Looking at Brodie Lee’s passing
Last Saturday will go down as one of the worst days in the history of professional wrestling.
WWE Hall of Famer Gerald Briscoe announced that morning that legendary grappler Danny Hodges had passed away, but unfortunately that wasn鈥檛 all of the bad news.
Last Saturday night, it was announced that Jon Huber, known in AEW as Brodie Lee and previously in WWE as Luke Harper, had shockingly passed away at the age of 41.
Hodges was 88 and his passing was easier to accept due to getting to live a full life.
Considered one of the toughest people to ever wrestle professionally, Hodges was someone others knew to not mess with in the ring.
Several pro wrestling personalities shared their condolences and remembrances of Hodges in the early afternoon, but when word broke about Huber, there was a collective shock in the pro wrestling world.
Tributes began trickling in over social media, but the business truly was shaken to its core as Huber was considered one of the genuinely good guys in pro wrestling.
While Huber鈥檚 official cause of death was not released as of this column鈥檚 deadline, it is known that it was related to lung issues and was not related to the coronavirus.
Huber debuted for AEW on the March 18 episode of Dynamite and it was his first appearance since being released by WWE, which he had requested.
He defeated Cody Rhodes for the TNT title on August 22 before losing it back to Cody on the October 7 episode of Dynamite in a really solid dog collar match.
It would be Huber鈥檚 last match as he had been hospitalized since late October in the ICU at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL.
Lee鈥檚 loss to Cody had been puzzling to many at the time, but now it makes sense.
Kudos are in order for AEW for keeping Huber鈥檚 illness completely quiet as only a handful of people in the company knew what was going on.
What are the odds WWE would have kept things as quiet?
Speaking of WWE, Huber signed a developmental contract with it in 2012 and debuted as part of The Wyatt Family under the moniker Luke Harper.
Huber had wrestled as Brodie Lee for years on the independent circuit and around the world before heading to WWE.
Harper and Erick Rowan won the NXT tag titles before vignettes of the Wyatt鈥檚 began airing on Raw on May 27, 2013.
They made their debut on July 8.
On top of the NXT tag title win during his WWE run, Huber also won the Intercontinental title and was a two-time Smackdown tag champion.
However, to say that WWE underutilized Huber is an understatement.
He was handcuffed from the start with his backwoods character and was never allowed to show what he could really do.
Huber, as Harper, should have been a main event star, and when he was so badly used by WWE, he asked for, and was given, his release in December 2019.
Huber, as Lee, was set to have his biggest moment during his AEW debut on that March 18 episode of Dynamite as it was set to emanate from his hometown of Rochester, NY, but it had to be moved due to the coronavirus.
This past Wednesday, AEW dedicated the entire two-hour episode of Dynamite to Huber and it was an incredible tribute.
WWE did a small graphic at the start of Raw on Monday and several wrestlers paid tribute in their own special way, but it did not release an official video package online until Thursday.
This upset several people in the wrestling business, and some voiced their displeasure.
However, it was a classy move on WWE鈥檚 part.
While it could have aired a video package Monday as many talents filmed tributes to Huber prior to Raw, WWE held off until after AEW aired its tribute show to one of its current stars.
Yes, WWE could have aired a tribute, but it showed respect and class in giving AEW its moment first, and rightfully so.
Huber鈥檚 passing is another great example of how fragile life really is and how precious time is.
Known to everyone who knew him in the wrestling business as a husband, father and family man first and a wrestler second, Huber had his priorities in order.
But now, it will be his pro wrestling family who will have to do their part so that Huber鈥檚 kids know what kind of man their father truly was.
Next week鈥檚 column
The original plan for this week鈥檚 column was to look at WWE鈥檚 continuous storyline approach and why the creative team, and more so Vince McMahon, can鈥檛 seem to get out of their own way.
But due to the passing of Huber, we will look at WWE鈥檚 writing approach next week.
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