R.I.P. Jon Huber (Brodie Lee/Luke Harper)

[sek69]

Even the Toronto Maple Leafs (his favorite hockey team) shared their condolences.  Several folks have noted wrestling and hockey were his 1a and 1b passions. 

[Dav'oh]

1 hour ago, PhilTLL said:

FOH with this.

*Jon Huber was a man, not an "@" sign.

*His death is a tragedy, not a hashtag. 

*His death supersedes Twitter, not the other way around. He should not be reduced to a couple of keyboard shortcuts.

If that point of view offends you, it was not my intention. But I will FOH with that (I had to Google that...oh my!) as I seem to have derailed the thread. 

[PhilTLL]

12 minutes ago, Dav'oh said:

*Jon Huber was a man, not an "@" sign.

*His death is a tragedy, not a hashtag. 

*His death supersedes Twitter, not the other way around. He should not be reduced to a couple of keyboard shortcuts.

If that point of view offends you, it was not my intention. But I will FOH with that (I had to Google that...oh my!) as I seem to have derailed the thread. 

This is what they call "concern trolling". You are making a show of concern that other people are not being respectful to your standards, instead of just letting them cope how they want to. Yes, even Stephanie McMahon deserves that, and so do the million other people using that hashtag tonight. They're not being disrespectful, they're using the medium of their times to share real feelings, maybe even using emojis and slang and hashtags.

[SirEdger]

Been a couple of hours since I've learned of the news of Brodie Lee's passing and it still doesn't register. I don't think I've been this shocked since the passing of Eddie Guerrero in 2005. It was nice tonight to see wrestlers, promotions and fans coming along together to show our respect and appreciation to who Jon Huber was. For us fans, it was about how good of a performer he was (probably one of the most underrated of his generation) and for wrestlers & promotions, it was how good of a man he was, for his family but also his fellow colleagues and friends.

It's definitely gonna be a tough week for everyone, especially on Wednesday night for Dynamite but I bet everyone will work their ass off to pay their respects to Brodie Lee. Not only in AEW but also in WWE for RAW and Smackdown.

[goodhelmet]

Real quick... this is a thread for news and remembrance of Huber. No more sidetracks. Thanks. 

 

 

[Stiva]

This is awful news. Obviously it pales in comparison to the loss to his family, especially at this time of year, but it really felt that he was getting to have a resurgence in AEW that has been sadly cut short. Devastating news and just a total shock.

[El-P]

I've been away for a few days and I'm coming back to the pro-wrestling world to this godawful and tragic news. This is so absurd and so sad. Brodie in those BTE bits with the Dark Order brought so many laughs out of me in the last few months. 

[rovert]

SirEdger I saw the news break and many hours on I am still struggling to process it. It reminds me of the impact Eddie Guerrero's passing had on me.

Anyway, I haven't seen anyone disputing this or anything but still, I can't emphasise enough what a family man he was. Very much in the Owen Hart or Kevin Owens mold. His friends and peers aren't just being nice on that front because he passed here. A true tragedy.

2020 overall has been a true test of my and a lot of other people's fandom.

[cheapshot]

I woke up at 5am GMT and read the news. I've been in a weird state ever since. 

Like rovert said, he was a true family man, similar to Owen Hart or Kevin Owens, and that's what makes it even more heartbreakingly sad.

 

 

[cactus]

Man, this is horrible news. Seriously talented man with a heart of gold. No one had a bad word to say about him.  

[Boss Rock]

The first time I saw Brodie was in the Wyatt Family. He quickly became my favorite because of how agile and athletic he was while also remaining an impressive powerhouse. I especially enjoyed the tag feud with Rowan against the Usos in 2014. It's a shame WWE could never figure out how to best utilize him but his AEW run, as tragically short as it was, was a lot of fun. And in a business filled with less than desirable characters, by all accounts he was a wonderful human being and devoted family man. He will be missed.

[The Thread Killer]

This is really sad.

If I'm being honest, there have been a number of deaths in Pro Wrestling over the years that have been sad (very sad in some cases) but not terribly surprising.  We've seen cases of Professional Wrestlers who have engaged in a self destructive lifestyle succumbing to the hazards that come with such behavior. It's always sad, but after a while I am sorry to say I found myself becoming desensitized to all the Professional Wrestlers who were dying. Don't get me wrong, regardless of their behavior and personal habits, nobody deserves to die before their time...but if I am being self-critical I am forced to admit that at times my sympathy is tempered based on the personal history of the individual.

This is clearly not one of those cases.  It sounds like (based on what we've heard so far) Brodie Lee died due to an unexpected illness.  It all seems so shocking and unfair. When somebody dies under circumstances like that, it seems to hit you extra hard because you never would have expected it. Especially when the person was young, in their prime and had so much more to accomplish in life.  I remember listening to the interview Brodie Lee did with Chris Jericho on Jericho's podcast earlier this year.  He sounded so excited to finally be in a position professionally where he wasn't being held back or restricted in any way.  He had so much ahead of him, and now his life has been cut short and that really is a tragedy.

The other thing that has really struck me about the death of Brodie Lee is the reaction from his peers in the industry. @cheapshotis right on the money...this situation reminds me of the death of Owen Hart. It hasn't even been 24 hours and the outpouring of grief has been really noteworthy.  It seems like Brodie Lee really was one of those rare guys in the Pro Wrestling business who was loved by pretty much everybody who worked with him.  And it strikes me again how practically every tribute to him contains a reference to how much he loved his family. It seems undeniable that this was clearly a guy who had his priorities in order and put his family first. And now he is gone, leaving behind a wife and two children.  That's just unspeakably sad.

I remember the first time I saw Brodie Lee.  It was at a Ring of Honor event called "Bound By Hate." It was held at a freezing cold, half-full cattle arena on a country fairgrounds, north of Toronto.  He was in a Tag Team match with Delirious against the All Night Express.  I remember telling my friend that I was with "That guy looks like money. Considering his size, and how he can move, I'm surprised WWE hasn't grabbed him."  Sure enough, when I first saw him in the Wyatt Family vignettes a few years later, I called the same friend and we talked about how glad we were he had made it to the "big time."  My favorite matches involving him were with the Wyatt Family against The Shield. During his rivalry with Randy Orton in 2017 (during the whole angle when Harper was trying to convince Bray Wyatt he couldn't trust Orton) I remember being really impressed with a match he and Orton had on Smackdown.  At that point, I realized that WWE was really missing the boat with Luke Harper.  They clearly didn't realize what they had.  I was hoping the Bludgeon Brothers were going to be a much bigger deal, but he was just criminally undervalued in WWE. Even though I am not a big AEW fan, I was so happy when Brodie Lee finally got away from WWE, was no longer being misused, and was in AEW where he could realize his full potential.

Now, like I said...that potential has been cut drastically, tragically short and it makes me very sad.

[SirEdger]

There's been a movement online to have AEW use his famous "It's Wednesday. You know what that means." tweets as a tagline to promote Dynamite every week (a bit à la SNL with their "Live from New York" thing) and I think this would be a wonderful way to pay tribute to him. So far, the idea has been received very positively so I'm curious if AEW will follow suit.

[C.S.]

Rowan posted.

Quote

erickredbeard Heartbroken and numb. Just when I think my eyes have dried, I think of you and begin to cry again. I have lost not only a friend but a brother! I struggled last night with many emotions and memories. Jon meant more to me than he will ever know. I remember clearly all the loops we had during our years on the road together. He would always look forward to getting home to his family. After every loop he would say to me, “Goodbye Forever”, because he would want his 1 or two days with them, to feel like forever. One thing he taught me through his own actions was to be a better father and husband. He was one of a kind in everything he did, great performer, great father, great husband, great friend, and all around amazing human. My heart goes out to everyone who was touched by his greatness. My deepest condolences to his family. Jon this is not, “Goodbye forever, but goodbye for now! I will see you on the otherside my brother. I LOVE YOU!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJT2nzwjUAP/ 

3 hours ago, SirEdger said:

There's been a movement online to have AEW use his famous "It's Wednesday. You know what that means." tweets as a tagline to promote Dynamite every week (a bit à la SNL with their "Live from New York" thing) and I think this would be a wonderful way to pay tribute to him. So far, the idea has been received very positively so I'm curious if AEW will follow suit.

I love this idea!

[SirEdger]

The petition is there if you wanna sign it!

 

https://www.change.org/p/aew-fans-to-have-every-episode-of-dynamite-start-with-it-s-wednesday-you-know-what-that-means?recruiter=648598931&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_abi&utm_term=psf_combo_share_abi&recruited_by_id=ccd42190-bc62-11e6-8e3f-33ddcca32790

[KawadaSmile]

I will never forget just how absolutely wonderful he was during the Orton/Wyatt feud. His tag match with John Cena against the two of them was incredible and for a while he was the most over wrestler on the world. Of course, we know how things turned out afterward, but for a short while it was nothing short of amazinh.

[Mad Dog]

Just now, PeteF3 said:

I've fallen out of modern-wrestling-following with the lack of crowds, so do we know for sure that he was injured or was this a "Jumbo Tsuruta will miss the next tour with a knee injury" type thing?

Reportedly at the time it was an ankle injury when he dropped the belt and I think there was a timeline, then it was just he was out and then it was no one was talking about it.

Also, his wife mentioned the Mayo Clinic. That tells me it wasn't COVID.

[Migs]

I think if it was cancer, they'd say that. The Mayo Clinic is one of the top places in the world for lung issues, so my assumption is it was something unique that they don't want to bother explaining at the moment.  Which I get, this is a time of enormous grief... I think we can all see through the responses of his peers how deep it must be for those closest to him. It's heartbreaking.

On the wrestling front... what an incredible last match he had. Just spectacular. It feels cruel that we won't ever get to see that character in front of a full crowd, it felt like he was on the cusp of something amazing. A family tragedy, a wrestling community tragedy, an artistic tragedy... just a tragedy.

[SteveJRogers]

14 minutes ago, Migs said:

I think if it was cancer, they'd say that. The Mayo Clinic is one of the top places in the world for lung issues, so my assumption is it was something unique that they don't want to bother explaining at the moment.  Which I get, this is a time of enormous grief... I think we can all see through the responses of his peers how deep it must be for those closest to him. It's heartbreaking.

On the wrestling front... what an incredible last match he had. Just spectacular. It feels cruel that we won't ever get to see that character in front of a full crowd, it felt like he was on the cusp of something amazing. A family tragedy, a wrestling community tragedy, an artistic tragedy... just a tragedy.

My first thought was the infection that took out Jim Henson  

 

[sek69]

I just bought a shirt from ProWrestlingTees since they came out and made a statement that the proceeds will go to his family (I fully expected them to do that anyway but it's nice they officially confirmed it). Plus it was a really cool shirt to boot, the one hyping up the Cody match.

[rovert]

2 hours ago, Migs said:

I think if it was cancer, they'd say that. The Mayo Clinic is one of the top places in the world for lung issues, so my assumption is it was something unique that they don't want to bother explaining at the moment.  Which I get, this is a time of enormous grief... I think we can all see through the responses of his peers how deep it must be for those closest to him. It's heartbreaking.

On the wrestling front... what an incredible last match he had. Just spectacular. It feels cruel that we won't ever get to see that character in front of a full crowd, it felt like he was on the cusp of something amazing. A family tragedy, a wrestling community tragedy, an artistic tragedy... just a tragedy.

Yeah, the Mayo Clinic specialises in lung and lung cancer.

It is the Sunday after Christmas, I'd imagine Florida's health service is pretty belaboured with COVID and that's before a general time-honoured process when it comes to the coroner and the autopsy obviously. Answers will likely take time and far longer that nonsense Bruce Mitchell article comprehends. 

Fans searching for answers picked up on in reflection how hard he was breathing in the last Being The Elite episode he shot (admittedly he was shouting and being generally active), also in that final episode he told Jon Silver he finally earned his respect it was like Brodie knew something and on his AEW Unrestricted podcast appearance on November 2nd he offhandedly remarked how difficult he found riding his Peloton bike suddenly was.

[flyonthewall2983]

I realize it's not the most important part of this discussion, but I think it was honorable of Stephanie to use the trending hashtag, since it was using his AEW name. 

[rovert]

3 minutes ago, flyonthewall2983 said:

I realize it's not the most important part of this discussion, but I think it was honorable of Stephanie to use the trending hashtag, since it was using his AEW name. 

Stephanie and Brodie's wife Amanda are actually pretty close. 

[MoS]

As terrible as the booking of her character has been in the last 10 years, Steph genuinely seems to be the nicest, kindest McMahon, but that's neither here nor there

[rovert]

10 minutes ago, MoS said:

As terrible as the booking of her character has been in the last 10 years, Steph genuinely seems to be the nicest, kindest McMahon, but that's neither here nor there

I've never heard anyone publicly or privately bad mouth Stephanie. But Stephanie and Amanda largely just bounded over motherhood.

I mostly know of Amanda via friends who would attend Florida Championship Wrestling events when Brodie Lee was in developmental. She would chat it up with fans endlessly and would bring snacks for everyone. A really, really person.