Harper (wrestler)
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Jonathan Huber (December 16, 1979 – December 26, 2020) was an American
professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
. He is best known for his tenure in
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
, where he performed under the
ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...
Luke Harper (later simply Harper) from 2012 to 2019, and in All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performed under the ring name Mr. Brodie Lee in 2020. From 2003 to 2012, Huber worked under the Brodie Lee name on the U.S.
independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...
for promotions such as Chikara,
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...
(ROH), Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA), and Squared Circle Wrestling (2CW), as well as Dragon Gate in Japan. Upon signing with WWE in 2012, he assumed the Luke Harper name and was sent to WWE's
developmental territory In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...
in
Florida Championship Wrestling Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August ...
(FCW) before debuting in
NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * '' WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * '' NXT UK'', the British spi ...
as a member of The Wyatt Family. For most of his WWE career, he was closely associated with Wyatt Family members Bray Wyatt and Erick Rowan. The Wyatt Family won the NXT Tag Team Championship and the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship. The team of Harper and Rowan, also known as The Bludgeon Brothers in one of their later tag team runs, went on to hold the SmackDown Tag Team Championship once more. During a brief run as a singles competitor, Harper became a one-time
WWE Intercontinental Champion The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster ...
. He departed WWE in December 2019 and subsequently made his AEW debut in March 2020 as Mr. Brodie Lee, revealing himself to be the "Exalted One" (the previously anonymous leader of
the Dark Order The Dark Order is a professional wrestling stable, currently performing in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The stable consists of Evil Uno, John Silver, Alex Reynolds, and Brodie Lee Jr. The group debuted on the inaugural Double or Nothing pay-per- ...
) and winning the AEW TNT Championship in August of that year. Huber was hospitalized in October 2020 for
idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), or (formerly) fibrosing alveolitis, is a rare, progressive illness of the respiratory system, characterized by the thickening and stiffening of lung tissue, associated with the formation of scar tissue. It is ...
, from which he died on December 26 at the age of 41.


Early life

Jonathan Huber was born in
Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
, on December 16, 1979. He attended
McQuaid Jesuit High School McQuaid Jesuit High School is an all-male, Catholic, Jesuit, college preparatory school run by the USA Northeast Jesuit province of the Society of Jesus in the metropolitan area of Rochester, New York. The school is named Named after Bernard J. M ...
and played lacrosse for four years. He also played hockey in independent youth leagues.


Professional wrestling career


Early career (2003–2006)

Huber first got into wrestling as a backyard wrestler, performing under the
ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...
Huberboy #2 with the likes of
Colin Delaney Colin Matthew Delaney (born September 7, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with WWE on its ECW brand, All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and has performed extensively on the independent circuit for promotio ...
and his real-life brother, Referee Rob Ryan (Chris Huber) and
Jimmy Olsen Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Olsen is most often portrayed as a young photojournalist working for the ''Daily Planet''. He is close friends with Lois Lane and Clark Kent, and has ...
. Huber was eventually formally trained by Kirby Marcos and Rik Matrix in
Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
, and Tony Mamaluke in
Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...
, and made his debut for Roc City Wrestling (RCW) in 2003, working under a mask as Huberboy #2. 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 ''Mallrats'' is a 1995 American buddy comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith and starring Jason Lee, Jeremy London, Shannen Doherty, Claire Forlani, Ben Affleck, Jason Mewes, Joey Lauren Adams, Michael Rooker, and Smith as Silent Bob. ...
'' by combining the names of actor
Jason Lee Jason Lee may refer to: Entertainment *Jason Lee (actor) (born 1970), American film and TV actor and former professional skateboarder *Jason Scott Lee (born 1966), Asian American film actor * Jaxon Lee (Jason Christopher Lee, born 1968), American v ...
and his character
Brodie Bruce This is a list of major and recurring characters in Kevin Smith's fictional universe known as the View Askewniverse. ''Clerks'' (1994) Dante Hicks Dante Hicks, played by Brian O'Halloran, is 22 (33 in ''Clerks II, 49 in Clerks III''), works at ...
, though his style and appearance have also brought comparisons to Bruiser Brody, mistakenly thinking his ring name was derived from Bruiser. 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 In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
including the heavyweight championship on three separate occasions, the
tag team championship A championship or title in professional wrestling is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in predetermined rivalri ...
once and, after he won the television championship, he unified it with the Kayfabe Dojo Championship.


Chikara (2007–2012)

Huber made his debut for
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
-based Chikara on March 24, 2007, at ''Time Will Prove Everything'', using "The Right Stuff" Brodie Lee gimmick and losing to Equinox. Lee originally was not scheduled to wrestle at the event, but was instead visiting backstage with friends. However, when
Reckless Youth Thomas Carter (born September 18, 1974) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Reckless Youth. He has competed in numerous North American independent promotions including the East Coast Wrestling Association, Comba ...
no-showed the event, Chikara booker Mike Quackenbush offered Lee the chance to get in the ring. Lee returned to the company two months later, defeating Equinox in a rematch and starting a streak of not being pinned nor
submitting Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...
that lasted for the rest of the year. In August, Lee aligned himself with the Olsen Twins (
Colin Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...
and
Jimmy Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...
) and adopted the nickname "Big Rig" and a more serious gimmick of a trucker. 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 World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
(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. In April 2008, Lee's storyline where he bullied smaller wrestlers led to
Claudio Castagnoli Claudio Castagnoli ( ; born 27 December 1980) is a Swiss professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and is a member of the Blackpool Combat Club stable. Castagnoli also performs for AEW's sister promotion, Ring of Ho ...
issuing a challenge to him. Their first match on April 20 ended in Castagnoli being disqualified for accidentally kicking the referee of the match. The second match on May 24 ended in similar fashion, this time Lee was disqualified for kicking the referee. 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 Kings of Wrestling was a professional wrestling stable that worked on the independent circuit. It was formed in Chikara as a large stable, but also appeared in numerous promotions mainly as a tag team of Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli. ...
the previous year. Lee's and Castagnoli's
feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...
ended on September 7, 2008, in Chikara's first-ever steel cage match, with Castagnoli coming out victorious. In late 2008, Lee aligned himself with Eddie Kingston and Grizzly Redwood to form a
stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
called The Roughnecks. On February 21, 2009, The Roughnecks defeated
UltraMantis Black UltraMantis Black (born July 17, 1975) is a professional wrestler and musician, who performs primarily in the Chikara professional wrestling promotion. He is a former one-time Chikara Grand Champion and winner of the 2012 King of Trios tournamen ...
, Crossbones and Sami Callihan to earn a spot in the 2009 King of Trios tournament. On March 27, The Roughnecks lost their King of Trios opening round match to Team Uppercut ( Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli and Dave Taylor). When Kingston moved on to feuding with Castagnoli, Lee and Redwood began wrestling matches as a
tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...
. 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. 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. Lee opted to give Redwood one more chance, but when he dropped the fall on October 19 in a match against
The Osirian Portal The Osirian Portal is a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Amasis and Ophidian. The team mainly competed in Chikara, where they held the Campeonatos de Parejas, and Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). They have also made appearances in Rin ...
(Amasis and Ophidian), Lee kicked him in the face, effectively ending The Roughnecks. Redwood made his return six months later on April 24, 2010, as a surprise opponent of Lee's, but was easily defeated by him. Afterwards, Redwood stated that he was not done with Lee, but would prepare himself before their next match. On August 29, Lee entered the Countdown Showdown battle royal and was dominating the match, before being eliminated by Redwood. On October 23, Lee suffered an upset loss in a match against Dasher Hatfield, who was defeated by Redwood the following day. On November 20, Lee and Redwood, having earned each other's respect, re-united and attacked Hatfield after his match with Shayne "Buck" Hawke. On January 23, 2011, at the season ten premiere, The Roughnecks defeated The Throwbacks (Hatfield and Sugar Dunkerton) in a tag team match. The Roughnecks and The Throwbacks ended their feud on March 13 in a lumberjack match, where Hatfield and Dunkerton were victorious. In May 2011, Lee entered the 12 Large: Summit, set to determine the inaugural
Chikara Grand Champion The Chikara Grand Championship was a professional wrestling championship owned by the Chikara promotion. The first champion was crowned on November 13, 2011, at the High Noon pay-per-view, when Eddie Kingston defeated Mike Quackenbush at the conc ...
, but was forced to pull out of the tournament following his first match, after suffering a legitimate injury. Lee returned to Chikara on October 30. 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.


Squared Circle Wrestling (2007–2012)

Lee made his debut for
Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
-based Squared Circle Wrestling (2CW) on August 20, 2007, teaming with Colin Olsen, as a replacement tag team partner for Jimmy Olsen, in a tag team match, where they were defeated by the Wyld Stallyns. Lee started off as a
heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...
aligned with the rival promotion NWA Upstate. Lee started becoming popular after a July 26, 2008, post–match incident in
Binghamton, New York Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...
, that ended with him punching out a fan in the parking lot. Lee was in storyline suspended from 2CW over the incident. He returned on October 24 to a huge ovation, although he was still a heel, leading NWA Upstate to a victory in an eight-man tag team main event. He officially became a babyface starting April 2009 when the rivalry between 2CW and NWA Upstate had subsided. Lee then started a friendly rivalry with
Slyck Wagner Brown Wagner Brown (born September 5, 1979) is a Jamaican born professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, SWB or Slyck Wagner Brown. Brown currently wrestles on the Independent circuit in the Northeastern United States. Additionally, SWB was ...
that saw both men trade wins in singles matches on June 6 and September 19, 2009. Lee defeated Brown in a
rubber match This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. ...
on February 19, 2010, and then again in a two-out-of-three falls match on April 3, 2010, to end the feud. Lee challenged Jason Axe for the 2CW Heavyweight Championship on June 20, 2010, but lost due to outside interference. Lee defeated Isys Ephex on July 10 in a number one contender match to earn another shot at the title and, on August 22 in
Watertown, New York Watertown is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by the ...
, defeated Jason Axe to win the 2CW Heavyweight Championship for the first time. Lee made a successful first defense of the title against the former champion, Jason Axe, in an "I Quit" match in Binghamton, New York, on September 24, 2010. Lee lost the title to Slyck Wagner Brown on November 19, 2010, in Elmira, New York. Lee regained the title on April 13, 2012, in a four-way match with Jay Freddie, Slyck Wagner Brown and
Kevin Steen Kevin Steen (born May 7, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Kevin Owens. Steen began his career in 2000, at the age of 16. Prior to joining WWE in la ...
, who stole the
championship belt A championship belt is a large, extravagantly designed belt used primarily in combat sports such as boxing, mixed martial arts, and professional wrestling to signify the champions of the promotion or company, much like a cup or trophy in other s ...
after the match. The following night, with the title belt still in Steen's possession, Lee successfully defended the 2CW Heavyweight Championship in another four-way match against Jason Axe, Jay Freddie and Matt Milan and afterwards relinquished it, as he had signed with WWE and would be contractually unable to defend it in the future.


Independent circuit (2008–2012)

Lee made his debut for
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...
(ROH) on October 25, 2008, aligning himself with
The Age of the Fall The Age of the Fall was an American professional wrestling stable, primarily in Ring of Honor and its sister promotion Full Impact Pro, but also in other independent promotions such as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. History Ring of Honor 2007 Fo ...
and helping the group's leader Jimmy Jacobs to defeat Austin Aries in an Anything Goes match. Lee then teamed with fellow Age of the Fall member
Delirious Delirious may refer to: * A state of delirium Film and television * Delirious (1991 film), ''Delirious'' (1991 film), an American comedy directed by Tom Mankiewicz, starring John Candy * Delirious (2006 film), ''Delirious'' (2006 film), an Americ ...
and defeated Cheech and Cloudy in a tag team match, before ending the night by attacking
Necro Butcher Dylan Keith Summers (born July 13, 1973), better known by the ring name Necro Butcher, is an American professional wrestler. Throughout the years he has worked for various promotions, including Ring of Honor, Full Impact Pro, IWA Mid-South, Pro W ...
, with whom the stable was feuding, after his match with Go Shiozaki. 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. Lee and Necro Butcher had a rematch under Anything Goes rules on February 27, 2009, which Necro won. In March, Delirious turned on The Age of the Fall and on May 30 he defeated Lee in his final ROH match. Lee debuted for Evolve on January 16, 2010, at the promotion's first ever show, teaming with
Gran Akuma Gran Akuma (born December 20, 1974) is a retired professional wrestler, best known for his work in Chikara. He has also worked for Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), Dragon Gate USA and Full Impact Pro (FIP). In Chikara, he was a member of The Kings o ...
and
Icarus In Greek mythology, Icarus (; grc, Ἴκαρος, Íkaros, ) was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the architect of the labyrinth of Crete. After Theseus, king of Athens and enemy of Minos, escaped from the labyrinth, King Minos suspe ...
in a six-man tag team match, where they were defeated by Team Frightning (Mike Quackenbush,
Hallowicked Robert Goodwin (born November 1, 1981) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Hallowicked. He performs primarily in the Chikara professional wrestling promotion, where he started his career in May 2002. His accomplis ...
and Frightmare). 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. At the fourth show on July 23, Lee wrestled
Jon Moxley Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro-Wr ...
to a
no contest ' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. In criminal Trial (law), trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the def ...
. 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. Lee returned to Evolve on May 20, 2011, in a match where he was defeated by Sami Callihan via submission. 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 dark eight-way fray elimination match, before the tapings of the Uprising
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
. 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. At the following event on September 25, Lee defeated
Da Soul Touchaz Da Soul Touchaz is a professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, alliance, currently consisting of United States, American professional wrestlers Acid Jaz, Marshe Rockett, Willie Richardson and Manager (professional wre ...
(Acid Jaz,
Marshe Rockett Marshé Rockett (born January 5, 1985) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). He is known for his time with Impact Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2006–pres ...
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 was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan. Japanese his ...
and chased him away from ringside, when he tried to interfere in a match between his ally Jon Moxley and Jimmy Jacobs. The following day, Lee defeated Jimmy Jacobs, Kyle O'Reilly, Mike Quackenbush, Rich Swann and Silas Young in a six-way match. On October 29 at Dragon Gate USA's first live pay-per-view, Bushido: Code of the Warrior, Lee teamed with
sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...
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. At the following day's tapings of Freedom Fight 2010, Lee defeated Akebono in a singles match. On January 28, 2011, at ''United: NYC'', Lee, now representing the heel group Blood Warriors, defeated Jimmy Jacobs in a singles match. 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. On December 21, 2010, Lee made his debut for Japanese promotion Dragon Gate (DG) in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, where he, representing The Warriors stable, defeated
Kzy KZY was a radio station located in Oakland, California, that was licensed to the Atlantic-Pacific Radio Supplies Company from December 9, 1921, until its deletion on January 24, 1923. It, and the Preston D. Allen station, KZM, were the first broa ...
. 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. The following day, Lee made his return to DG as a member of the new top heel group, in a match where he,
Gamma Gamma (uppercase , lowercase ; ''gámma'') is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 3. In Ancient Greek, the letter gamma represented a voiced velar stop . In Modern Greek, this letter re ...
and Genki Horiguchi defeated
Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan. Japanese his ...
, Kagetora and Diablo. On January 18, the new group was named Blood Warriors.


Jersey All Pro Wrestling (2009–2011)

Lee made his debut for
Jersey All Pro Wrestling Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) was an independent wrestling promotion based in New Jersey, United States. History 1997 Jersey All Pro Wrestling was an independent wrestling promotion that was founded by "Fat" Frank Iadeavia and Angel Surita ...
(JAPW) on March 28, 2009, as a member of The Hillbilly Wrecking Crew, along with Necro Butcher and Trevor Murdoch. On August 1, Lee and Necro defeated the Garden State Gods (Corvis Fear and Myke Quest) to win the
JAPW Tag Team Championship The JAPW Tag Team Championship is a championship in the Jersey All Pro Wrestling promotion. It became official title on December 5, 1997 when The Blood Angels (Diablos Macabre and Lucifer Grimm) defeated Don Montoya and Homicide in a tournament fi ...
. On January 23, 2010, at JAPW's 12th Anniversary Show, Lee and Necro lost the title to Da Heavy Hitters (Havok and
Monsta Mack Steven Carrasquillo (born May 3, 1979) is an American professional wrestler better known as Monsta Mack. He is perhaps best known for his stint in Ring of Honor with Dan "Mafia" Maff as the tag team Da Hit Squad. Mack currently performs on the ...
) in a three-way tag team match, which also included The H8 Club (Nate Hatred and Nick Gage). On March 20, Lee got to challenge for the
JAPW Heavyweight Championship The Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship in the American independent professional wrestling promotion Jersey All Pro Wrestling. It became an official title on October 31, 1997 when ...
, 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. On May 22, Lee and Necro faced Maff and the JAPW New Jersey State Champion Charlie 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 A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. Pin or PIN may also refer to: Computers and technology * Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system ** PIN pad, a PIN entry device * PIN, a former Dutch de ...
Haas, after Maff had turned on him, to become the new JAPW New Jersey State Champion. On October 23, 2010, Lee challenged Dan Maff for the JAPW Heavyweight Championship in a Champion vs. Champion match, but was defeated. 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 Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
to win the JAPW Heavyweight Championship for the first time, unifying the two titles. Lee made his first JAPW Heavyweight Championship defense on December 11, during the Anniversary weekend, defeating
Rhino A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
with help from Nick Gage. 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.


WWE (2012–2019)


The Wyatt Family (2012–2014)

On March 12, 2012, it was reported that Huber had signed a
developmental contract In Major League Soccer, in addition to the senior roster, each team can carry a developmental roster of a certain number of young players whose contracts do not count against the salary cap. The allowable size of developmental rosters has varied t ...
with
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
. He made his debut for WWE's
developmental territory In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...
Florida Championship Wrestling Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August ...
(FCW) at a
house show A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...
on May 18, working under the new ring name Luke Harper. When FCW was rebranded as
NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * '' WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * '' NXT UK'', the British spi ...
in August 2012, 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. The Wyatt Family later also came to include Wyatt's "second son" Erick Rowan, with whom Harper formed a tag team. The two defeated
Percy Watson Nicholas Christopher McNeil (born August 19, 1981), better known by his ring name Percy Watson, is an American professional wrestler, commentator, and former professional football player. He is best known for his time with WWE as a commentato ...
and
Yoshi Tatsu Yoshi is a fictional dinosaur who appears in video games published by Nintendo. Yoshi debuted in ''Super Mario World'' (1990) on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Mario and Luigi's sidekick. Yoshi is the title character of the List of Y ...
in their first match together on the January 9, 2013 episode of ''NXT''. On the January 23 episode of ''NXT'', Harper and Rowan again defeated Watson and Tatsu in the opening round of the NXT Tag Team Championship
tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
. Following a win over
Bo Dallas Taylor Michael Rotunda (born May 25, 1990) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Bo Dallas. Rotunda is a third-generation professional wrestler; his grandfather Blac ...
and
Michael McGillicutty Joseph Curtis Hennig (born October 1, 1979) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Curtis Axel. Hennig signed with WWE in 2007 and wrestled at their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) and was ...
in the semi-finals with Wyatt's interference, Harper and Rowan were defeated in the finals of the tournament by
Adrian Neville Benjamin Satterley (born 22 August 1986), better known by his ring name Pac, is an English professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he was the inaugural AEW All-Atlantic Champion. He is one-third of the ...
and
Oliver Grey Joel Pettyfer (born 21 February 1987), is an English professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Joel Redman. Pettyfer is best known for his work on the independent circuit in the United Kingdom, where he is a former Unified British T ...
. Harper defeated Neville on the March 20 episode of ''NXT''. On the May 2 episode of ''NXT'', Harper and Rowan won a triple threat elimination tag match by last pinning Neville. 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. After retaining the title against
Corey Graves Matthew Polinsky (born February 24, 1984) is an American wrestling color commentator and retired professional wrestler currently signed to WWE as a commentator and analyst for ''Raw'' and ''SmackDown'' under the ring name Corey Graves. He is a ...
and
Kassius Ohno Cassius may refer to: People * Cassius, an ancient Roman family name, see Cassia gens **Gaius Cassius Longinus (died 42 BC), Roman senator and a leader of Julius Caesar's assassination ** Avidius Cassius (130–175), usurper Roman Emperor * Cassi ...
on the June 5 episode of ''NXT'', Harper and Rowan lost the NXT Tag Team Championship to Adrian Neville and Corey Graves on the July 17 episode of ''NXT''. From the May 27 episode of ''
Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
'', WWE aired
vignettes Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...
promoting the upcoming debut of The Wyatt Family. The vignettes showed The Wyatt Family's backwoods origins. On the July 8 episode of ''Raw'', The Wyatt Family made their debut by assaulting Kane. Harper made his WWE in-ring debut on the July 26 '' SmackDown'', where he and Rowan defeated Tons of Funk (
Brodus Clay George Murdoch (born February 21, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and cable news personality known by his ring/stage name Tyrus. As a wrestler, he is signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where he is the reigning NWA Worlds ...
and
Tensai Matthew Jason Bloom (born November 14, 1972) is an American retired professional wrestler and professional football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he is the head trainer at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Bloom ...
). Over the next few months, Harper and Rowan went on a winning streak over many teams, until
Cody Rhodes and Goldust Cody and Dustin Rhodes (also known as Cody Rhodes and Goldust, The Brotherhood, The Rhodes Brothers, and Gold and Stardust) were an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Cody Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes. They are also known for th ...
handed them their first loss on the October 11 episode of ''SmackDown''. In November, The Wyatt Family started a rivalry with
CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by the ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler, sports commentator, actor, and retired mixed martial artist currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Best known for ...
and
Daniel Bryan Daniel Bryan may refer to: * Bryan Danielson (born 1981), American professional wrestler who formerly used the ring name "Daniel Bryan" * Dan Bryan (1900–1985), Irish soldier * Daniel Bryan (Big Brother), contestant on the British reality televi ...
heading into Survivor Series, where Harper and Rowan lost to Punk and Bryan in a tag team match. The following month at
TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an As ...
, The Wyatt Family defeated Bryan in a 3-on-1 handicap match. At the Royal Rumble on January 26, 2014, Harper competed in his first Royal Rumble match, where he eliminated two other participants before being eliminated by Roman Reigns. Shortly afterwards, The Wyatt Family began a feud with The Shield ( Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins), leading to a match between the teams at
Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel st ...
, which The Wyatt Family won. During this time, Harper and Rowan also supported Bray Wyatt in his feud with John Cena through WrestleMania XXX, with Harper and Rowan also starting their own feud with the
WWE Tag Team Champions WWE (formerly the WWF, the WWWF, and Capitol Wrestling) has maintained at least one primary tag team championship for its male performers since 1958 (except for a two year interim between 1967 and 1969). During periods of brand division, separate ...
The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso), who supported Cena in the feud. Harper and Rowan went on to unsuccessfully challenge The Usos for the WWE Tag Team Championship at both Money in the Bank and Battleground.


Intercontinental Champion (2014–2015)

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. 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 Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as on ...
and Stephanie McMahon's feet and expressing his desire to join their team at Survivor Series. The following week on ''Raw'', Harper officially joined Team
Authority In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''The N ...
. 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. At Survivor Series, Team Authority lost the match, which Harper was eliminated by Ziggler. 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. Harper lost the title back to Ziggler in a
ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself becom ...
at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, ending his reign at 27 days, and failed to regain the title in a rematch on the December 22 episode of ''Raw''. On January 25, 2015, Harper entered the Royal Rumble match at number 4, and was eliminated by Bray Wyatt. Beginning in early March, Harper was involved into a storyline where he was one of many wrestlers stealing
Bad News Barrett Stuart Alexander Bennett (born 10 August 1980) is an English-American professional wrestling commentator, actor, and former professional wrestler who holds both British and American citizenship. He is currently signed to WWE, where he is a colo ...
's Intercontinental Championship belt from Barrett and each other. This led to a seven-man ladder match for the title on March 29 at WrestleMania 31, which was won by Daniel Bryan. The match led to a new feud between Harper and Dean Ambrose (who was also a participant in the ladder match at WrestleMania), with Harper losing a Chicago Street Fight between the pair at Extreme Rules. 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.


Return of The Wyatt Family (2015–2017)

In early May, Harper revived his alliance with Erick Rowan. After Rowan suffered an injury, Harper reunited with Bray Wyatt on July 19 at Battleground by helping him defeat Roman Reigns. 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. The following night on ''Raw'', Braun Strowman joined Harper and Wyatt as the new member of The Wyatt Family. At
Night of Champions Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends o ...
The Wyatt Family defeated Reigns, Ambrose and Chris Jericho in a six-man tag team match. 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). The Wyatt Family then got involved in a feud with
The Brothers of Destruction The Brothers of Destruction were a professional wrestling tag team in WWE composed of storyline half-brothers The Undertaker and Kane. With more deep-seated drama and dysfunction than other WWE tag team combinations, their relationship/brothe ...
(
The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway spent the vast majority ...
and Kane), which built to a tag team match on November 22 at Survivor Series, where the two defeated Harper and Wyatt. The next night on ''Raw'', Harper teamed with Wyatt again to defeat The Dudley Boyz, igniting a new feud. Over the next weeks, Tommy Dreamer and Rhyno joined The Dudley Boyz in the feud, leading to an eight-man tag team
tables match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, where Harper, Wyatt, Rowan and Strowman were victorious. On January 24, 2016, Harper competed in the Royal Rumble with fellow Wyatt Family members and he was eliminated by
Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, former mixed martial artist (MMA), amateur wrestler, and professional American football player who holds both American and Canadian citizenship. He is ...
, but returned to the ring later on with The Wyatt Family members to eliminate Lesnar. Harper and Wyatt were defeated by Lesnar in a 2-on-1 handicap match at the Roadblock event on March 12. On March 21, Harper suffered a knee injury during an untelevised match on ''Raw'', sidelining him for five to six months. After getting an MRI, it was revealed that he had dislocated his
patella The patella, also known as the kneecap, is a flat, rounded triangular bone which articulates with the femur (thigh bone) and covers and protects the anterior articular surface of the knee joint. The patella is found in many tetrapods, such as m ...
and tore his
medial patellofemoral ligament The medial patellofemoral ligament is one of the several ligaments on the medial aspect of the knee. It originates on the superomedial aspect of the patella and inserts in the space between the adductor tubercle and the medial femoral epicondyle ...
. Because of his injury, Harper was not drafted to either
Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
or SmackDown in the
2016 WWE draft Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * '' Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film ...
. 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 Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
,
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. Four days later, Harper returned in the match of the SmackDown brand pay-per-view No Mercy, helping Bray Wyatt defeat
Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor who is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand but is currently out of action due to a back injury. H ...
by distracting Orton. 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. 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. 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
superkick Strikes are offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional wre ...
ing Wyatt. Harper and Orton continued having problems with each other, 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. 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 Goldberg or Goldberger may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Goldberg Ensemble, a British string ensemble * ''Goldberg Variations'', a set of 30 keyboard variations by Johann Sebastian Bach * ''The Goldbergs (broadcast series)'', American radio ...
. On the January 31 episode of ''SmackDown'', Harper turned face after helping WWE Champion John Cena in his confrontation with Orton and Wyatt. At
Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel st ...
on February 12, Harper was defeated by Orton. Shortly after this, Harper unsuccessfully faced AJ Styles over number one contendership for the WWE Championship, held by Wyatt. 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 Thaddeus Michael Bullard Sr. (born April 29, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former arena football player. He is the Global Ambassador of WWE and also performs for the promotion as a wrestler under the ri ...
. Following WrestleMania, Harper feuded with the returning Erick Rowan, leading to a match at
Backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), comic book character * ''Backla ...
, which Harper won. 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. Harper then disappeared from WWE television for several months.


Bludgeon Brothers (2017–2018)

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. The duo were dubbed "
The Bludgeon Brothers Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, later known as the Bludgeon Brothers, were a professional wrestling tag team in WWE. They were also known as being members of the cult faction The Wyatt Family, led by Bray Wyatt. After work at house shows from June ...
", with Harper's ring name shortened to simply "Harper". The team wrestled their return match on the November 21 episode of ''SmackDown'', defeating The Hype Bros ( Zack Ryder and
Mojo Rawley Dean Muhtadi ( ar, دين موهتادي; born July 17, 1986) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and former American professional football player. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Mojo Rawley ...
). At
Clash of Champions ''Clash of the Champions'' is an American series of professional wrestling television specials that were produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in conjunction with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). ...
on December 17, The Bludgeon Brothers defeated Breezango ( Fandango and Tyler Breeze) in a
squash match Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence o ...
. Going into 2018, The Bludgeon Brothers began to target SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos, as well as their rivals The New Day. 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. This led to a tag team championship match between the three teams at WrestleMania 34, which The Bludgeon Brothers won to attain the titles. They would go on to successfully defend the titles against The Usos at the Greatest Royal Rumble event, against
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson The Good Brothers are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. They are currently signed to WWE and perform on the Raw brand, where they are former two time WWE RAW Tag Team Champions. They also ma ...
at Money in the Bank, and against
Team Hell No Team Hell No was an American professional wrestling tag team in the WWE. They performed on the SmackDown brand consisting of Kane and Daniel Bryan. The team's name is a reference to the two wrestlers' personas: Kane is portrayed as a violent pyr ...
at Extreme Rules. The Bludgeon Brothers lost by disqualification in a championship defense against The New Day at SummerSlam, resulting in them retaining the titles. 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. The following day, it was announced that Rowan had suffered a torn right bicep, sidelining him indefinitely and putting the team on hiatus.


Sporadic appearances and departure (2018–2019)

Harper made a surprise appearance at a NXT house show on September 6, where he unsuccessfully challenged
Ricochet A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...
for the
NXT North American Championship The NXT North American Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is primarily defended as the secondary men's championship of the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental ...
. Soon after, Harper took time off after undergoing surgery for a wrist injury. On March 9, 2019, Harper returned to in-ring action, defeating
Mojo Rawley Dean Muhtadi ( ar, دين موهتادي; born July 17, 1986) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and former American professional football player. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Mojo Rawley ...
at a house show in his hometown of Rochester. He made his televised return at
WrestleMania Axxess WrestleMania Axxess is a professional wrestling fan convention held by WWE during the week of WrestleMania. The event typically runs for four days—from Thursday to WrestleMania Sunday—and features WWE talent and alumni autograph signings, inte ...
, defeating
Dominik Dijakovic Christopher James Dijak (born April 23, 1987) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Dijak. Dijak began his professional wrestling career in 2013 under the ring name ...
, which aired as part of the ''
WWE Worlds Collide WWE Worlds Collide, also known as NXT Worlds Collide, is a professional wrestling event series produced by WWE, an American-based professional wrestling promotion. Established in 2019, the concept is interbrand competition between WWE's various ...
'' special. Following that, he competed in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at the
WrestleMania 35 WrestleMania 35 was the 35th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event took place on A ...
pre-show, but failed to win as he was eliminated by Braun Strowman. After WrestleMania, Harper wrestled against EC3 in a dark match before an episode of ''SmackDown''. It was reported that WWE chairman
Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...
did not like the match, so he canceled creative plans for Harper including a feud with Sami Zayn. After that, on April 16, Harper requested his release from WWE, as he had yet to appear on weekly television. His request was denied by McMahon. Dave Meltzer of the ''
Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...
'' 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. 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. At the
Clash of Champions ''Clash of the Champions'' is an American series of professional wrestling television specials that were produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in conjunction with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). ...
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. On the following episode of ''SmackDown Live'', Harper ambushed
Daniel Bryan Daniel Bryan may refer to: * Bryan Danielson (born 1981), American professional wrestler who formerly used the ring name "Daniel Bryan" * Dan Bryan (1900–1985), Irish soldier * Daniel Bryan (Big Brother), contestant on the British reality televi ...
after a confrontation with Rowan, only to be interrupted by Reigns, who Harper and Rowan laid out as well. At Hell in a Cell, Harper and Rowan were defeated by Reigns and Bryan in a tag team match. As part of the 2019 draft, Erick Rowan was drafted to Raw, disbanding the team. Harper's last televised match in WWE was in a battle royal at the Crown Jewel event on October 31, which he lost. On November 26, he filed a trademark for Brodie Lee, his former wrestling ring name. On December 8, it was announced that Harper had been released from his WWE contract.


All Elite Wrestling (2020)

Huber made a surprise debut for the
Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...
-based promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on the March 18, 2020 episode of ''
Dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...
'', readopting his Brodie Lee ring name. Lee was revealed as the "Exalted One", the hitherto unseen leader of the heel faction
the Dark Order The Dark Order is a professional wrestling stable, currently performing in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The stable consists of Evil Uno, John Silver, Alex Reynolds, and Brodie Lee Jr. The group debuted on the inaugural Double or Nothing pay-per- ...
, attacking SoCal Uncensored with the other members of the group. After staying undefeated for several weeks, he challenged
AEW World Champion The AEW World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Unveiled on May 25, 2019, it is the promotion's top championship for male singles competitors, an ...
Jon Moxley Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro-Wr ...
to a championship match at the
Double or Nothing Double or nothing (UK often double or quits) is a gamble to decide whether a loss or debt should be doubled. The result of a "double or nothing" bet is either the subject doubled to twice the amount as the original ''or'' the doubling of a debt. It ...
pay-per-view. At Double or Nothing on May 23, Lee was defeated by Moxley, marking his first loss in AEW. Over the following months, Lee recruited new members into The Dark Order, including
Colt Cabana Scott Colton (born May 6, 1980), better known by the ring name Colt Cabana, is an American professional wrestler, color commentator, and podcaster. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a wrestler and as a coach, and he performs the same d ...
and
Anna Jay Anna Marie Jernigan (born July 15, 1998), better known by the ring name Anna Jay, is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling, where she is a member of the Jericho Appreciation Society Stable (professional wrestlin ...
. On the August 22 episode of ''Dynamite'', Lee quickly defeated
Cody Cody may refer to: People *Cody (given name) *Cody (surname) * Cody (wrestler), a ring name of Cody Runnels Places Canada *Cody, British Columbia United States * Cody, Florida *Cody (Duluth), Minnesota *Cody, Missouri *Cody, Nebraska *Cody, Wyo ...
to win the AEW TNT Championship. After the match, Lee attacked Cody's allies
Q. T. Marshall Michael Cuellari (born July 16, 1985), better known by the ring name Q. T. Marshall, is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a performer and producer. He is a co-owner and trainer of The Nightmare Factory (form ...
, Dustin Rhodes, and
Brandi Rhodes Brandi Alexis Runnels (née Reed; born June 23, 1983), known professionally as Brandi Rhodes, is an American professional wrestler, ring announcer, model, businesswoman and television personality. She is known for her time as the former Chief B ...
with the help of the rest of The Dark Order. At All Out on September 5, Lee teamed with fellow Dark Order members Colt Cabana, Evil Uno and
Stu Grayson Marc Dionne (born January 25, 1989), better known by the ring name Stu Grayson, is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he was a member of the Dark Order stable. Formerly known as Stu ...
in a loss to Matt Cardona, Scorpio Sky, Dustin Rhodes and Q. T. Marshall. Lee then successfully defended the TNT Championship against Dustin Rhodes and Orange Cassidy on the September 9 and 23 episodes of ''Dynamite'', respectively. After the latter match, Cody returned and Lee challenged him to a dog collar match for the championship. On the October 7 episode of ''Dynamite'', Lee lost his final match, ending his TNT Championship reign at 55 days (46 days as recognized by AEW due to tape delay). Shortly after, he went on hiatus with what was reported to be an undisclosed injury.


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". He cited
Jake Roberts Aurelian Smith Jr. (born May 30, 1955), better known by the ring name Jake "The Snake" Roberts, is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs as manager to Lance Archer. He is be ...
, Rick Rude, and
Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as an in-ring performer, and as a commentator for its web television show, '' AEW Dark: Elevation,'' under ...
as his primary influences. Huber has described his original "The Right Stuff"
gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...
as him "just having fun" and, despite being a
heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...
, claimed he was a " cruiserweight". Upon his debut in
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
as Luke Harper, he became part of The Wyatt Family, a
cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
-like faction with Bray Wyatt as their leader. According to Huber, WWE chairman
Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...
envisioned Harper as a
hillbilly Hillbilly is a term (often derogatory) for people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in southern Appalachia and the Ozarks. The term was later used to refer to people from other rural and mountainous areas west ...
and asked him to speak with a
Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...
-like drawl. 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 Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, later known as the Bludgeon Brothers, were a professional wrestling tag team in WWE. They were also known as being members of the cult faction The Wyatt Family, led by Bray Wyatt. After work at house shows from June ...
. The duo carried wooden mallets to the ring and had a look apparently modeled after
Demolition Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...
, a tag team who wrestled for WWE in the 1980s. Desiring a run as a singles competitor, Huber pitched several
gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...
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. After joining
AEW AEW or aew may refer to: * Airborne early warning, airborne radar system for detecting aircraft * Aerosvit Airlines, an airline based in Kyiv, Ukraine (ICAO airline designator: AEW) * AEW Capital Management, a property investment management company ...
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 The Dark Order is a professional wrestling stable, currently performing in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The stable consists of Evil Uno, John Silver, Alex Reynolds, and Brodie Lee Jr. The group debuted on the inaugural Double or Nothing pay-per- ...
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. The character drew comparisons to McMahon due to displaying traits similar to ones often attributed to McMahon, such as disliking people
sneezing A sneeze (also known as sternutation) is a semi-autonomous, convulsive expulsion of air from the lungs through the nose and mouth, usually caused by foreign particles irritating the nasal mucosa. A sneeze expels air forcibly from the mouth and ...
in his presence, but Huber denied this and instead stated that it was inspired by
mafia film Mafia films—a version of gangster films—are a subgenre of crime films dealing with organized crime, often specifically with Mafia organizations. Especially in early mob films, there is considerable overlap with ''film noir''. Popular regional ...
s.


Other media

In 2017, Huber appeared as Pitchfork Perry in an episode of the
period drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...
series ''Damnation''. In 2018, he played Lachlan Allsopp in the action-horror film '' Mohawk''. Under the Luke Harper name, he is a playable character in the video games ''
WWE 2K15 ''WWE 2K15'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K Sports for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to ''WWE 2K14'', and was succeeded by ''WWE 2K16''. ...
'', ''
WWE 2K16 ''WWE 2K16'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K Sports for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. It is the sequel to '' WWE 2K15'', and was succeeded by ''WWE 2K17''. ...
'', ''
WWE 2K17 World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
'', ''
WWE 2K18 ''WWE 2K18'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K Sports. It is the nineteenth installment in the WWE game series (fifth under the ''WWE 2K'' banner) and a follow-up to ''WWE 2K17''. It was released worl ...
'', ''
WWE 2K19 ''WWE 2K19'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K Sports. It was released worldwide on October 9, 2018, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the twentieth overall game in the ''WWE' ...
'', and '' WWE 2K20''.


Personal life

Huber married Amanda, a fellow professional wrestler who previously performed under the name Synndy Synn, in 2011. They had two sons named Brodie and Nolan. Following Huber's death, Brodie was signed to All Elite Wrestling and became a member of his father's faction
The Dark Order The Dark Order is a professional wrestling stable, currently performing in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The stable consists of Evil Uno, John Silver, Alex Reynolds, and Brodie Lee Jr. The group debuted on the inaugural Double or Nothing pay-per- ...
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. Huber was a fan of the then Washington Football Team and
Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...
.


Death

Huber died at the
Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...
in
Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...
, on December 26, 2020, 10 days after his 41st birthday. His widow, Amanda, said that he had been receiving treatment for a lung issue at the clinic since late October. Despite what some fans believed at the time, the issue was unrelated to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
as Huber had tested negative multiple times. He had been moved to the
intensive care unit 220px, Intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensiv ...
in late October. On the ''
AEW Unrestricted All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE. AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, ...
'' podcast in January 2021, Amanda revealed that Huber had died from
idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), or (formerly) fibrosing alveolitis, is a rare, progressive illness of the respiratory system, characterized by the thickening and stiffening of lung tissue, associated with the formation of scar tissue. It is ...
, a rare condition which causes lung tissue to become irreversibly thickened until the lungs can no longer function.


Legacy

A multitude of wrestlers and wrestling personalities paid tribute to Huber with stories on
social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
, 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 The Wyatt family included several of the major English architects during the 18th and 19th centuries, and a significant 18th century inventor, John Wyatt (1700–1766), the eldest son of John Wyatt (1675–1742). The family This is a summary t ...
teammates also paid tribute: Bray Wyatt called Huber his "best friend, brother, ndpartner", Erick Rowan said that Huber "meant more to imthan he will ever know", and Braun Strowman referred to Huber as "one of the most unselfish men
e has E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plura ...
ever met and an amazing husband and father". Cody Rhodes, against whom Huber wrestled his final match, called the match "an honor and a privilege and an experience so ferociously humbling". 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, 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.'" After many of the stories about Huber had been widely shared,
Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor who is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand but is currently out of action due to a back injury. H ...
stated, "You all have heard about how much we all respected
uber Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery (Uber Eats and Postmates), package ...
about how much we all enjoyed his presence. It is a fact." The December 28, 2020 episode of ''
WWE Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television show, television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time Zone, ET on the USA Networ ...
'' 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 Champion Drew McIntyre beginning his promo by stating "it's Monday and you know what that means ..yeah, yeah, yeah".
Xavier Woods Austin Watson (born September 4, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Xavier Woods. He appeared on WWE's NXT brand as one-half of the current NXT Tag T ...
, who wore an armband with "Brodie" written on it, performed Huber's signature taunt and finishing move during an eight-man tag team match. Over the next week, the promotion uploaded videos with various WWE wrestlers honoring and speaking of their memories with Huber. 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. 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. 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. At WrestleMania 37 in April 2021, Bray Wyatt, who had been largely off television since before Huber's death, performed as his "Fiend" character and honored Huber by shouting Huber's "yeah, yeah, yeah" catchphrase. The 236th episode of The Young Bucks'
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
series '' Being The Elite'' (''BTE'') was titled "Brodie", featuring a compilation of Lee's ''BTE'' appearances. The following episode was titled "Tribute", featuring behind the scenes clips from his Celebration of Life memorial show. 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. The December 30 episode of ''
AEW Dynamite AEW or aew may refer to: * Airborne early warning, airborne radar system for detecting aircraft * Aerosvit Airlines, an airline based in Kyiv, Ukraine (ICAO airline designator: AEW) * AEW Capital Management, a property investment management company ...
'', known as the " 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 The Dark Order is a professional wrestling stable, currently performing in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The stable consists of Evil Uno, John Silver, Alex Reynolds, and Brodie Lee Jr. The group debuted on the inaugural Double or Nothing pay-per- ...
. The memorial show began with the entire AEW roster onstage and commentator
Jim Ross James William Ross (born January 3, 1952) is an American professional wrestling commentator currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator, analyst, and senior advisor. Ross is best known for a long and distinguished career as ...
saying, "It's Wednesday and you know what that means", followed by a ten-bell salute. 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. A tribute video with "
Ol' '55 "Ol' '55" is a song by American musician Tom Waits. It is the opening track and lead single from Waits' debut studio album, '' Closing Time'', released in March 1973 on Asylum Records. Written by Waits and produced by Jerry Yester, "Ol' '55" was ...
" by
Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...
closed the show. Khan purchased the rights to the song in
perpetuity A perpetuity is an annuity that has no end, or a stream of cash payments that continues forever. There are few actual perpetuities in existence. For example, the United Kingdom (UK) government issued them in the past; these were known as conso ...
, which he did "so the tribute will last forever". 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. During the show, Pro Wrestling Tees'
Shop AEW Pro Wrestling Tees is a website and store for professional wrestlers to sell their merchandise and is the largest website of its kind. The site regularly organizes meet ups for wrestlers and their fans around wrestling events. The company provides ...
store released a T-shirt in memory of Lee with all proceeds benefiting The Huber Family. In less than two hours, it set a new record for most shirts sold within 24 hours, breaking
Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...
's previous record. In just under four hours, it became the highest selling T-shirt of 2020, breaking Orange Cassidy's previous record. Night 1 of
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...
'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. In March 2021, wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer presented the Shad Gaspard/Jon Huber Memorial Award, named after Huber and fellow wrestler
Shad Gaspard Shad Javier Gaspard (January 13, 1981 – May 17, 2020) was an American professional wrestler and actor. He was best known for his time with WWE, where he performed under his real name, or mononymously as Shad. Gaspard signed with World Wrestli ...
, 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. In August 2021,
CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by the ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler, sports commentator, actor, and retired mixed martial artist currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Best known for ...
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. 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.


Championships and accomplishments

*
Alpha-1 Wrestling Alpha-1 Wrestling (A1) was a Canadian independent professional wrestling promotion based out of Hamilton, Ontario. The promotion was founded by Ethan Page in 2010 after he grew tired of inviting his family to see him in crappy bars commenting "I ...
** A1 Zero Gravity Championship (1 time) * All Elite Wrestling ** AEW TNT Championship ( 1 time) *
Jersey All Pro Wrestling Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) was an independent wrestling promotion based in New Jersey, United States. History 1997 Jersey All Pro Wrestling was an independent wrestling promotion that was founded by "Fat" Frank Iadeavia and Angel Surita ...
**
JAPW Heavyweight Championship The Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship in the American independent professional wrestling promotion Jersey All Pro Wrestling. It became an official title on October 31, 1997 when ...
( 1 time) **
JAPW New Jersey State Championship The JAPW New Jersey State Championship was a title in the Jersey All Pro Wrestling professional wrestling promotion. It became an official title on September 25, 1998. Flash Wheeler become the first champion in a 20-man battle royal. It was r ...
( 1 time) **
JAPW Tag Team Championship The JAPW Tag Team Championship is a championship in the Jersey All Pro Wrestling promotion. It became official title on December 5, 1997 when The Blood Angels (Diablos Macabre and Lucifer Grimm) defeated Don Montoya and Homicide in a tournament fi ...
( 1 time) – with
Necro Butcher Dylan Keith Summers (born July 13, 1973), better known by the ring name Necro Butcher, is an American professional wrestler. Throughout the years he has worked for various promotions, including Ring of Honor, Full Impact Pro, IWA Mid-South, Pro W ...
* Next Era Wrestling ** NEW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * NWA Empire ** NWA Empire Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * NWA Mississippi ** NWA Southern Television Championship (1 time) * '' Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' ** Ranked No. 24 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the '' PWI 500'' in 2015 * Rochester Pro Wrestling/NWA Upstate/NWA New York ** NWA Upstate Kayfabe Dojo Championship (1 time) ** NWA Upstate/NWA New York Heavyweight Championship (3 times) ** RPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Freddie Midnight ** RPW/NWA Upstate Television Championship (1 time) * Squared Circle Wrestling ** 2CW Heavyweight Championship (2 times) * World of Hurt Wrestling ** WOHW United States Championship (3 times) * ''
Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...
'' ** Best Gimmick (2013) – *
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
**
WWE Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster ...
( 1 time) ** WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship (
2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
) – with Bray Wyatt and
Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor who is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand but is currently out of action due to a back injury. H ...
(1) and
Rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, r ...
(1) ** NXT Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Erick Rowan ** Slammy Award (1 time) *** Match of the Year (
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
)


See also

* List of premature professional wrestling deaths *
List of professional wrestling memorial shows This is a list of professional wrestling memorial shows from the 1980s until the present day. Memorial shows have been historically important in the history of professional wrestling, usually held in memory of a recently deceased wrestler, promot ...


References


External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Brodie 1979 births 2020 deaths AEW TNT Champions American male professional wrestlers Deaths from pulmonary fibrosis Expatriate professional wrestlers in Japan Fictional cult leaders category:Infectious disease deaths in Florida Male actors from Rochester, New York Masked wrestlers NXT Tag Team Champions Professional wrestlers from New York (state) Sportspeople from Rochester, New York WWF/WWE Intercontinental Champions The Dark Order members 21st-century professional wrestlers