Jonathan Huber, also known as Brodie Lee in All Elite Wrestling and Luke Harper in WWE died Saturday from undisclosed causes at the age of 41.
The professional wrestler's death was made public by All Elite Wrestling. "The All Elite Wrestling family is heartbroken. In an industry filled with good people, Jon Huber was exceptionally respected and beloved in every way — a fierce and captivating talent, a thoughtful mentor and simply a very kind soul that starkly contradicted his persona as Mr. Brodie Lee," the organization said in a statement.
"Jon’s love for his wife Amanda, and children Brodie and Nolan, was evident to all of us who were fortunate to spend time with him, and we send our love and support to his beautiful family, today and always,” the statement continued.
“Jon’s popularity among his peers and influence on the wrestling word was worldwide and transcended AEW, so this loss will be felt by many for a long time."
Life of Jonathan Huber:
Born in Rochester, New York in 1979, Huber had begun his career as a backyard wrestler. In 2003, he was signed to Rochester Pro Wrestling, where he came up with the name Brodie Lee - a tribute to the character Brodie Bruce, played by Jason Lee in Kevin Smith’s 1995 movie "Mallrats."
Later, in 2007, Huber began wrestling for Philadelphia based wrestling promotion Chikara and for Syracue, New York-based Squared Circle Wrestling. A year later he added to Jersey All Pro Wrestling and independent matches to his resume.
He signed with WWE in 2012 and assumed the name, Luke Harper. He was sent to WWE's developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), before debuting in NXT as a member of The Wyatt Family.
The Wyatt Family won the NXT Tag Team Championship and the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship. Harper and Erick Rowan, later known as The Bludgeon Brothers, also held the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. During a brief singles run, Harper became a one-time WWE Intercontinental Champion.
In December 2019, Huber departed WWE and subsequently made his AEW debut in March 2020 as "Mr." Brodie Lee and revealed himself to be "The Exalted One", the previously anonymous leader of The Dark Order faction, and won the AEW TNT Championship in August.
