WWE, AEW stars pay tribute to Brodie Lee after his death

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The entire professional wrestling world was stunned and devastated by the passing of AEW’s Brodie Lee, real name Jon Huber, who died Saturday at the age of 41.

Tributes poured in from all corners of the industry, paying homage to the man known as Luke Harper in WWE before joining AEW earlier this year. Huber’s wife, Amanda, said her husband had a non-COVID related lung issue.

“You were my best friend. My brother, my partner, my Terry Gordy. We changed this whole game because we refused to do it any way but OUR way,” WWE star Bray Wyatt, who was in the Wyatt Family group with Huber, wrote in a lengthy Instagram post. “I’m so goddamn pissed. This isn’t how it was supposed to be, it was supposed to be us fat, bald and useless running Wyatt Family spots in high school gyms in our 70’s. Where do we go now? What do I do knowing I’ll never hear your condescending sarcasm as I am riding high. I miss you so f–king much already. I would do anything just live through our worst moments again I can’t believe you’re gone.

“I’m hurting so bad. I wish I had a chance to say goodbye. But then again, it’s Saturday and you know what that means…. save me a seat next to you wherever you are, that’s where I belong. I’ll be there when it’s my time. Goodbye forever Brodie. I love you.”

Cody Rhodes, a former WWE star who now wrestles for and is an executive vice president for AEW, faced Huber in his last match in October.

“Upon anybody’s first meeting with him…it was even more apparent he was a family man and a first class human being,” Rhodes wrote in a message posted on Twitter. “I got to share his last number…I got to have his last match. That is an honor and a privilege and an experience so ferociously humbling. Thank you ‘Big Rig.’ We will honor you and your family.”

Scores of wrestlers said Huber was a great man and a great father to his two sons. Known for his imposing frame and scruffy beard, he was far different behind the scenes than the intimidating villain he often portrayed on television.

“It’s hard to explain to people, and I’m not certain he would want me to, that the biggest, scariest man you’ll ever see on your television is the kindest soul you’d ever meet,” WWE’s Charlotte Flair wrote on Twitter. “A model of a husband and father, and proof that some people are too good for this earth.”

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