring of posts from his co-workers, was beloved by many.

[Yambag Jones]

Dec 29, 2020 11:03:36 GMT -5 Turnbuckle Zealot(Phil) said:

He deserved a ten bell salute, damn it. He helped make the Shield bigger stars and elevated several wrestlers over his time in the WWE.

Seriously, Shield vs Wyatt family will live on among the truly historic feuds in WWE specifically and Harper’s chemistry with Ambrose and Rollins played an invaluable part in that.

And to reiterate, the Ten Bell Salute is supposed to be sacred. An honor among honors. One of the greatest demonstrations of respect in the turnbuckle craft. A wrestler’s work and their merit as a person is what warrants the salute.

They have an amazing production team that could have had a video package together by the time they went on air. I'm saving criticism about that until Friday. If they don't do anything there, it'll be bad.

[CM Tusk]

[JC Motors]

Dec 29, 2020 10:28:18 GMT -5 rob29 said:

I heard this very sad piece of news over the weekend - RIP Jon. 41 is no age for a human being to die at all.

Stefan Karl died at 43 from bile duct cancer. The whole internet was in shock and sadness

[Liquid Swordsman]

Dec 28, 2020 21:32:58 GMT -5 cordless2016 said:

Having watched wrestling since 1994, I kinda fell out of it until around 2012/2013, and a huge part of that was due to the Shield and Wyatt Family. Brodie/Harper was a big part of why I found my passion as a fan again and he always entertained me no matter what he was doing. Thank you Brodie and RIP.

Yeah, I think that's a huge part on why losing him is what really hurts me the most. I like the Shield, but it was the unique characters of the Wyatt family that made me love them the most. Brodie played a vital role when Bray was at the brink of his career and I still enjoy him as the Fiend til this day.

Brodie, like other talent before him, came into the company at a time when it wasn't as entertaining like it use to be. Tag team programming included. After DX, Ministry, Brood/E&C, Hardys, Dudleys, good tag teams were so hard to come across and it's almost as if finding a unique stable was obscure or forbidden. Guys like the Shield and Wyatt Family broke that barrier imo. I still remember being blown away watching their match with the Usos at Battleground 2014.