(AEW)
On Dec. 26 All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and the entire wrestling world suffered a terrible loss when AEW star, Mr. Brodie Lee, passed away at the young age of 41. Lee whose real name was Jon Huber, was a beloved wrestler, husband, and father who left his mark on the world forever.
Huber spent the earlier portion of his career competing in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), under the ring name Luke Harper and is now known as Mr. Brodie Lee, The Exalted One.
This week's edition of Dynamite was about more than wrestling, and it was an entire show dedicated to honouring the life of Mr. Brodie Lee. This show was for everyone to know that The Exalted One would live forever.
Joseph Casciaro and Gavin Axelrod give their deepest condolences to the Huber family and this week they take a break from Diffusing Dynamite to honour Mr. Brodie Lee.
10 bell salute
(Twitter via @AEW)
To open Dynamite this week we had the entire AEW roster on the stage to honour Lee with a 10 bell salute. During this moment all the wrestlers were very emotional and I am sure every wrestling fan watching had a heavy heart.
What made this so much more heartfelt was in the middle of the entire roster was Amanda Huber, Lee’s wife, and his two sons Brodie jr. and Nolan. It was so nice to show support to the family and they were in for a treat with the show ahead.
The entire show featured Dark Order, the group that Mr. Brodie led and took to stardom. The card entailed The Young Bucks and Colt Cabana vs Matt Hardy and Private Party, Eddie Kingston, The Butcher, The Blade vs Lance Archer, Evil Uno and Stu Grayson, MJF, Santana and Ortiz vs ‘Hangman’ Adam Page, John Silver and Alex Reynolds. There was also Britt Baker and Penelope Ford vs Anna Jay and Tay Conti, then the main event was for Brodie jr. as his favourites Cody Rhodes, Orange Cassidy and 10 would take on Team Taz.
Heartfelt messages sent to Brodie
(Twitter via @AEW)
Throughout Dynamite, we had a number of video messages from AEW superstars to Brodie. We had some from former AEW World Champion, Jon Moxley, TNT Champion Darby Alin, FTR, Arn Anderson, Colt Cabana, Eddie Kingston, and Chris Jericho.
All these messages had things in common and they all talked about what an amazing person Brodie was, but more importantly what a great father he was. Brodie placed his family above all else and he seemed to be one of the best people truly, he touched the lives of every person he met.
Lance Archer pays tribute to Luke Harper
(AEW)
The Murderhawk Monster, Lance Archer, was set to team with Evil Uno and Stu Grayson of the Dark Order, but he decided to make this match much more meaningful.
As The Dark Order made their way to the stage we all awaited Archer, and he then emerged from the back dressed in authentic Luke Harper attire. The old white tank top and light blue jeans were Lee’s attire for his entire WWE run and this was a beautiful way to pay homage to the late Lee.
THE PAPER
(Twitter via @AEW)
Mr. Brodie Lee was able to show his funny side and the person he really was on BTE, and his signature move became hitting people with a roll of papers. He constantly did this to John Silver and Alex Reynolds, so they paid tribute prior to the match.
As they came face to face with The Inner Circle they each grabbed a roll of papers and slapped Santana and Ortiz over the head!
John Silver’s special tribute
(AEW)
John Silver recently has become a fan favourite due to his goofy personality and his acting alongside Mr. Brodie on BTE. Silver recently revealed on Twitter that Lee bought him a replica gear of his own for a skit that they never got to film on BTE, as well as the jacket he wears to the ring every match.
So, when Silver made his way to the ring tonight he was wearing the jacket Brodie bought him and the replica gear to honour The Exalted One. Later on, in the match Silver continued his tribute as Ortiz was lined up for the finish.
Page and Santana exited the ring and gave Silver his moment, as he hit Lee’s signature taunt and then the discus clothesline for the pinfall. Then Silver instantly broke down in tears showing just how much Lee truly meant to him.
ROWAN ARRIVES TO HONOUR HIS BLUDGEON BROTHER
(Twitter via @AEW)
During the Silver match, we saw Wardlow of The Dark Order get involved to help his fellow Inner Circle members, but then to the shock of all, we saw some help. Out from the back came Erik Rowan, Lee’s partner from WWE as members of The Wyatt Family and Bludgeon Brothers.
Rowan laid out Wardlow with a claw slam and then after the match he returned to the ring with a sign reading, “Goodbye for now my brother, see you down the road.” This was such a heartfelt moment and you could see the emotion in Rowan’s face as tears flowed down his face. This was such a nice add on to the show and it is such a big part of Lee’s history.
Tribute to The Exalted One
(AEW)
The close to tonight's Dynamite was so perfectly done and one for the ages, the show closed with a perfect tribute to the life of Jon Huber. It started with some heart-warming words from Cody Rhodes saying what an amazing man Huber was and he then encapsulated the life of Huber in the perfect way.
Cody called out to the ring Brodie’s legacy left behind, -1 Brodie Lee junior! He was joined in the ring by his mother, 10 of Dark Order and Tony Khan.
Brodie and his mother then laid Brodie’s boots in the middle of the ring along with his purple bandana to leave him remembered in an AEW ring forever. Khan then grabbed a mic and awarded Brodie jr. the TNT Championship, the same title his father held, and he was named TNT Champion for life.
Khan has retired the TNT title design because no man will ever be able to replicate the honour Brodie brought to that title. The whole crowd then chanted BRODIE as he stood in the middle of the ring next to his dad's boots holding the TNT title.
AEW then aired a lovely video package showing the entire life of Huber, from his time on the independents, to WWE, to AEW and then all his time with his family. This episode did an amazing job at honouring The Exalted One, Brodie Lee, and Jon Huber’s legacy will live on forever!
From the Diffusing Dynamite boys there is only one thing left to say, Rest In Peace Mr. Brodie and thank you for everything you did for wrestling. Dynamite will never be the same and Diffusing Dynamite will definitely never be the same without you. Exalted in Heaven you shall be.