Tony Schiavone said that the AEW Unrestricted podcast with Jon Huber/Brodie Lee was taped one day before he got sick. It went up on 11/2 but was taped a few days before that.
Huber was first hospitalized in Tampa when his lungs stopped working for reasons that still aren’t clear. The fact he was tested more than a dozen times for COVID-19, shows that the doctors at the Mayo Clinic were looking for that to be the reason. But every test came up negative, including for antibodies which would show if he somehow previously had it and it slipped through the cracks. He was being tested by AEW every time he came to television, which would mean sometimes weekly, and other times every other week.
AEW, and in specific, Megha Parekh, the Senior Vice President and Chief Legal officer for both the Jacksonville Jaguars and AEW, as well as the Khan family’s General Counsel, were able to get him moved, via airlift, from the hospital in Tampa, where the family lived, to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville on 10/31. T
A somber Matt Jackson opened this week’s Being The Elite, explaining that he was about to fly to Jacksonville for last week’s Brodie Lee tribute show.
Footage from the show aired, including a behind-the-scenes look at a backstage speech that Eddie Kingston gave, encouraging the crew to perform for Brodie and everyone they have collectively ever lost. Kingston also encouraged the roster to tell each other that they love one another.
The Elite —
There was an easter egg at the end of the episode — a still shot of The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega standing over a fallen AJ Styles in an NJPW ring from when Omega kicked Styles out of Bullet Club in 2016.
BTE Championship —
John Silver retained the BTE Championship in a kick the cap off a water bottle challenge, defeating Marko Stunt.
Dark Order —
Dasha, Ortiz and Diamante confronted Alex Abrahantes over his apparent decision to join Dark Order. Abrahantes is still acting as though he hasn’t joined the group.
Miscellaneous bits —
Matt Hardy suggested that Private Party each give him 30 percent of their pay in exchange for his mentoring and advice.
The Bunny was looking for Brandon Cutler backstage while armed with scissors.
Trent beat Joey Janela in chess. Janela then brought in Luchasaurus who easily defeated Trent.
Kip Sabian asked Leva Bates if she let him win when they played video games. Bates again said she didn’t let him win. Sabian wanted Bates to individually tweet fans to tell them that he was a superior gamer and that she did not let him win.
Vickie Guerrero got her head caught in a smock while waiting for her hair and makeup to be done. Brian Pillman Jr. entered and thought that she was a nun. This gave Vickie the idea for a new gimmick for herself and Nyla Rose.
The Mikey Rukus music video for Ghost Town debuted. Rukus and Matt Hardy introduced the video.
WWE has uploaded a second video with members of their roster paying tribute to Jon Huber (Brodie Lee in AEW and Luke Harper in WWE).
The 11-minute video includes tributes from Cesaro, Daniel Bryan, Big E, Drew McIntyre, costume designer Sarath Ton, Dolph Ziggler, Natalya, Finn Balor, Sami Zayn, and Tamina:
WWE also released a video last week with Xavier Woods, Keith Lee, Mustafa Ali, John Morrison, Kofi Kingston, Tyson Kidd, Adam Pearce, and Jason Jordan sharing their memories of Huber.
Huber passed away at 41 years old on December 26 after battling a non COVID-19 related lung issue. Last week’s Raw, NXT, and SmackDown episodes opened with tribute graphics for Huber and there were references to him throughout Raw and SmackDown. Last week’s AEW Dynamite was a Brodie Lee tribute show.
On Twitter today, Dax Harwood announced that — after getting Huber’s wife Amanda’s blessing — FTR are changing the name of their finishing move in AEW to one of Huber’s nicknames: “After speaking with Amanda, and getting her blessing, we have decided to change the name of The Goodnight Express to ‘Big Rig’. This is our way of keeping a bit of his legacy alive in professional wrestling. We love you, Brodie. Can’t wait to see you again.”
Figure Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm is back with tons to talk about including his memories of Brodie Lee, the AEW tribute show, his ideas to make wrestling fun in 2021, his own goals for the new year and so much more.
A fun show as always with Lance, so check it out in beautiful HD at video.f4wonline.com~!
A look at the death, unique lives and careers of Jon Huber and Danny Hodge is the focus of what is the best issue of the Observer in more than a decade.
Details surrounding the Huber health crisis and death, words from his wife, how he got started in wrestling, my own personal thoughts regarding my interaction with him, his leaving WWE for AEW, his WWE run with The Wyatt Family, what were the plans for the Bludgeon Brothers to imitate and how it fell through, the match that changes his WWE focus, the background of his big decision, what match was scheduled for him that fell through, how his AEW term played out with his biggest matches, why the death became such a huge news story, the story behind and coverage of the tribute show and more.
The iconic figure of Danny Hodge with what should be a movie script, covering growing up in a small town known for wrestling, his unique childhood, his developing his legendary grip strength, his unbelievable credentials as a wrestler, MMA, street fights, the auto accident that ended his career, his biggest pro wrestling matches, his boxing career and why people will talk about him as his records every year going forward.
Preview the WrestleKingdom shows this week, covering the matches and the stories behind the matches, as well as how the restrictions have changed things.
Update the Royal Rumble including a gimmick match being talked about, new WWE show, top 25 WWE matches of the year, U.K. and Canadian ratings as well as where pro wrestling ranks in sports ratings, market value of WWE as well as the most-watched shows on the WWE Network.
2020 Wrestling Observer Awards ballot.
Television stations that carried wrestling and MMA in 2020 and how they did, and how wrestling did in comparison with the station’s usual programming.
Detailed look at the television business, looking at stats not available elsewhere to get the deepest read into how shows are doing, what categories are doing well and how shows compare with previous weeks and one year ago.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
Want to thank everyone for their comments on the new issue. It’s probably going to be the best issue in many years but I hope I never do another one like it again.
Mistico and girlfriend Carolina Rodriguez have tested positive for COVID-19. He first showed symptoms on 12/27, and then she got sick on 12/28. They went to a doctor who didn’t think he had it, but their symptoms got worse, especially his, so they got tested on 12/30 and tested positive. The entire family got together on Christmas day so Rush and his family were all tested and tested negative. Dragon Lee and his wife are also getting tested.
Smackdown tonight has Big E vs. King Corbin for the IC title, Sasha Banks & Bianca Belair vs. Bayley & Carmella and Roman Reigns has a request for WWE management. 205 Live tonight has Ever Rise & Curt Stallion vs. Ariya Daivari & The Singh Brothers plus Jake Atlas vs. Mansoor.
MLW made the decision to just air a ten bell salute for Brodie Lee on YouTube this week. Bein will get the salute and a rerun show and they will be back to regular programming Wednesday night with the Kings of Colosseum show.
I hadn’t seen this before today, it’s a clip of after Wednesday’s Dynamite show and it’s a must- see.
The WWE Network will be releasing a Best of Luke Harper show. There are also documentaries coming on Pat Paterson, Bianca Belair, A.J. Styles and Yokozuna.
UFC
Mike Jackson, who beat C.M. Punk in Punk’s second UFC fight, was scheduled to face Dan Barry on the 1/20 show. Barry said on social media that he found out last night that Jackson can’t make the fight on 1/20 and said he doesn’t know why but wishes him the best. The current plan is for the fight to be rescheduled for March or April.
MISC
Former NWA Tag Team champion Matt Riviera announced his retirement from wrestling today. He sent out a release saying, “I seriously appreciate the support that I have received for the duration of my time as an active talent and promoter in pro wrestling. It is time to open a new chapter in my life by closing this one. I wish everyone the best. Riviera started promoting at 17 and started wrestling at 21, and held the NWA world tag team titles three times with Rob Conway.
“Samson the Wrestling Musical” which streams at 6pm PT / 9pm ET today: https://www.levelground.nyc/ (thanks to Dave Teixeira)
Impact will have a virtual fanfest on 1/16 on Zoom called the Hard to Kill Cell-abration. The event will take place starting at 11 a.m. Eastern time with Rich Swann, Deonna Purrazzo, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Eric Young, Don Callis, Kiera Hogan, Tasha Steelz, Chris Sabin &Alex Shelley.
Synergy Pro Wrestling airs a special tomorrow live on IWTV from the Monster Factory featuring Jordan Oliver vs. Brandon Kirk as the main event.
Melbourne City Wrestling on their podcast did an angle to set up a Slex vs. Adam Brooks main event for their return on 2/6.
EPW in Australia announced Mikey Nicholls vs.; Michael Morleone as their 1/23 main event.
Death Match Downunder announced a 1/16 show in Melbourne headlined by Ritchie Taylor vs. Tommy Knight.
The situation in Melbourne is that there have been new cases in the state of Victoria due to the outbreak in New South Wales, which borders on Victoria. Right now the borders of the states have been closed and there is a mask mandate for indoor gatherings. But if things get worse the above shows could be in jeopardy (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
The shocking death of Jon Huber, better known as Brodie Lee and Luke Harper, brought a fractured U.S. wrestling world together in ways almost never thought possible.
Huber passed away on 12/26, two months after his lungs began to shut down, while hospitalized at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. He had been hospitalized since late October, just weeks after one of the biggest matches of his career, a dog collar chain match where he lost the TNT title to Cody Rhodes on the 10/7 episode of Dynamite. It was a brutal bloodbath match, more akin to a match from the 1970s as far as the bleeding, but with the harder physical style of modern wrestling.
His death at the age of 41 left people looking for answers, which created a furor of its own. Given the times, COVID-19 would be the conclusion almost everyone would to come to. In many ways, it would give people an answer. Obviously his doctors didn’t discount that possibility as he was tested over-and-over while in the hospital, with every test imaginable, including for antibodies which would show having it in the recent past, even though he was also tested regularly at his work.
WWE has released a video with members of their roster and others in the company paying tribute to Jon Huber (Brodie Lee in AEW and Luke Harper in WWE).
The video was filmed at Monday’s Raw and includes Xavier Woods, Keith Lee, Mustafa Ali, John Morrison, Kofi Kingston, Tyson Kidd, Adam Pearce, and Jason Jordan sharing their memories of Huber:
Monday’s Raw and Wednesday’s NXT opened with tribute graphics for Huber. Tom Phillips, Drew McIntyre, Alexa Bliss, Ricochet, Woods, Kingston, and T-Bar also paid tribute to Huber with references throughout Monday’s show. On Raw Talk after the episode, Woods and Kingston spoke about how important Huber was to them and everyone in WWE.
Huber passed away at 41 years old on December 26 after battling a non COVID-19 related lung issue. Wednesday night’s episode of AEW Dynamite was a celebration of Huber’s life and included appearances by his wife Amanda, their sons Brodie and Nolan, and his former WWE tag team partner Erick Rowan.
AEW paid tribute to the late Jon “Brodie Lee” Huber on last night’s Dynamite.
The show featured the traditional 10-bell salute, video tributes to Lee and his family, and appearances by his wife and children. There was also an appearance by Lee’s long-time tag partner Erick Rowan, video tributes from AEW talent, and a series of matches in which Lee’s Dark Order faction were victorious.
In the final segment of the show, AEW President Tony Khan presented Brodie Lee Jr. with the TNT Championship. Khan declared Brodie Lee as the greatest TNT Champion in history, then presented Lee Jr. with a TNT title belt and declared him the TNT Champion for life.
Lee Jr. was also involved in an angle during Hangman Page, John Silver & Alex Reynolds vs. MJF, Santana & Ortiz. After MJF removed Jr.’s Dark Order mask, the youngster attacked MJF with a kendo stick, leading to Page, Silver & Reynolds getting the victory.
The show’s main event, billed as the Brodie Lee Jr. Dream Match, saw Cody Rhodes, Orange Cassidy & Preston “10” Vance defeat Team Taz. After the match, Sting and Darby Allin appeared to save Rhodes, Cassidy, and Vance from a Team Taz attack.
The Dark Order’s Anna Jay teamed with Tay Conti to defeat Britt Baker & Penelope Ford and Lance Archer teamed with Dark Order’s Evil Uno & Stu Grayson to defeat Eddie Kingston, Butcher & Blade. Plus, The Young Bucks teamed with Dark Order member Colt Cabana to defeat Matt Hardy & Private Party in the show’s opener.
For full video highlights from last night, see below.
The wrestling world has responded to the Brodie Lee Celebration of Life tribute edition of AEW Dynamite.
Pro Wrestling Tees announced on Wednesday night that AEW’s Brodie Lee tribute T-shirt set their company record for sales in a 24-hour period in less than two hours, before the tribute episode of Dynamite was even finished. Pro Wrestling Tees then announced that the T-shirt had become the highest selling shirt of 2020 in just under four hours.
AEW President Tony Khan noted that he purchased the rights in perpetuity to Tom Waits’ “Ol’ 55,” which was the song used in the show-closing tribute video for Lee.
“Thank you everyone who joined us tonight on #AEWDynamite to celebrate the life of Jon Huber, known to fans as Mr. Brodie Lee,” Khan tweeted. “It was a great honor to host his family Amanda, Brodie & Nolan. I bought the rights to Ol’ 55 by Tom Waits in perpetuity so that tribute will last forever.”
On AEW Dynamite’s post-show, Tony Schiavone mentioned that Brodie Lee Jr. will keep the TNT Championship belt that was given to him at the end of the tribute show. The title given to Brodie Lee Jr. was the real TNT title belt. Darby Allin, the current TNT Champion, will receive a new belt.
Both AEW and WWE talent took to social media to praise last night’s Dynamite and to pay tribute to Lee. Big E, Sasha Banks, Mustafa Ali, Kevin Owens, Daniel Bryan, Sami Zayn, Bayley, Cody Rhodes, Anna Jay, Tony Schiavone, Bryce Remsburg, and Lance Archer are some of the names who tweeted their thoughts:
What a perfect tribute show to a beautiful man. I’m just so glad I got to be friends with someone so many loved. #BrodieLee
I will never forget the love shown tonight. #BrodieLeeTribute Thanks to each and every fan for the kind remarks. The memory of Brodie will never fade #AEW#AEWDynamite
AEW has posted a series of video tributes to Jon “Brodie Lee” Huber on their YouTube channel.
In addition to messages from Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, Darby Allin, and Eddie Kingston, which also aired on Wednesday night’s Brodie Lee tribute show, the company uploaded video tributes from Matt Hardy and Wardlow.
In a separate video, Dustin Rhodes, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian and Jerry Lynn paid tribute to Lee’s in-ring work.
AEW’s video package that highlighted the Huber family was posted on the channel in its entirety, as was the show-closing package that featured both still photos and video footage from various stops throughout Lee’s wrestling career.
You can find the videos embedded below, along with the 10-bell salute that opened Wednesday’s show:
Ten-bell salute to Brodie Lee
Jon Moxley tribute
Darby Allin tribute
Tribute to the Huber family
Eddie Kingston tribute
Chris Jericho tribute
Dynamite-closing video tribute
Dustin Rhodes, Daniels, Kazarian & Jerry Lynn pay tribute to Brodie Lee the wrestler
Erick Rowan appeared tonight on AEW Dynamite’s Brodie Lee tribute show.
He appeared towards the end of a six-man tag team match which pitted Alex Reynolds & John Silver of The Dark Order and Hangman Page against MJF, Santana, and Ortiz of the Inner Circle. Wardlow, who was at ringside, attacked Reynolds as he was making the save for his partner Silver. It was at that moment that Rowan came in and attacked Wardlow, sending him to the back. Rowan was identified both by his WWE name and the name he has been using outside of WWE, Erick RedBeard.
Reynolds, Silver, and Page made a comeback, but MJF put Ortiz’s foot on the ropes as he was being pinned. MJF then pulled the mask off of -1 (Brodie Huber) at ringside. -1 responded by hitting MJF with a kendo stick. Silver then pinned Ortiz with a discus forearm.
After the match, Rowan returned to the ring and helped an emotional Reynolds and Silver back to their feet. He held a sign that said “Goodbye for now, my brother. See you down the road” as they embraced.
Rowan and Lee, under the name Luke Harper, teamed regularly in NXT and later on the main WWE roster as part of the Wyatt Family. They also had a separate run as a team away from Bray Wyatt, repackaged under the team name The Bludgeon Brothers.
Following his passing, AEW will celebrate the life of Jon “Brodie Lee” Huber with a tribute show on Dynamite tonight.
Every announced match will feature at least one member of The Dark Order.
Three of Brodie Lee’s son’s favorite wrestlers, Cody Rhodes, Orange Cassidy & Preston “10” Vance will team together for one night only as they take on Brian Cage, Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs of Team Taz in a Brodie Lee Jr. Dream Match.
The Young Bucks & Colt Cabana will face Matt Hardy & Private Party, Hangman Page, John Silver & Alex Reynolds will take on The Inner Circle’s MJF, Santana & Ortiz, Lance Archer will team with Evil Uno & Stu Grayson against Eddie Kingston, The Butcher & The Blade, and Anna Jay & Tay Conti will face Britt Baker & Penelope Ford in a tag match.
Chris Jericho will be on commentary for the show.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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Show Report —
“It’s Wednesday, you know what that means.”
Brodie Lee’s wife and children were joined by the entire AEW roster for the ten-bell salute.
A Jon Moxley promo played. He said he’s never had a more difficult time coming up with the words to say, and that Brodie Lee brought joy to wrestling. Moxley had known Lee from bingo halls to stadiums, but to Lee, this was just a job. 2020 has hurt us all, but Lee’s passing was like a PRIDE soccer kick to the face. Wrestling isn’t just a sport, it’s a community, and we support each other.
Moxley hopes that Lee inspires us all to become a little bit better and to appreciate what we have, because every day, including a day spent with Lee, is a gift. “I love you, brother, and I’ll never forget you.”
**********
Chris Jericho joined commentary for the show.
Colt Cabana & The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) defeated Matt Hardy & Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen)
This was a fantastic, emotional opener (as expected).
Cabana had tears in his eyes during his entrance. He and Kassidy started off, where Cabana took advantage with his signature comedy. Quen and the Bucks each tagged in, where the Bucks took out both of Private Party before joining Cabana for a triple dropkick on Hardy. Matt Jackson skinned the cat after his dropkick, leading to a rare quebrada from Cabana on all three opponents.
Nick beat down Quen in the corner but was cut off by a clothesline from Hardy on the apron. A blind tag and superkick from Matt Jackson stopped a Razor’s Edge from Hardy, but a trip from Hardy allowed Quen to take him out with a tope.
Private Party and Hardy isolated Matt Jackson in the corner for an extended heat sequence. A diving crossbody from the latter got two, but he was met with a Side Effect from Hardy for two. Hardy showboated, but Cabana attacked him from the apron and Matt Jackson landed a Twist of Fate.
Cabana got the hot tag and landed an Asai moonsault on both of Private Party before following it up with the flip, flop, and fly. He landed a tijeras and a hip attack for two. Kassidy countered the discus lariat into a crucifix for a close near fall. Quen landed a dive for another two. Hardy tried to direct traffic, sending Private Party to the top turnbuckles, but they were knocked down, and Hardy was cut off with a superkick.
Nick tagged in and ran wild with clotheslines but was tripped yet again by Hardy. He fought back and landed his facebuster into a moonsault. “That’s for you, Brodie.”
Private Party surprised him with Gin ‘n’ Juice, Hardy hit the Twist of Fate, Kassidy hit the Swanton Bomb, and Quen landed a shooting star press, but Cabana broke up the pin. The official was distracted so Hardy tried to attack with a chair, but Quen wouldn’t let him. They cut off Cabana and set up for Gin ‘n’ Juice, but Matt Jackson blindsided Quen with a superkick.
The Bucks hit Quen with an Indytaker, and Cabana followed it up with the Superman pin for three.
Dark Order “-1,” Brodie Lee’s son, was shown at ringside with Alan “5” Angels. The Acclaimed’s music played, and Max Caster said he had something to say. SCU ran out and laid them out, the Bucks hit them with superkicks, and Cabana hit bionic elbows on both, sending them packing. “-1” looked on approvingly.
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Darby Allin talked about Brodie Lee. Allin was so happy when Lee came to AEW, and he desperately wanted to wrestle him. He said that Lee had no ego. “He was the man, by far. #1 dude I wish I could’ve wrestled.”
**********
Before the match, Eddie Kingston took a mic and said “Brodie, I love you, I miss you.” Now that the niceness was out of the way, he said that the Dark Order is nothing without Lee.
Dark Order (Stu Grayson & Evil Uno) & Lance Archer (w/ Jake Roberts) defeated Eddie Kingston, The Butcher, & The Blade (w/ The Bunny)
This was another excellent, hard-fought match.
Lance Archer wore classic Brodie Lee / Luke Harper gear, with the old tank top and blue jeans.
Uno attacked Kingston before the bell. Butcher and Blade were dispatched as Archer and the Dark Order beat Kingston down in the ring. They traded using each other as weapons to flatten Kingston on the mat.
With order restored, Bunny tripped Grayson, which allowed the heels to take control. Roberts returned the favor with a trip of his own, and Grayson hit a black hole slam leading into the commercial.
Kingston, Butcher and Blade took control during the break. Uno and Kingston had a stiff slap fight, but Uno avoided spinning back fists to hit straight right hands and a half-and-half suplex. Archer and Blade tagged in, and Archer shrugged off Blade’s attacks before planting him with a chokeslam. Blade fought out of another, but there was no reprieve as he was met with a corner splash.
Archer performed his rope-walk but ended it with an incredible moonsault on Blade. Butcher tried to cut him off, but was pounced out of the ring by Archer. A combination move from Dark Order almost got the pin, but Butcher and Kingston broke it up. A DDT from Kingston on Grayson got a close near fall, but Grayson escaped to Archer after a backflip kick.
Archer set up for Blackout on Blade, but Kingston broke it up. Grayson tagged in like a house of fire with a springboard apron DDT on Butcher before he and Uno landed Fatality on Blade for the victory.
After the match, Dark Order and Archer landed forearms on Kingston before Roberts hit him with a short-arm clothesline.
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The next tribute was about how much Brodie Lee loved his wife and children. It was said that Lee and his family were inseperable, and that Lee couldn’t wait to get out of Daily’s Place after work was done. Bryce Remsburg said that if there were a Mount Rushmore of wrestling dads, Lee should be on it.
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Dark Order (John Silver & Alex Reynolds) & Hangman Page defeated Inner Circle (MJF, Santana, & Ortiz) (w/ Sammy Guevara, Jake Hager, & Wardlow)
As great as the show’s been so far, this was the highlight.
Silver wore the Mr. Brodie Lee robe and gear. Before the match, Silver and Reynolds pulled rolls of paper out and tossed them in their opponents’ faces, a reference to what Lee would do to them on Being The Elite.
At the start of the match, Page pulled out a roll of paper of his own and tossed it in MJF’s face. MJF screamed at “-1,” Brodie Lee’s son, at ringside.
Silver and Ortiz tagged in and had an exchange before a crossbody from Santana. Reynolds tagged in after an elbow from Silver and landed a smooth elbow, but Santana popped up and downed him with a neckbreaker. Santana went for the Three Amigos suplexes, using Ortiz for help on the third, as the Inner Circle continued to isolate Reynolds.
Page hit an elbow on Ortiz, allowing himself to tag in. He hit attacks all three opponents, including his springboard clothesline on Santana and a fallaway slam on MJF. He followed it up with a pescado and a clothesline. Page set up for the Buckshot Lariat, but MJF rolled out of the ring, allowing Inner Circle to cut him off with a triple team.
Back from break, MJF flipped off “-1,” so Page surprised him with a boot. Page reached Silver for the hot tag, who ran wild on Santana and Ortiz. He had his own house of fire moment, attacking all of the Inner Circle, before finally being cut off by Santana. We got the parade of big moves, concluded with a destroyer from Silver on MJF, who followed it up with a tope suicida.
Back in the ring, Silver was met with the Heatseeker from MJF and Santana & Ortiz’s combination finisher, but Reynolds broke up the pin.
With the official distracted, Wardlow attacked Reynolds with a clothesline, so Eric Redbeard (Erick Rowan in WWE, Brodie Lee’s longtime tag partner) ran out to send Wardlow packing. What a wonderful moment.
Dark Order hit power moves on Ortiz, concluded by a Buckshot Lariat from Page, but MJF put Ortiz’s foot on the ropes. MJF pulled off the mask of “-1,” who subsequently domed MJF with a kendo stick.
Silver posed like Lee, landed the discus forearm, and pinned Ortiz.
Everyone was emotional after the match, particularly Silver. Redbeard came back out with a sign that read “Goodbye for now, my brother. See you down the road.”
**********
Eddie Kingston said he was going to miss Brodie Lee. He’s gonna miss Lee busting his balls, but he’s also going to miss Lee believing in him. Kingston wants Lee’s children to know that their father isn’t gone, because his teachings live on. Lee was a warrior inside and outside of the ring, and he loved his children.
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Anna Jay & Tay Conti defeated Britt Baker, D.M.D. & Penelope Ford (w/ Kip Sabian & Miro)
Jay and Baker started off. They performed chain wrestling until Ford tagged in, where Jay and Conti took control. Ford slapped Conti, who responded with elbows and judo throws. A heel kick from Conti got two. Sabian distracted the official, allowing Baker to surprise Conti with a kick, which Ford followed up with a German suplex.
Ford and Baker maintained control throughout a commercial break. Conti and Ford downed each other with simultaneous pump kicks before reaching their partners for tags. Jay ran wild on Baker, concluding the sequence with a flipping neckbreaker. Ford blindsided Jay with a backstabber, so Conti ran in to send her packing. Baker downed Conti with a Sling Blade before Jay flattened Baker with the Dangerous Jay kick.
Jay was emotional, pointing to the sky. Baker blindsided her and hit a fisherman’s neckbreaker for two. Ford made a blind tag and hit a diving blockbuster for two. The crowd was really behind Jay at this point.
After catching a moonsault, Jay locked on the Queenslayer sleeper as Conti dispatched Baker and Reba, forcing Ford to tap.
Jay and Conti were very emotional. Tony Schiavone interviewed Baker, who said that the whole thing was rigged, almost like a “Big Rig” (one of Brodie Lee’s names on the indies), with the Dark Order winning every match. Thunder Rosa ran out and attacked.
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Next week’s card for New Year’s Smash Night 1:
AEW World Championship: Kenny Omega (c) vs. Rey Fenix
AEW Women’s Championship: Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Abadon
This match features the favorite wrestlers of “-1” and was billed as “one night only.” Bryce Remsburg, very emotional earlier on in the show, was the official for the match.
Cody and Hobbs started, where Hobbs immediately dropped Cody. Starks tagged in and was met with strikes from Cody, but he popped up and landed a dropkick. He followed it up with a shoulder tackle and posed, allowing Cody to fire up and regain control. Cody wanted to tag in Cassidy, but some inadvertant contact allowed Vance to tag in.
Vance downed Starks with a shoulder tackle and a rope-assisted German suplex. Hobbs tagged in and wanted Cody back in the match, but Cassidy tagged in. Cassidy feinted away from the Greco-Roman knuckle lock, putting his hands in his pockets, then hit a “shoulder tackle” and “kicks.” He fired up and went for a tornado DDT, but Hobbs countered it into a spinning Oklahoma Stampede heading into the commercial.
After the break, Cassidy used evasive maneuvers to reach Cody for the hot tag. A powerslam from Cody on Starks got two as Cody threw his weight belt into the crowd. A knee from Cage on the apron led to a double clothesline.
10 tagged in and ran wild on all of Team Taz, concluding it with a powerslam on Starks. He posed and hit the Brodie Bomb on Starks, but Starks avoided 10’s spinebuster and landed a big spear for two. Cassidy went for the Beach Break, Starks tried to turn it into Roshambo, but Cassidy hit a tornado DDT.
A parade of moves followed, ending with a pump kick and a short-arm clothesline from 10. Starks capitalized with a tornado DDT for a close near fall.
As the crowd chanted “10,” Taz grabbed a chair, but was met with Arn Anderson, who had a chair of his own. Cassidy hit the Orange Punch, Cody hit Cross Rhodes, and 10 hit his spinebuster as Remsburg counted three. It was a clean sweep for the Dark Order, winning all five matches.
The winning team, especially 10, was emotional after the match, but Team Taz attacked. The lights went out and Darby Allin appeared, but the lights went out again, and Allin was flanked by Sting.
With the odds evened, Team Taz was forced to retreat.
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Brodie Lee Celebration of Life
Cody Rhodes was alone in the ring, very emotional. He said that he was looking for something to encapsulate Brodie Lee. He quoted Samuel Johnson, saying “You can judge a man’s character by how he treats somebody who can do him no good.” He talked about all the stories we’ve heard over the past few days of people whose lives were positively affected by Brodie Lee.
Brodie “-1” Lee Jr., full entrance and all, came out with his mother, Preston Vance, and Tony Khan. He took his father’s boots and placed them in the center of the ring. Cody draped a purple cloth over them. Khan said that Brodie Lee was the greatest TNT champion of all time and presented “-1” with his own belt, calling him the TNT champion for life.
A tribute video for Brodie Lee played. There was footage from way early in his career all the way up to his AEW tenure as well as plenty of photos with his wife and children. It closed with “In memory of Jon Huber, Brodie Lee, 1979-2020.”
We look back at the good and bad of last week’s major events as well as where this all leads in the current issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We’ve got TLC coverage, looking at the card, with match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
Also in this issue:
Our new feature of Performer of the Week and match of the week.
Tokyo Dome show as well as talk of the new restrictions and just how much money the restrictions are costing the company, the lineup of both nights and more stories regarding the show.
WWE Slammy Awards for the serious and not-so-serious.
WWE top star talking about wrestling becoming secondary to him and negotiate fewer dates, Notes on the most-watched Smackdown of the year, WWE’s next legends show, Flair & Hogan’s drawing power in the past, lots of new WWE TV show ideas, plans for 2021 Hall of Fame, WWE star wins major Jui Jitsu tournament, update on Pat McAfee and Ronda Rousey, U.K. TV ratings, how WWE & AEW compare to sports ratings, more on Bill Goldberg, Hulk Hogan new business, most-watched shows on the WWE Network and market value of WWE right now.
UFC’s final show of the year in detail with all the stories of the different matches.
Dragon Gate’s last big show of the year, with the match to lead to a faction being disbanded, rookies being pushed and thoughts on the handling of the Ben K concussion.
Kevin Greene, an NFL Hall of Famer who did several matches in WCW and picked up pro wrestling better than most athletes do.
Luis Carlos Borges, one of Argentina’s biggest-ever stars and the heyday of Los Titanes en el ring.
A feature on 1930s Bulgaria star Dan Koloff, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. This was scheduled for this year’s Hall of Fame issue originally. This feature by Phil Lions goes through his career and explains why he is a cultural icon in Bulgaria, where multiple books and even a major movie were done on him.
Detailed look at the television business, looking at stats not available elsewhere to get the deepest read into how shows are doing, what categories are doing well and how shows compare with previous weeks and one year ago.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
Matches added to WWE’s YouTube today include Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett in a Falls Count Anywhere match from the December 30, 2011 edition of SmackDown, R-Truth vs. Batista in a Beat the Clock Challenge from the January 1, 2010 edition of SmackDown, and Big Show vs. Brock Lesnar from the 2014 Royal Rumble.
The company on Instagram posted clips of Brodie Lee/Luke Harper and the tributes WWE stars gave him on Raw this past Monday.
On the Pro Wrestling Junkies podcast, Kenny Omega talked about the passing of Brodie Lee. “Regardless of what he left unaccomplished in the ring, I’m sure he was destined for extreme greatness in AEW,” he said (h/t WrestlingInc). “You could just see that with the little bit he did with us, which was unfortunately cut short. I find a lot of happiness in looking at my timeline and seeing all these stories that everyone else had with him. I’m just happy he was so universally loved with everyone he worked with and everyone he met.”
As AEW prepares for their live Brodie Lee tribute edition of Dynamite Wednesday, the past day has elicited more tributes for Jon Huber from across the wrestling world and news that one of his sons is now under AEW contract.
Lee/Huber passed away Saturday at 41 years old after a battle with a non-COVID related lung issue that saw him hospitalized since late-October.
On an episode of his retro WCW podcast with Conrad Thompson, Tony Schiavone said that after the recent “match” where Lee’s eight-year-old (Brodie Jr.) defeated Kenny Omega for the world title, he was signed to a legitimate contract and that when he becomes of age, he will be with the company.
He also said he and Aubrey Edwards interviewed Lee for the AEW Uncensored podcast the day before he became sick which was followed by Huber’s wife, Amanda, addressing the AEW roster about the situation and asking for privacy. The day Huber passed away, employees got an email about an immediate company-wide Zoom call and that they knew something bad had happened.
Schiavone also told a story about how Lee called him his mentor after the announcer suggested after an interview that he not bend down to the microphone to make himself look stronger.
On the tributes front:
Big E continued to share photos and stories, including this one about his “rivalry” with female wrestlers which included Lee claiming Nattie stole some of his moves, how he used Dana Brooke’s poses, and a picture of he and Daria Berenato wearing the same color suit.
Xavier Woods retweeted a link to AEW’s promo for tonight’s show, saying, “Tonight there will be a celebration of the incredible life of Brodie Lee.” Woods wore an armband on Monday’s WWE Raw that read ‘Brodie’.
Huber’s wife shared an Instagram statement/story of sorts (shared by Cash Wheeler) in the aftermath of Bruce Mitchell’s controversial column about Lee and a potential cover-up of him having COVID-19. Mitchell was let go from PWTorch afterward. Dave Meltzer reported on Monday’s Wrestling Observer Radio that Huber had been repeatedly tested for the coronavirus before and during his hospitalization with all negative results.
Following his passing, several of Jon Huber’s (Brodie Lee in AEW and Luke Harper in WWE) former WWE co-workers paid tribute to him on Monday’s episode of Raw.
Monday’s Raw opened with a tribute graphic for Huber. Throughout the night, Tom Phillips, Drew McIntyre, Alexa Bliss, Ricochet, Xavier Woods, and T-Bar also paid tribute to Huber.
Phillips opened the show by saying “It’s Monday, and you know what that means,” a reference to Huber’s daily Twitter posts. McIntyre also used that phrase during his promo at the start of the show.
McIntyre and Bliss both used “Yeah, yeah yeah,” which Huber would say during his time as Luke Harper in WWE.
Woods and Ricochet honored Huber by hitting discus lariats during their matches on tonight’s show. Woods also wore a “Brodie” armband.
On Raw Talk, Woods and Kofi Kingston spoke about how important Huber was to them and everyone in the company. They also discussed what an amazing father Huber was to his two sons. Woods asked everyone to remember Huber for the man he was, the legacy he leaves, and to keep Huber in their thoughts.
Huber passed away on December 26 after battling a non COVID-19 related lung issue. Huber’s wife Amanda thanked the Mayo Clinic for treating her husband, calling them “literally the best team of doctors and nurses in the world who surrounded me with constant love.”
AEW has announced that this Wednesday’s Dynamite will be a Brodie Lee tribute show. It will include some of Huber’s son Brodie’s favorite wrestlers (Cody Rhodes, Orange Cassidy & Preston “10” Vance) teaming together for one night only in a six-man tag match against Team Taz (Brian Cage, Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs).
