Jonathan Huber (December 16, 1979 – December 26, 2020) was an American
professional wrestler known as Brodie Lee. Huber performed under the
ring nameLuke Harper in
WWE from 2012 to 2019, and as Mr. Brodie Lee in
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in 2020.
Huber departed WWE in December 2019 and subsequently made his AEW debut in March 2020 as Mr. Brodie Lee, the leader of
The Dark Order, and won the
AEW TNT Championship in August of that year. He was hospitalized in October 2020 for
idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, from which he died on December 26 at the age of 41.
Huber first got into wrestling as a
backyard wrestler, performing under the
ring name Huberboy #2 with the likes of
Colin Delaney and his real-life brother, Referee Rob Ryan (Chris Huber) and
Jimmy Olsen.[15] Huber was eventually formally trained by Kirby Marcos and Rik Matrix in
Rochester, New York, and
Tony Mamaluke in
Schenectady, New York, and made his debut for Roc City Wrestling (RCW) in 2003,
working under a mask as Huberboy #2.[3] Later that year, he unmasked and began working as Brodie Lee for Rochester Pro Wrestling (RPW). He came up with the name Brodie Lee from the movie Mallrats by combining the names of actor
Jason Lee and his character
Brodie Bruce,[16] though his style and appearance have also brought comparisons to
Bruiser Brody, mistakenly thinking his ring name was derived from Bruiser.[17] Throughout his time in RPW, which was later renamed to NWA Upstate and then again to NWA New York, Lee went on to win multiple
championships including the
heavyweight championship on three separate occasions, the
tag team championship once and, after he won the
television championship, he
unified it with the Kayfabe Dojo Championship.[8][18][19]
Chikara (2007–2012)
Huber made his debut for
Philadelphia-based
Chikara on March 24, 2007, at Time Will Prove Everything, using "The Right Stuff" Brodie Lee gimmick and losing to
Equinox.[8][20] Lee originally was not scheduled to wrestle at the event, but was instead visiting backstage with friends. However, when
Reckless Youth no-showed the event, Chikara
bookerMike Quackenbush offered Lee the chance to get in the ring.[16] Lee returned to the company two months later, defeating Equinox in a rematch and starting a streak of not being
pinned nor
submitting that lasted for the rest of the year.[8][21] In August, Lee aligned himself with the Olsen Twins (
Colin and
Jimmy) and adopted the nickname "Big Rig" and a more serious gimmick of a
trucker.[8][22] Lee and the Olsen Twins were scheduled to enter the
2008 King of Trios tournament as Team Dr. Keith, but after Colin signed a contract with
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), the team was left one man short. While Retail Dragon substituted Colin, the team lost in the first round, so Lee turned on him while simultaneously ending his alliance with Jimmy Olsen in the process.[23]
Lee at a Chikara event in November 2008
In April 2008, Lee's storyline where he bullied smaller wrestlers led to
Claudio Castagnoli issuing a challenge to him. Their first match on April 20 ended in Castagnoli being
disqualified for accidentally kicking the referee of the match.[24] The second match on May 24 ended in similar fashion, this time Lee was disqualified for kicking the referee.[25] This led to a
no disqualification match on July 13, which Lee won after interference from Shayne Hawke and Mitch Ryder, both of whom had a grudge with Castagnoli for breaking up
The Kings of Wrestling the previous year.[26] Lee's and Castagnoli's
feud ended on September 7, 2008, in Chikara's first-ever
steel cage match, with Castagnoli coming out victorious.[27]
In late 2008, Lee aligned himself with
Eddie Kingston and Grizzly Redwood to form a
stable called The Roughnecks.[8] On February 21, 2009, The Roughnecks defeated
UltraMantis Black, Crossbones and
Sami Callihan to earn a spot in the
2009 King of Trios tournament.[28] On March 27, The Roughnecks lost their King of Trios opening round match to Team Uppercut (
Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli and
Dave Taylor).[29] When Kingston moved on to feuding with Castagnoli, Lee and Redwood began wrestling matches as a
tag team.[8] With victories over Los Ice Creams (El Hijo del Ice Cream and Ice Cream Jr.), Cheech Hernandez and K.C. Day, and the North Star Express (Darin Corbin and Ryan Cruz), Lee and Redwood earned their right to challenge for the
Campeonatos de Parejas.[30][31][32] On October 17, 2009, Lee and Redwood challenged
The Colony (Fire Ant and Soldier Ant) for the championship, but were defeated in
two straight falls.[33] Lee opted to give Redwood one more chance, but when he dropped the fall on October 19 in a match against
The Osirian Portal (Amasis and
Ophidian), Lee kicked him in the face, effectively ending The Roughnecks.[34] Redwood made his return six months later on April 24, 2010, as a surprise opponent of Lee's, but was easily defeated by him.[35] Afterwards, Redwood stated that he was not done with Lee, but would prepare himself before their next match.[36] On August 29, Lee entered the Countdown Showdown
battle royal and was dominating the match, before being eliminated by Redwood.[37] On October 23, Lee suffered an upset loss in a match against
Dasher Hatfield, who was defeated by Redwood the following day.[38][39] On November 20, Lee and Redwood, having earned each other's respect, re-united and attacked Hatfield after his match with Shayne "Buck" Hawke.[40][41] On January 23, 2011, at the season ten premiere, The Roughnecks defeated The Throwbacks (Hatfield and Sugar Dunkerton) in a tag team match.[42] The Roughnecks and The Throwbacks ended their feud on March 13 in a
lumberjack match, where Hatfield and Dunkerton were victorious.[43] In May 2011, Lee entered the
12 Large: Summit, set to determine the inaugural
Chikara Grand Champion, but was forced to pull out of the tournament following his first match, after suffering a legitimate injury.[44] Lee returned to Chikara on October 30.[45] After signing a developmental contract with WWE, Lee made his farewell appearance for Chikara on March 25, 2012, when he unsuccessfully challenged Eddie Kingston for the Chikara Grand Championship.[45]
Independent circuit (2008–2012)
Brodie Lee in October 2011
Lee made his debut for
Ring of Honor (ROH) on October 25, 2008, aligning himself with
The Age of the Fall and helping the group's leader
Jimmy Jacobs to defeat
Austin Aries in an
Anything Goes match.[46] Lee then teamed with fellow Age of the Fall member
Delirious and defeated Cheech and Cloudy in a tag team match, before ending the night by attacking
Necro Butcher, with whom the stable was feuding, after his match with
Go Shiozaki.[46] On November 7, Lee's match with Necro Butcher ended in a disqualification, when the rest of The Age of the Fall attacked his opponent.[47] Lee and Necro Butcher had a rematch under Anything Goes rules on February 27, 2009, which Necro won.[48] In March, Delirious turned on The Age of the Fall and on May 30 he defeated Lee in his final ROH match.[49]
Lee debuted for
Evolve on January 16, 2010, at the promotion's first ever show, teaming with
Gran Akuma and
Icarus in a six-man tag team match, where they were defeated by Team Frightning (Mike Quackenbush,
Hallowicked and
Frightmare).[50] After losing a singles match to Gran Akuma on March 13, Lee picked up his first victory in the company by defeating Gran Akuma, Hallowicked and Chris Dickinson in a four-way match on May 1.[51][52] At the fourth show on July 23, Lee wrestled
Jon Moxley to a
no contest.[53] As Moxley was protesting the stoppage, Lee kicked a chair into his face, which led to Evolve suspending him for the show of September 11.[54] Lee returned to Evolve on May 20, 2011, in a match where he was defeated by Sami Callihan via submission.[55]
On May 8, 2010, Lee made his debut for
Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA), defeating Cheech, Cloudy, Kyle O'Reilly, Phil Atlas, Xtremo, Brent B. and Anthony Fiasco in a
darkeight-way fray elimination match, before the tapings of the Uprising
pay-per-view.[56] Later, on the pay-per-view section of the evening, Lee interrupted a match between Rip Impact and Johnny Wave, beat down both of the competitors and stated that next time he would be coming after a Japanese wrestler.[57] At the following event on September 25, Lee defeated
Da Soul Touchaz (Acid Jaz,
Marshe Rockett and Willie Richardson) in a
three-on-one handicap match, before repeating his threat of going after a Japanese competitor. Later in the night, Lee set his sights on
Yamato and chased him away from ringside, when he tried to interfere in a match between his ally Jon Moxley and Jimmy Jacobs.[58] The following day, Lee defeated Jimmy Jacobs,
Kyle O'Reilly, Mike Quackenbush,
Rich Swann and Silas Young in a six-way match.[59] On October 29 at Dragon Gate USA's first live pay-per-view, Bushido: Code of the Warrior, Lee teamed with
sumo legend
Akebono in a tag team match, where they defeated The Osirian Portal. After the match, Lee and Akebono had to be separated from one another by the rest of Dragon Gate USA's locker room. Later in the night,
Cima used his draft pick to name Lee the newest member of his Warriors International stable.[60] At the following day's tapings of Freedom Fight 2010, Lee defeated Akebono in a singles match.[61] On January 28, 2011, at United: NYC, Lee, now representing the heel group Blood Warriors, defeated Jimmy Jacobs in a singles match.[62] The following day at United: Philly, Lee suffered his first loss in Dragon Gate USA, when he was defeated by
Open the Freedom Gate Champion Yamato in a non-title match.[63]
On December 21, 2010, Lee made his debut for Japanese promotion Dragon Gate (DG) in
Tokyo, where he, representing The Warriors stable, defeated
Kzy.[64] The Warriors stable
turned heel on January 14, 2011, when they attacked
Masato Yoshino and World-1, aligning themselves with
Naruki Doi's group, though Lee himself was not present, as he was snowed in and could not make the show.[65][66] The following day, Lee made his return to DG as a member of the new top heel group, in a match where he,
Gamma and
Genki Horiguchi defeated
Yamato,
Kagetora and Diablo.[65] On January 18, the new group was named Blood Warriors.[65]
Jersey All Pro Wrestling (2009–2011)
Lee made his debut for
Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) on March 28, 2009, as a member of The Hillbilly Wrecking Crew, along with Necro Butcher and
Trevor Murdoch.[67] On August 1, Lee and Necro defeated the Garden State Gods (Corvis Fear and Myke Quest) to win the
JAPW Tag Team Championship.[68] On January 23, 2010, at JAPW's 12th Anniversary Show, Lee and Necro lost the title to Da Heavy Hitters (Havok and
Monsta Mack) in a three-way tag team match, which also included The H8 Club (Nate Hatred and
Nick Gage).[69] On March 20, Lee got to challenge for the
JAPW Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated by the defending champion
Dan Maff and, after the match, Nick Gage attacked Maff and joined The Hillbilly Wrecking Crew, replacing Murdoch, who had left the company.[70] On May 22, Lee and Necro faced Maff and the
JAPW New Jersey State ChampionCharlie Haas in a tag team match, where they put their JAPW careers on the line against the titles of their opponents. In the end, Lee managed to
pin Haas, after Maff had turned on him, to become the new JAPW New Jersey State Champion.[71] On October 23, 2010, Lee challenged Dan Maff for the JAPW Heavyweight Championship in a Champion vs. Champion match, but was defeated.[72] On November 20, Lee first successfully defended the New Jersey State Championship against Eddie Kingston and then defeated Dan Maff, Nick Gage and Azrieal in a
Championship Scramble to win the JAPW Heavyweight Championship for the first time, unifying the two titles.[73][74] Lee made his first JAPW Heavyweight Championship defense on December 11, during the Anniversary weekend, defeating
Rhino with help from Nick Gage.[75] On December 30, 2011, JAPW announced that Lee, who had not made an appearance for the promotion in nine months, had been stripped of the JAPW Heavyweight Championship.[76]
When FCW was rebranded as
NXT in August 2012,[80] Harper made his television debut on the November 7 episode of NXT as a follower of
Bray Wyatt, who introduced Harper as the "first son" of
The Wyatt Family.[81] The Wyatt Family later also came to include Wyatt's "second son"
Erick Rowan,[82] with whom Harper formed a tag team. The two defeated
Percy Watson and
Yoshi Tatsu in their first match together on the January 9, 2013, episode of NXT.[83] On the January 23 episode of NXT, Harper and Rowan again defeated Watson and Tatsu in the opening round of the
NXT Tag Team Championshiptournament.[84] Following a win over
Bo Dallas and
Michael McGillicutty in the semi-finals with Wyatt's interference,[85] Harper and Rowan were defeated in the finals of the tournament by
Adrian Neville and
Oliver Grey.[86] Harper defeated Neville on the March 20 episode of NXT.[87] On the May 2 episode of NXT, Harper and Rowan won a triple threat elimination tag match by last pinning Neville.[88] On the May 8 episode of NXT, Harper and Rowan defeated Adrian Neville and Bo Dallas, filling in for the injured Grey, to win the NXT Tag Team Championship.[89][90] After retaining the title against
Corey Graves and
Kassius Ohno on the June 5 episode of NXT,[91] Harper and Rowan lost the NXT Tag Team Championship to Adrian Neville and Corey Graves on the July 17 episode of NXT.[92][93]
Harper (right) with other
The Wyatt Family members in April 2014
From the May 27 episode of Raw, WWE aired
vignettes promoting the upcoming debut of The Wyatt Family.[94] The vignettes showed The Wyatt Family's
backwoods origins.[95][96] On the July 8 episode of Raw, The Wyatt Family made their debut by assaulting
Kane.[97] Harper made his WWE in-ring debut on the July 26 SmackDown, where he and Rowan defeated Tons of Funk (
Brodus Clay and
Tensai).[98] Over the next few months, Harper and Rowan went on a winning streak over many teams,[99][100][101] until
Cody Rhodes and Goldust handed them their first loss on the October 11 episode of SmackDown.[102] In November, The Wyatt Family started a rivalry with
CM Punk and
Daniel Bryan heading into
Survivor Series,[103][104] where Harper and Rowan lost to Punk and Bryan in a tag team match.[105] The following month at
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, The Wyatt Family defeated Bryan in a 3-on-1
handicap match.[106]
In September 2014, The Wyatt Family split and Harper went off into singles competition, winning the
WWE Intercontinental Championship
Beginning on September 29, vignettes were shown of Harper and Rowan being "set free" by Wyatt, marking the dissolution of The Wyatt Family and the transition of its members into singles competition.[115] After a further series of video vignettes aimed at
Dolph Ziggler, Harper made his return to television during the closing moments of the November 10 episode of Raw, throwing an unconscious Ziggler at
Triple H and
Stephanie McMahon's feet and expressing his desire to join their team at
Survivor Series.[116] The following week on Raw, Harper officially joined Team
Authority. Immediately after, Harper was awarded an impromptu match for the
Intercontinental Championship against Dolph Ziggler, which, after interference from
Seth Rollins, Harper won to capture his first main roster title.[117] At Survivor Series, Team Authority lost the match, which Harper was eliminated by Ziggler.[118] As punishment for his affiliation with The Authority, Harper was forced to defend the Intercontinental Championship against
Dean Ambrose on the November 24 episode of Raw and successfully retained the title after getting himself disqualified.[119] Harper lost the title back to Ziggler in a
ladder match at
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, ending his reign at 27 days,[120] and failed to regain the title in a rematch on the December 22 episode of Raw.[121]
On January 25, 2015, Harper entered the
Royal Rumble match at number 4, and was eliminated by Bray Wyatt.[122] Beginning in early March, Harper was involved into a storyline where he was one of many wrestlers stealing
Bad News Barrett's Intercontinental Championship belt from Barrett and each other.[123] This led to a seven-man ladder match for the title on March 29 at
WrestleMania 31, which was won by Daniel Bryan.[124] The match led to a new feud between Harper and Dean Ambrose (who was also a participant in the ladder match at WrestleMania),[125] with Harper losing a
Chicago Street Fight between the pair at
Extreme Rules.[126] On the April 27 episode of Raw, Harper took part in the
2015 King of the Ring tournament, but was eliminated by Neville in the first round.[127]
In early May, Harper revived his alliance with Erick Rowan.[128] After Rowan suffered an injury,[129] Harper reunited with Bray Wyatt on July 19 at
Battleground by helping him defeat
Roman Reigns.[130] This led to a tag team match between Harper and Wyatt against Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose at
SummerSlam, which they lost after Reigns pinned Wyatt.[131] The following night on Raw,
Braun Strowman joined Harper and Wyatt as the new member of The Wyatt Family.[132] At
Night of Champions The Wyatt Family defeated Reigns, Ambrose and
Chris Jericho in a six-man tag team match.[133] On the October 19 episode of Raw, Erick Rowan returned to The Wyatt Family when he filled in for Harper (who was unable to show for personal reasons).[134][135] The Wyatt Family then got involved in a feud with
The Brothers of Destruction (
The Undertaker and
Kane), which built to a tag team match on November 22 at
Survivor Series, where the two defeated Harper and Wyatt.[136] The next night on Raw, Harper teamed with Wyatt again to defeat
The Dudley Boyz, igniting a new feud.[137] Over the next weeks,
Tommy Dreamer and
Rhyno joined The Dudley Boyz in the feud,[138][139] leading to an eight-man tag team
tables match at
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, where Harper, Wyatt, Rowan and Strowman were victorious.[140] On January 24, 2016, Harper competed in the
Royal Rumble with fellow Wyatt Family members and he was eliminated by
Brock Lesnar, but returned to the ring later on with The Wyatt Family members to eliminate Lesnar.[141] Harper and Wyatt were defeated by Lesnar in a 2-on-1 handicap match at the
Roadblock event on March 12.[142] On March 21, Harper suffered a knee injury during an untelevised match on Raw, sidelining him for five to six months.[143] After getting an
MRI, it was revealed that he had dislocated his
patella and tore his
medial patellofemoral ligament.[144] Because of his injury, Harper was not drafted to either
Raw or
SmackDown in the
2016 WWE draft.[145]
Harper returned to the ring on October 5, unsuccessfully teaming with
Kevin Owens against
Sami Zayn and
Seth Rollins at a house show in
Santiago,
Chile.[146] Four days later, Harper returned in the match of the SmackDown brand pay-per-view
No Mercy, helping Bray Wyatt defeat
Randy Orton by distracting Orton.[147] On December 4 at
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Wyatt and Orton, who had recently joined The Wyatt Family, captured the
SmackDown Tag Team Championship, and three days later it was announced that Harper had been sanctioned as champion as well, making him eligible to defend the title under the
Freebird Rule.[148] The Wyatt Family, represented by Harper and Orton, lost the SmackDown Tag Team Championship to
American Alpha (
Chad Gable and
Jason Jordan) in a four-way elimination match on the December 27 episode of SmackDown. After the match, Harper and Orton showed tension over the loss.[149] After Wyatt and Orton unsuccessfully challenged American Alpha for the title on the January 10, 2017, episode of SmackDown Live, Harper and Orton shoved each other, which led to Harper accidentally
superkicking Wyatt.[150] Harper and Orton continued having problems with each other,[151] leading to a match between the two on the January 24 episode of SmackDown, where Orton was victorious. After the match, Wyatt attacked Harper with the Sister Abigail, separating him from the group.[152]
At the
Royal Rumble on January 29, Harper entered the Royal Rumble match at number 25, attacking both Wyatt and Orton and eliminating
Apollo Crews, before being eliminated by
Goldberg.[153] On the January 31 episode of SmackDown, Harper turned
face after helping
WWE Champion John Cena in his confrontation with Orton and Wyatt.[154][155] At
Elimination Chamber on February 12, Harper was defeated by Orton.[156] Shortly after this, Harper unsuccessfully faced
AJ Styles over number one contendership for the WWE Championship, held by Wyatt.[157][158] At the
WrestleMania 33 pre-show on April 2, Harper took part in the
André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, from which he was eliminated by
Titus O'Neil.[159] Following WrestleMania, Harper feuded with the returning Erick Rowan, leading to a match at
Backlash, which Harper won.[160] On the July 4 episode of SmackDown, Harper took part in the Independence Day Battle Royal to determine the number one contender for the
United States Championship. He failed to win as the match was eventually won by AJ Styles.[161] Harper then disappeared from WWE television for several months.[162]
On the October 10 episode of SmackDown, as a heel again, Harper returned to television in a vignette where he was once again aligned with Erick Rowan.[162] The duo were dubbed "
The Bludgeon Brothers", with Harper's ring name shortened to simply "Harper".[163] The team wrestled their return match on the November 21 episode of SmackDown, defeating
The Hype Bros (
Zack Ryder and
Mojo Rawley).[164] At
Clash of Champions on December 17, The Bludgeon Brothers defeated Breezango (
Fandango and
Tyler Breeze) in a
squash match.[165] Going into 2018, The Bludgeon Brothers began to target SmackDown Tag Team Champions
The Usos, as well as their rivals
The New Day.[166][167][168]
On March 11, 2018, The Bludgeon Brothers made an appearance at
Fastlane, interfering during the
SmackDown Tag Team Championship match between The Usos and The New Day.[169] This led to a tag team championship match between the three teams at
WrestleMania 34, which The Bludgeon Brothers won to attain the titles.[170] They would go on to successfully defend the titles against The Usos at the
Greatest Royal Rumble event,[171] against
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson at
Money in the Bank,[172] and against
Team Hell No at
Extreme Rules.[173] The Bludgeon Brothers lost by disqualification in a championship defense against The New Day at
SummerSlam, resulting in them retaining the titles.[174] Two nights later on the August 21 episode of SmackDown, The New Day defeated The Bludgeon Brothers in a no disqualification match to win the championships, ending their reign at 135 days.[175] The following day, it was announced that Rowan had suffered a torn right bicep, sidelining him indefinitely and putting the team on hiatus.[176][177]
Sporadic appearances and departure (2018–2019)
Harper made a surprise appearance at a NXT house show on September 6, where he unsuccessfully challenged
Ricochet for the
NXT North American Championship.[178] Soon after, Harper took time off after undergoing surgery for a wrist injury.[179] On March 9, 2019, Harper returned to in-ring action, defeating
Mojo Rawley at a house show in his hometown of Rochester.[180] He made his televised return at
WrestleMania Axxess, defeating
Dominik Dijakovic, which aired as part of the WWE Worlds Collide special.[181] Following that, he competed in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at the
WrestleMania 35 pre-show, but failed to win as he was eliminated by Braun Strowman.[182] After WrestleMania, Harper wrestled against
EC3 in a dark match before an episode of SmackDown. It was reported that WWE chairman
Vince McMahon did not like the match, so he canceled creative plans for Harper including a feud with
Sami Zayn.[183] After that, on April 16, Harper requested his release from WWE, as he had yet to appear on weekly television.[184] His request was denied by McMahon.[185]Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter later reported that Harper's contract was originally going to expire in November 2019, but WWE added six months to it, due to the time missed due to injury.[186] In mid-July it was reported that Harper had returned to traveling with the roster, as he had been off events since requesting his release.[187]
At the
Clash of Champions pay-per-view event on September 15, with his old ring name Luke Harper, he made his televised return to WWE programming by attacking
Roman Reigns in his match with former partner Erick Rowan.[188] On the following episode of SmackDown Live, Harper ambushed
Daniel Bryan after a confrontation with Rowan, only to be interrupted by Reigns, who Harper and Rowan laid out as well.[189] At
Hell in a Cell, Harper and Rowan were defeated by Reigns and Bryan in a tag team match.[190] As part of the
2019 draft, Erick Rowan was drafted to Raw, disbanding the team.[191] Harper's last televised match in WWE was in a battle royal at the
Crown Jewel event on October 31, which he lost.[192]
On November 26, he filed a trademark for Brodie Lee, his former wrestling ring name.[193] On December 8, it was announced that Harper had been released from his WWE contract.[194]
Huber made his surprise debut for
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on the March 18, 2020, episode of Dynamite, reverting to his Brodie Lee ring name. He was revealed as the "Exalted One", the previously unseen leader of the villainous faction
The Dark Order, and attacked
SoCal Uncensored with the other members of the group.[195] After remaining undefeated for several weeks,[196][197][198] he lost for the first time against
Jon Moxley in a match for the
AEW World Championship at
Double or Nothing.[199] Over the following months, Lee recruited new members into The Dark Order, including
Colt Cabana[200] and
Anna Jay.[201] On the August 22 episode of Dynamite, Lee quickly defeated
Cody to win the
AEW TNT Championship.[202] He successfully defended the TNT Championship against Rhodes and
Orange Cassidy on the September 9 and 23 episodes of Dynamite, respectively.[203] Cody returned after Lee's match against Cassidy,[204] and Lee challenged him to a
dog collar match for the TNT Championship.[205] On the October 7 episode of Dynamite, Cody won the championship and ended Lee's reign at 55 days (46 days as recognized by AEW due to
tape delay).[206] This would mark Lee's final match as he then went on hiatus and was reportedly dealing with an undisclosed injury,[207] but died from
idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in December.[208]
Professional wrestling style and persona
Huber's wrestling style has been described as mix of "blending power moves with deceptive agility" and "pioneering a new wave of athletic giants".[209] He cited
Jake Roberts,
Rick Rude, and
Big Show as his primary influences.[210]
Huber has described his original "The Right Stuff"
gimmick as him "just having fun" and, despite being a
heavyweight, claimed he was a "
cruiserweight".[16] Upon his debut in
WWE as Luke Harper, he became part of
The Wyatt Family, a
cult-like faction with
Bray Wyatt as their leader.[211][212] According to Huber, WWE chairman
Vince McMahon envisioned Harper as a
hillbilly and asked him to speak with a
Southern-like
drawl.[213] The faction split in early 2017, but Harper later reunited with former Wyatt Family teammate
Erick Rowan to form a tag team dubbed
The Bludgeon Brothers. The duo carried wooden mallets to the ring and had a look apparently modeled after
Demolition,[164] a tag team who wrestled for WWE in the 1980s.[213] Desiring a run as a singles competitor, Huber pitched several
gimmick ideas to McMahon, such as a "collector" who took trophies from his defeated opponents and an "intelligent monster" who would eloquently tell his rivals how he was going to hurt them, but his ideas were rejected by McMahon and WWE creative.[213]
After joining
AEW in March 2020, Huber reverted to his pre-WWE name of Brodie Lee and was unveiled as "The Exalted One", the previously anonymous leader of
The Dark Order stable. Adding the prefix "Mr." to his name, he assumed the gimmick of a suit-wearing corporate executive who denied allegations that The Dark Order was a cult, and often harshly punished his disciples for petty transgressions.[196][209] The character drew comparisons to McMahon due to displaying traits similar to ones often attributed to McMahon, such as disliking people
sneezing in his presence,[214] but Huber denied this and instead stated that it was inspired by
mafia films.[215]
Huber married Amanda, a fellow professional wrestler who previously performed under the name Synndy Synn, in 2011.[224] They had two sons named Brodie and Nolan.[225][226] Following Huber's death, Brodie was signed to
AEW and became a member of his father's faction
The Dark Order at the age of eight, with AEW stating that he can immediately start to perform for the company when he comes of age if he so wishes.[227]
On December 26, 2020, Huber died at the
Mayo Clinic in
Jacksonville, Florida, 10 days after his 41st birthday.[230][231][232] His widow, Amanda, said that he had been receiving treatment for a lung issue at the clinic since late October.[233][234] Despite what some fans believed at the time, the issue was unrelated to the
COVID-19 pandemic as Huber had tested negative multiple times.[208][235][236] He had been moved to the
intensive care unit in late October.[237][238] On the AEW Unrestricted podcast in January 2021, Amanda revealed that Huber had died from
idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a rare condition which causes lung tissue to continuously thicken until the lungs can no longer function.[239][240][241]
The original red strap version of the
AEW TNT Championship belt; in honor of Jon Huber, who was the championship's second title holder, this red strap version of the title belt was
retired on December 30, 2020, and given to his son Brodie Huber, who was named honorary "TNT Champion for life"
A multitude of wrestlers and wrestling personalities paid tribute to Huber with previously untold stories on
social media, most of which shared a running theme of him being devoted to his wife and children while going out of his way to guide and support other wrestlers. His former
Wyatt Family teammates also paid tribute:
Bray Wyatt called Huber his "best friend, brother, [and] partner",[242]Erick Rowan said that Huber "meant more to [him] than he will ever know",[243] and
Braun Strowman referred to Huber as "one of the most unselfish men [he has] ever met and an amazing husband and father".[244]Cody Rhodes, against whom Huber wrestled his final match, called the match "an honor and a privilege and an experience so ferociously humbling".[245]Big E, who was particularly close with Huber and his son Brodie and was requested to be present alongside Rhodes with Amanda when informing Brodie of his father's death,[246] spoke of how the professional wrestling industry as a whole came together to mourn the loss of a performer deemed to have made a personal impact on the careers and lives of many of his colleagues, stating, "I feel a real brotherhood. In that I have so many guys that I've worked with, who hit me up, who cried with me, who reached out to me, and that's beautiful. It really made me think, 'Man, we have something special in our industry.'"[247] After many of the stories about Huber had been widely shared,
Randy Orton stated, "You all have heard about how much we all respected [Huber], about how much we all enjoyed his presence. It is a fact."[248]
The December 28, 2020, episode of WWE Raw opened with an "In Memory of Jon Huber ('Luke Harper')" graphic, as did the December 30 episode of WWE NXT and the January 1, 2021, episode of WWE SmackDown. Performers and commentators on Raw paid tribute by using some of Huber's catchphrases, such as commentator
Tom Phillips welcoming the viewers to the show by exclaiming "it's Monday, you know what that means" and
WWE ChampionDrew McIntyre beginning his promo by stating "it's Monday and you know what that means [...] yeah, yeah, yeah".
Xavier Woods, who wore an armband with "Brodie" written on it, performed Huber's signature taunt and finishing move during an eight-man tag team match.[249] Over the next week, the promotion uploaded videos with various WWE wrestlers honoring and speaking of their memories with Huber.[250][251] On January 11,
The New Day (Big E,
Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods) dedicated their Feel the Power podcast to Huber, which also featured
Cesaro,
Tyler Breeze, and Erick Rowan speaking about Huber; a video version of the podcast was put on the
WWE Network.[252] The next day on the WWE Network, the promotion added a new entry into their Best of WWE series entitled "Best of Luke Harper", an anthology showcasing several of Huber's matches in WWE, which also included comments by various wrestlers involved in those matches speaking of their time working with Huber.[253] At the
2021 Royal Rumble, The New Day wore custom ring gear honoring Huber, later auctioning off the gear with all the proceeds going to Foodlink, a nonprofit foodbank based in Huber's hometown Rochester.[254]
At
WrestleMania 37 in April 2021, Bray Wyatt (who had largely been off television since before Huber's death) honored Huber by shouting Huber's "yeah, yeah, yeah" catchphrase during his match.[255] Wyatt later died from a heart attack on August 24, 2023, at the age of 36, leaving Rowan as the only surviving original Wyatt Family member.
The 236th episode of
The Young Bucks'
YouTube series Being The Elite (BTE) was titled "Brodie", featuring a compilation of Lee's BTE appearances.[256] The following episode was titled "Tribute", featuring behind the scenes clips from his Celebration of Life memorial show.[257] Since then, a painting of Huber has been present in The Dark Order's usual meeting room for their segments on BTE. The Dark Order members also continue to often wear Brodie Lee shirts and "RIP Brodie" armbands.[258]
The December 30 episode of AEW Dynamite, which was a
special episode titled "
Brodie Lee Celebration of Life", featured matches and segments with fellow wrestlers honoring and paying tribute to Huber and his family. Every match on the card featured members of Huber's faction,
The Dark Order.[259] The memorial show began with the entire AEW roster onstage and commentator
Jim Ross saying, "It's Wednesday and you know what that means", followed by a
ten-bell salute.[260] In the middle of the show, Huber's former long-time WWE tag team partner Erick Rowan, now under the name Erick Redbeard, made his AEW debut and held up a sign which said, "Goodbye for now, my brother. See you down the road." At the end of the show, Huber's widow and son left his wrestling boots and a purple bandana in the middle of the ring. As Huber was a former TNT Champion, AEW retired the red strap version of the title belt that had been used up to that point in honor of Huber, and presented the belt to Huber's son Brodie, with AEW President and CEO
Tony Khan stating that Lee's son was "TNT Champion for life". Khan also regarded Huber as the greatest TNT Champion.[261] A tribute video with "
Ol' '55" by
Tom Waits closed the show.[262] Khan purchased the rights to the song in
perpetuity, which he did "so the tribute will last forever".[263] AEW has since adopted "it's Wednesday night, (and) you know what that means" as the standard introduction for episodes of AEW Dynamite, as further tribute to Huber. As Huber was a prominent figure for AEW during its time at
Daily's Place in
Jacksonville, Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic and with AEW's return to the venue in January 2024 for the two-part
Homecoming special, AEW again paid tribute to Huber, airing a video package during the event and had three multi-person tag team matches with current and former members of The Dark Order.[264]
During the tribute show,
Pro Wrestling Tees'
Shop AEW store released a T-shirt in memory of Lee with all proceeds benefiting The Huber Family.[265] In less than two hours, it set a new record for most shirts sold within 24 hours, breaking
Sting's previous record.[266] In just under four hours, it became the highest selling T-shirt of 2020, breaking
Orange Cassidy's previous record.[267]
Night 1 of
New Japan Pro-Wrestling's
Wrestle Kingdom 15 started with commentator
Kevin Kelly saying "it's January 4th, you know what that means" and dedicating the broadcast to Lee.[268] In March 2021, wrestling journalist
Dave Meltzer presented the
Shad Gaspard/Jon Huber Memorial Award, named after Huber and fellow wrestler
Shad Gaspard, who died in May 2020 while saving his young son from drowning, which is dedicated to people involved in professional wrestling who make positive contributions to society.[269]
In August 2021,
CM Punk revealed that Huber's death and how well his illness was kept secret amongst the AEW locker room out of respect inspired him to end his seven-year hiatus from wrestling, which began when he became disillusioned with WWE.[270] Bryan Danielson also spoke about how the Brodie Lee Tribute Show inspired him to sign for AEW.[271]
In September 2021, one week after winning the WWE Championship, Big E celebrated with The New Day and thanked the fans for their support and from "one incredible friend above" as the fans began to chant Huber's ring name.[272]
^Kreikenbohm, Philip (November 17, 2014).
"WWE Intercontinental Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
^Kreikenbohm, Philip (December 4, 2016).
"WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved December 27, 2020.