Former All Elite Wrestling (AEW) World Champion Jon Moxley has shared his memories in tribute of Brodie Lee following his devastating passing.
Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Moxley said:
“It doesn’t feel real. It feels like I’m in a very vivid dream and I’m waiting to snap out of it. My brain hasn’t accepted it yet. Right now, I’m completely f**king numb.
“The first night we wrestled each other, we shared a hotel room together later that night. That was over a decade ago. He was an incredible person. While so many of us would be all hot about some wrestling angle, he would find a way to turn negatives into a positive or an inside joke. He was the exact person you wanted in the locker room. I was so glad to be around him again in AEW.
“And we wrestled so many times. Whether it was on the indies, in The Shield–Wyatt war, six-mans on house shows and European tours, it felt like we were always together. When Tony Khan asked me about Brodie in AEW, I said, ‘Hell yeah, I want that match.’ We could wrestle each other in our sleep. He was so f**king good.”
The pair wrestled each other in a WWE tryout match, about which Moxley said:
“We always joked that he’d be a substitute teacher in Rochester if I hadn’t made him look so good, but the truth is he was this can’t-miss, undeniable talent. He was an athletic big man that could work circles around everybody.”
They were both involved in a multi-man ladder match for the Intercontinental Title match at WrestleMania 31 in 2015. Moxley said:
“We wanted to make the highlight reel. We figured the only way we could do that was if I nearly killed myself with a death-defying bump. So we devised this spot where he powerbombs me from the ring to the floor through a steel ladder, and that’s f**king sketchy. It’s an extremely dangerous bump, going backward at a high angle.
“It was a gnarly bump. Vince [McMahon] bugged out. He thought I was dead, which meant it was a good f**king bump. And we made the highlight reel. I maintain to this day that I would not have trusted anybody else on the planet with that bump. I put my life in his hands, and I walked away.”
Closing out, Moxley added:
“It wasn’t a secret to anyone in the business how good he was. But he was always used in a utility role or part of a group. For him to be the centerpiece of a group as a solo act, he proved he was a main-event performer.
“He wasn’t interested in being famous. This is a guy you would not see at an afterparty. As soon as he was done with work, he was going home to his family as soon as possible. He was so proud to be a father and a husband. He loved wrestling and he was great at it, but it was his job. He was lucky enough to love his vocation, but his most important role in life was as a father and a husband.
“I’m grateful I got to spend so much time with him, from the time we first met on the indies. I’ll always picture him with that smile on his face. I still can’t wrap my brain around this. I don’t understand why the best people are the ones taken away so early.”
We continue to send our thoughts and condolences to Huber’s family, friends, and everyone affected by his passing.
