On Life, Death and Pro Wrestling

Brodie Jr., center, Jon Huber’s son, receives the TNT Championship from AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes, second from right, and AEW CEO Tony Khan, far right, this past Wednesday on AEW ‘Dynamite.’

I will try not to make what I’m about to say here feel disjointed, but I believe that in talking about a professional wrestler who died way too early in life, some common themes about how to move forward in 2021 might emerge. But first, here is a brief look at the life and career of Jon Huber.

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Although professional wrestling’s sole purpose is to entertain fans and to “put smiles on people’s faces,” as WWE CEO Vince McMahon never tires of saying, those inside the industry and its loyal fanbase have had to grapple with a disturbing number of untimely deaths the last few decades. Whether the conversation inevitably comes back around to complications from steroid abuse, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, wrestlers enduring untold hours of physical abuse in the ring or just bad luck, we wrestling fans somehow find ourselves mourning a new round of fallen superstars year after year. Some of these are the result of the natural progression of time, and some are more shocking.

The death of Jonathan Huber, 41, known as Luke Harper in WWE and Mr. Brodie Lee in AEW, on Dec. 26 shook the wrestling community seemingly to the core. Huber, who is listed at 6-foot, 5-inches tall and 275 pounds, recently succumbed to complications from a “non-Covid related lung issue,” according to his wife, and his death, almost two weeks later, is still being mourned across the industry, as fans, colleagues and friends share memories of the man many say was a genuinely good person, a loving husband and father of two children and a loyal friend.

‘We Fought Like Brothers’

Huber began backyard wrestling in 2003 before debuting with the indie promotion, Chikara, in 2007. Huber bumped around in some other indie promotions up until 2012 when he signed a developmental deal with the WWE to work in the company’s NXT developmental promotion before being called up to the main roster.

On WWE’s main shows, Huber was part of the hugely popular Wyatt Family faction and the Bludgeon Brothers tag team as the character of Luke Harper, and in AEW, he was the leader of the Dark Order under the name, Brodie Lee, which is a combination of his name on the indies, Brodie Bruce, and actor Jason Lee. While he, along with his partners, Bray Wyatt and Erick Rowan, had a lot of success as the Wyatt Family in WWE, perhaps punctuated by the stable’s feud with one of the greatest factions in the company’s history, The Shield, beginning in 2014, the common thought among wrestling fans is that Huber was not given a chance as a singles competitor in WWE.

In AEW, however, he was put at the head of his own group and was given the freedom to shine on the mic and in the ring. He took part in a dog collar match in October against Cody Rhodes, which was one hell of a contest, and he was then taken off TV. This would turn out to be his last match. Fans simply thought he was injured. Much to our dismay, however, the truth was much more saddening, and the reality of such a robust superstar stricken down in his prime has forced a lot of us to reevaluate life once again in the face of our own mortality and the humanity of larger-than-life heroes in the ring that we sometimes mistakenly think are invincible.

His friend and leader of the Wyatt Family, Bray Wyatt — real name Windham Rotunda — penned a touching send-off that deserves a full airing:

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. We were always at our best when we were a team I think we both knew it. We fought like brothers because we were. 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 fucking much already. I would do anything just live through our worst moments again I can’t believe you’re gone. I’m so sorry brother. I’m so sorry. You will always be a part of me, whether I like it or not without you everything is different and I hope Amanda truly knows that I am here not just to say it but because I love them too. I will make sure your son knows the incredible man you were. Not the legends people will tell but the real you that very few people got to see. I promise I’ll put him over clean in dark matches when he’s old enough just like I promised. 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.

You will always be a part of me, whether I like it or not without you everything is different. — Bray Wyatt

I wasn’t the biggest Luke Harper fan in WWE, but when he came to AEW this past March and I got to see the full breadth of what he could do on the mic and in the ring if given the opportunity, I began to appreciate his body of work and was looking forward to seeing him progress in the company. He had incredible potential.

This past Wednesday, AEW gave one of the most touching and emotional tributes to a wrestler I have ever seen. The entire episode of AEW’s show, “Dynamite,” was devoted to Huber. His son, Brodie Jr., picked all the matchups, and a member of Brodie Lee’s old group, the Dark Order, came away with the victory each time. Brodie Jr., who was in attendance donning a Dark Order mask, was named an honorary member of the group earlier in the week and now holds the name “-1” because each member of the group is assigned a number and that is their in-ring name. The child was also given Brodie Lee’s TNT Championship, and he became the lifelong titleholder.

Begin Again

As I listened to multiple colleagues and podcasters talk about Huber’s life, I teared up more than once when I thought about the fragility of life and that it doesn’t matter how robust a person is, time can claim any of us in an instant. As I have said, his death rocked many people in the wrestling community, and I was certainly not excluded. And for it to come at the end of 2020, a year in which more than 330,000 Americans died from the pandemic; a year in which hundreds of businesses were either shuttered or have struggled to remain open; a year in which the wrestling business, sometimes to a fault, tried to keep people entertained in the mist of so much suffering; a year in which the wrestling world had already lost at least 15 notable superstars, including Pat Patterson, Rocky Johnson (The Rock’s father), famous ring announcer, Howard Finkel, Shad Gaspard, La Parka, Road Warrior Animal, Kamala and others; was all the more stultifying.

Suffice it to say that last night, Dec. 31, 2020, I didn’t much feel like celebrating. I slept a lot. I vegged in front of the TV. I gazed with something like contempt as gleeful partiers cheered and danced in front of screen with a lot of hope but not much else, as if a pall of death and stupidity hadn’t just been unleashed in 2020.

I gazed with something like contempt as gleeful partiers cheered and danced in front of screen with a lot of hope but not much else, as if a pall of death and stupidity hadn’t just been unleashed in 2020.

Like almost every other New Year’s on record, we had high hopes for 2020. But we were quickly disappointed as winter bled into spring. Our great and fearless leader was one of the most heartless presidents in the history of the country who contributed to more human misery than he prevented. Beyond the 330,000 people who are now dead because of Covid-19 and the incompetent federal response, millions of other family members have been directly impacted by the virus and are currently grieving for those who will not be around to celebrate this “joyous” holiday season.

And what of the rest of 2020? Many more unarmed, innocent black people were killed by police this year, and despite protest after protest in states all across the nation, only some modest reforms have taken place thus far. Despite a fucking Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow and the struggle for civil rights well into the 20th century, America is still defaulting on Martin Luther King Jr.’s promissory note and simply cannot wrap its collective mind around that little independent clause, “all men are created equal.” Seditious Republicans are still, more than a month after the election, attempting to subvert the Constitution and our democracy. And finally, something like half of this nation has exposed itself as deeply selfish, unloving, racist and conspiratorial.

So, no, forgive me, given the wreckage of 2020 and Huber’s untimely death, if I was not in a festive mood yesterday with these realities still in view.

Personally, I have spoken to friends about 2020 as a bittersweet affair. I, like many, have gone through bouts of depression, loneliness and anger. As an immunecompromised individual, only in the last month or so have I gotten to see my girlfriend and my family. I have been able to make some good things happen this past year. I have tried to strengthen my relationships. Creatively, I have written about 10 new songs since the quarantine, my most productive single year to date. I have begun recording some of my original songs in a studio in the hopes of releasing some singles and either an EP or full album sometime in 2021. I have listened to about 100-125 albums that I had never heard before and have tried to expand my general music knowledge. Even as I have been limited in where I can go the last nine months, I have taken a considerable number of nature photographs by simply driving around my neighborhood and staying away from people as much as possible. And through all of the Covid scares, I have remained healthy during quarantine by following medical advice and staying cautious and diligent, and no one in my immediate family has been impacted by the virus.

I didn’t want this piece to be all doom and gloom, and I hope it has not been. I’m cautiously hopeful for 2021, but I simply could not forget, or erase from my mind, even for a few hours of enjoyment last night, the severe losses that we have suffered, the immense challenges that we still face and the anger that still bubbles to the surface when I think about the wanton intolerance and ignorance that still threatens to cripple the progress we have made.

Joe Biden is going to take office with or without the support of the seditious House Republicans, and under his leadership, America will renavigate our onward path toward science, reason and progress. Covid will eventually be defeated, and we will slowly get back to normal.

Tragically, though, it’s too late for Huber, and it’s too late for 330,000 Americans, but it isn’t too late for we who remain to set a different course, both personally and nationally, as we strive to heal a broken nation and a lot of broken hearts.

If the events of 2020 have taught us anything, it is that we have the chance to right the ship. The chance to bend the arm further toward justice. The chance to love our neighbors and to care for each other. The chance to really listen to and learn from each other. The chance to reinvite bipartisanship into our public discourse. The chance to bring this nation ever closer to the imperishable ideas outlined by the Enlightenment principles that inform our Constitution. The chance to grow, love and live. The chance to hope when hope was once out of reach. The chance to tell the people we love how we feel, not later, but now.

The chance to start over. The chance to begin again …

Zooey Deschanel and new years

OK, so yeah, this is a little bit gay (not that there’s anything wrong with that), but here we have Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt singing and playing a New Year’s Eve tune. Zooey is on the lukulule, while Levitt is on the guitar.

The only thing that fascinates me about this is that movie stars are typically so sheltered from the general public that we rarely get to see what they are like as people. Zooey, on YouTube (user name: hellogiggles), breaks this trend, and that’s one reason why I’m a fan:

Live blogging 1-1-11

  • 10:52: Wait … Dick Clark is still alive and kicking?
  • 10:54: Train … seriously, don’t they have other songs in the repertoire?
  • 11:01: And now, a cutaway to WSBTV’s coverage of Atlanta’s Peach Drop. Tangerines take to the streets in protest.
  • 11:03: Local news reminds us that it’s already 2011 in places like Russia and New Zealand. Brilliant. Thanks for the info.
  • 11:10: Oh man, local news is unwatchable. We have to endure this for 25 more minutes before Dick Clark’s Rockin’ Eve is back. That’s sacrilege.
  • 11:18: Ok, local news until 11:30. Switching to MTV’s New Year’s show for a few minutes.
  • 11:19: Ugh, some sort of Old Spice Jersey Shore skit on MTV. Society is crumbling.
  • 11:20: Best Internet clips from MTV’s show — Bieber fever. Yeah, society is crumbling.
  • 11:23: One of the clips featured that kid who so deftly covered Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi.”
  • 11:31: OK, back to NYRE. Dick Clack, bless your soul.
  • 11:32: New Kids on the Block? WTF? I thought I had thoroughly suppressed those memories.
  • 11:34: About to pour up a glass of Port. It’s pretty tart.
  • 11:36: Warmest New Year’s Eve in NYC was 58 degrees and the coldest was 1 degree, according to Ryan Seacrest.
  • 11:38: New Kids on the Block and the Back Street Boys! Yeah, society is crumbling. OMG, I’m getting bad junior high flashbacks.
  • 11:42: Ut Oh, here we go. Folks kissing in Times Square. “Please don’t go girl …”
  • 11:43: “The Right Stuff. … Uh oh oh oh oh, the right stuff. …”
  • 11:45: Ahh, it’s done. I was hoping for “Hangin’ Tough”
  • 11:50: Jenny McCarthy? Well, it makes sense. She’s an MTV vet.
  • 11:58: Bubbly ready. It’s about to be on.
  • 11:59: “The energy, the magic is about to happen.” – Seacrest