AEW‘s Eddie Kingston recently appeared on Renee Paquette’s Oral Sessions podcast. The ‘Mad King’ would discuss a number of topics on the show, including his current relationship, appearing overseas and tribute to his long-time friend Brodie Lee.
Eddie Kingston made a speech following the Brodie Lee Tribute episode of AEW Dynamite. It wasn’t something that Kingston planned; but he felt he had to say something to the other talent about the emotion of the show. He also stated how as a further tribute to Brodie? They should bring that to the forefront every single week.
The speech was filmed and released by AEW. It would end up going viral amongst wrestling fans.
Eddie Kingston on Tribute Speech
“Homicide busted my balls about it” Eddie Kingston began on the podcast. “‘I see you’re the locker room leader now!’ I’m like, ‘leave me alone.’ He’ll randomly send me like a picture of something saying ‘boss’ on it or something, I’m like ‘oh come on.'”
“I just had this overwhelming feeling of energy after the show was over” Kingston then continued. “And I was kind of like, I feel like I need people to understand why I’m getting this energy. I just started…just yelling because I was like, ‘why can’t we do this every week? Why does it take one of our fallen brothers to pass away for us to be this emotional in the ring? Bring it out to the people so that people can feel us?’ You know?”
Eddie Kingston then described how everyone would quieten down and then his speech started to get filmed. “And then? I’m going on and on and I’m like ‘oh man this is really embarrassing, people are looking at me. What the fuck is going on!?’ And then I see the camera and you can actually see me, see the camera! I Look at it and I go ‘okay! We got to carry it! Then I run away as fast as I can, because it’s not about that. And I get why they (AEW) put it up [online] and that’s cool.”
AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes recently appeared on Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast. Cody would discuss a number of topics during the interview, including the fact that he was Brodie Lee’s final match in professional wrestling.
Cody of course faced Brodie Lee in a Dog Collar Match on AEW Dynamite; this was Cody’s return bout after being defeated handily by Lee on the show a month prior. The angle was set up so that Cody could go and record the ‘Go Big Show,’ making sure that the production was adhering to COVID-19 protocols.
“I hated the fact that I was his last match” Cody Rhodes would begin on the podcast. “Like, I loved it, and I love that feeling. But, I also hated it, because god, we were all denied all these other great matches.” Interestingly, Cody Rhodes actually defeated Brodie Lee/Luke Harper in his first ever television loss in WWE; so Brodie’s first and last televised losses came at the hands of Cody Rhodes.
Cody Rhodes on Brodie Lee
“I wasn’t confident in that…obviously he could have continued and been better and done more stuff and I could have [gone on] to be better” Cody continued, lamenting how far he and Brodie Lee could’ve gone together in their feud and AEW in general. “I hate it, but love that I shared that moment with him.”
Cody Rhodes would finish by stating how bittersweet it was to have the main event match against Brodie Lee on that Dynamite; something that Brodie Lee had worked his whole career for and the reason he left WWE, to get to the main event. “Now I look at it [the match] more with a reverence and love. Just because, he got to go out…the thing he wanted the most? He got to go out on top. Which is great.”
You can check out some of the highlights from Brodie Lee vs Cody Rhodes in the Dog Collar match below:
FTR has decided to do something pretty cool to honor Jon Huber, who passed away last month due to a non-COVID-related lung issue.
Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood plan to change the name of their signature move as a way to remember Brodie Lee.
Harwood took to Twitter to announce the name change and mentioned that he got the permission of Amanda Huber, Lee’s wife, to do so. He wrote the following:
“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.”
Before making the jump to AEW from WWE, the move was called The Shatter Machined. Also, since joining the rival promotion, the tag team changed their finisher to a Spike Piledriver.
AEW did a tribute show for Lee on last week’s episode of Dynamite, which was watched by 9777,000 fans.
As of this writing, AEW has yet to book FTR in a match on this Wednesday’s special edition of Dynamite, which is being billed as New Year’s Smash and already has a stacked card.
British artist David Speed has created an amazing mural honoring the late Brodie Lee (Jon Huber). Lee recently passed away due to a lung disease unrelated to Covid-19.
Speed noted on Twitter that he does not post any wrestling content on his social media channels, but was compelled to create this work and share it with his followers because he found the Brodie Lee tribute episode of AEW Dynamite so moving.
The mural has received unanimous praise online from the wrestling community.
In the second page of the Instagram post embedded below, you can see video footage of Speed creating the work.
Bravo, Mr. Speed.
David Speed co-hosts the popular Creative Rebels business podcast.
Former WWE Agent and AEW on-screen Coach Arn Anderson recently appeared on the Talk Is Jericho podcast.
This week’s episode of Talk Is Jericho is dedicated to the life of Brodie Lee; with tributes being paid to the Dark Order leader across the podcast from many different names in AEW.
Arn Anderson himself would share a story about the family man that Jon Huber was before his untimely passing. “Many nights he would come out of the building after having either their dark match like on the last day of a loop or something” Arn would begin.
Arn Anderson on Brodie Lee
“I’d be walking across the parking lot and some nights I would be heading to SmackDown and if he was on RAW? He [Brodie] would be heading home and I would go: ‘you got an early flight in the morning?’ He would go, ‘I’m driving.’ I’d go ‘how far is that?’ ‘Ah it’s about 490 [miles]’ he’d say.”
“I said ‘Jesus Christ Brodie! The flight that you got in the morning? You’ll probably get home about the same time'” Arn would continue. “He said ‘if I get the jump on it right now, I can have breakfast with the family.’ So he was going to drive 500 miles to get there two hours earlier, to have breakfast with his family. That’s who he was.”
Arn Anderson would finish by again paying tribute to the former Luke Harper. “That’s who he was, that’s what he’ll always be to me. He wasn’t being braggadocious about it or he didn’t have his chest out. He’d just rather sit in the car, all night and be home two hours early to get to be with his family.”
Did you watch the Brodie Lee tribute show on TNT? Let us know in the comments
WWE has uploaded a video of various Superstars remembering the late Jon Huber, best known to wrestling fans as Brodie Lee and Luke Harper.
The video below includes messages from Xavier Woods, Keith Lee, Mustafa Ali, John Morrison, Kofi Kingston and several others.
Amanda Huber, widow of late Brodie Lee, posted a message on Instagram reflecting on Wednesday night’s tribute show. She said her words and the photos could not do it justice, but the entire show was perfect, from top to bottom.
The little Easter eggs, the tributes, the matches, and the moments.” I’m not sure what it looked like on tv, and I’m sure sometime soon, I’ll see for myself. But I can tell you in person, the love in that building last night was real. It radiated all night long. You could feel it in the air. It was devastating and beautiful and a testament to one of the best people to walk this earth.”
Huber said that AEW is the most amazing community and called Tony Khan the kindest and most genuine person she’s ever met. “He loved my husband. He loves wrestling. He loves AEW. And he loves my family. Real, authentic love.”
She said she’s been around wrestling for a long time. She’s seen the absolute worst aspects of the business. AEW’s tribute show was heartfelt and genuine.
“Nobody was just ‘putting on a show.’ It was real and raw emotion and just fucking beautiful.”
You can read her full statement and check out the photos she posted at Instagram.
The entire wrestling world came together Wednesday night to witness All Elite Wrestling’s tribute to a fallen brother, Brodie Lee.
It was a very emotional broadcast that many viewers will never forget. Brodie Lee was adored for the man he was to his peers and respected for the father and husband he was to his family.
Brodie Lee had a memorable 2020 with AEW, but spent the past decade working for WWE. During that time, he forged friendships with Superstars as they traveled the world and made memories that will last a lifetime.
This week’s AEW Dynamite: Brodie Lee Celebration Of Life featured multiple video tributes to the late star from the various members of the AEW roster.
The show opened with a ten bell salute to the former TNT Champion followed by a video tribute from the former AEW Champion Jon Moxley who said that he will never forget Brodie.
Multiple other wrestlers shared their memories of the former WWE star throughout the show and the episode featured videos from people like Darby Allin, Eddie Kingston, Chris Jericho and more.
The company later posted several additional unaired tribute videos for the Exalted One on their YouTube channel.
Brodie Lee Tributes
Brodie Lee passed away due to a lung ailment on December 26 and since then the wrestling world has come together to honor the memory of the late star.
Companies like WWE and Impact Wrestling have also paid tribute to the former Luke Harper in various ways and AEW dedicated this week’s episode of Dynamite to the former champion.
The episode featured matches involving the members of Lee’s Dark Order faction and the company has announced that they are retiring the current design of the TNT championship to honor Brodie Lee.
AEW has decided to retire the current design of the TNT Championship in honor of the late Brodie Lee who passed away due to a lung ailment this past Saturday on December 26.
The main event of this week’s episode of Dynamite saw the team of Cody Rhodes, Orange Cassidy & Ten beating Team Taz (Brian Cage, Powerhouse Hobbs & Ricky Starks) in a six men tag team match.
After the bout, Brodie Lee’s older son was brought into the ring and he was awarded a TNT title belt. AEW President Tony Khan then named Brodie Lee Jr. a “TNT Champion for life” and the show ended with a tribute video.
In the Dynamite post-show later on, Tony Schiavone confirmed that the company will be retiring the current belt design for the TNT title and the negative one will always have the TNT belt with the current design.
“Little Brodie, ‘Negative One’ if you will, is always going to have that TNT belt, we’ll come up with a new belt,” said Schiavone. “That’ll be his. The particular belt that was given to little Brodie tonight has been retired.”
There is no word yet on how long it will take the company to come up with a new design for the TNT title but it will likely take at least a few weeks before the company introduces the new belt.
Former WWE star Erick Rowan made an appearance on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite which was a tribute show for his former partner Brodie Lee.
This week’s episode of the show featured multiple tag matches involving the members of The Dark Order. One such match was MJF, Ortiz & Santana facing the team of Alex Reynolds, John Silver & Adam Page.
Towards the ending of this bout, Wardlow came out and he interrupted the match by taking out Reynolds. Erick Rowan then made his AEW debut to stop the giant.
The former WWE star who now goes by the name Erick RedBeard dropped Wardlow with a chokeslam and then ran him off to backstage.
The match ended with John Silver delivering Brodie’s discuss forearm to Ortiz and pinning the Inner Circle member to pick up the victory for his team.
Erick joined the Dark Order in the ring post-match and Silver got emotional as the former Wyatt Family member held up a sign reading “Goodbye for now my brother. See you down the road.”
There is no word yet on if this was a one-time appearance or if Erick Rowan has signed a contract with AEW. We will have to see if he makes any more appearances for the company in coming weeks.
Tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite will be a special tribute show honoring the life of the late Brodie Lee (Jon Huber).
Dynamite will feature a special card of matches dedicated to the Exalted One, along with tribute messages from the AEW roster. According to AEW President Tony Khan, the night is intended to honor Jon, but also this is for Amanda, and their sons Brodie (-1) & Nolan.
AEW Dynamite Brodie Lee Tribute
AEW Dynamite will feature some of -1’s favorites teaming together for one night only:
Cody Rhodes, Orange Cassidy & 10 vs. Team Taz
The Young Bucks & Colt Cabana vs. Matt Hardy & Private Party
“Hangman” Adam Page, Silver & Reynolds vs. MJF, Santana & Ortiz
Anna Jay & Tay Conti vs. Dr. Britt Baker & Penelope Ford
Lance Archer, Evil Uno & Stu Grayson v. Eddie Kingston, The Butcher & The Blade
New Year’s Smash, the two-week event that was scheduled to begin Wednesday night, will now be held on January 6th and January 13th.
Jon Huber’s son, Brodie (-1), has been signed to an official AEW contract. Since Brodie (-1) is only 8-years-old, the contract will not begin until he is old enough to start wrestling. This was revealed recently on Tony Schiavone’s “What Happened When” podcast.
“Knowing Brodie was very sick and it was the holidays and knowing it was going to be very difficult for him to ‘kick out,’ [AEW] brought little Brodie to TV and wrestling is his life,” Schiavone said. “They made him a member of the Dark Order, they put a mask on him, he came out with a kendo stick and beat up a lot of people.”
“They signed him to a contract, legitimately signed him to a contract,” Schiavone continued. “When he gets of age, he’ll be with AEW. They have taken care of him.”
As for why Brodie Huber is named Brodie (-1), the idea is that he’s too young to officially join the Dark Order and his father was “The Exalted One”. So -1 is sort of his Dark Order number, similar to how other members of the stable are numbered.
“He follows guys around in the back and becomes part of us. He gets involved with the guys, sits in Gorilla position, comes out with the mask and does some crazy things. The roster loved Brodie and we are family.”
Tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite will be a special tribute to Brodie Lee.
Former AEW Champion Jon Moxley recently had an interview with Sports Illustrated where he shared his memories of the late Brodie Lee.
Mox wrestled Lee many times in WWE when he was still known as Luke Harper and the two then locked horns again after the late star followed his friend’s footsteps and joined AEW.
Talking about the news of his demise, the former WWE champion claimed that it doesn’t feel real and it feels as if he is in a vivid dream:
“It doesn’t feel real,” said Moxley, on Sunday evening. “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—— numb.”
Jon Moxley On His WrestleMania Spot With Brodie Lee
The former Dean Ambrose then talked about the many times he wrestled Brodie Lee and he especially recalled the one spot he did with the former TNT champion which even bugged Vince McMahon.
Jon recalled a spot from the WrestleMania 31 ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship and revealed how the boss reacted to it:
“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—— 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—— bump. “
The former WWE star continued by saying that he would have not trusted anybody else with the bump and he maintains the sentiment even to this day.
Apart from this, Jon Moxley also discussed how Brodie Lee was a family man who was very proud of being a husband and father. You can check out his full interview at this link.
Amanda Huber, the wife of the late pro wrestler Jon Huber aka Brodie Lee has shared her final text conversation with her husband before he passed away.
She made an emotional post on Instagram in which, Amanda shared pictures she “forgot existed” and explained how they reminded her of the life she had built with her husband.
Addressing the text conversation that took place in late October before Brodie Lee’s condition declined, Huber mentioned how she got angry looking at their text exchange because they had “so much planned.”
She also informed her late husband of the plans president Tony Khan has put together for the upcoming episode of AEW Dynamite to honour his memory.
Amanda thanked the fans for their kind words and stories that have been shared over the last few days as well. You can check out her post featuring the text conversation in the second slide below:
Former WWE and AEW star Brodie Lee passed away due to a lung ailment last week on December 26. Not many people were aware of his condition and so the news of his passing came as a shock for the wrestling world.
Various wrestling personalities and fans from around the world have come together to pay tribute to the late star since the news of his passing come out.
Several wrestling personalities had called out WWE after this week’s Raw for only paying tribute to Brodie Lee through an opening graphic but it appears that it’s not all the company will be doing.
According to reports from PWInsider, WWE taped some tributes to the former champion prior to the airing of this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw.
While it’s not known where the company intends to use the footage, the report at least confirms that the tribute on Raw is not the only thing officials are planning.
The most likely destination for the tributes to be used would be in a Network special about the former WWE star but it’s something that hasn’t been confirmed.
Brodie Lee fka Luke Harper passed away due to a lung ailment on December 26 and reports that have since come out have revealed that he had been hospitalised for the last two month.
Lee had been written off AEW TV after his dog collar match with Cody Rhodes on October 7 episode of Dynamite, though at the time, the plans were to bring him back after a few weeks of absence.
However, he started facing difficulties in completing his routine workout during his hiatus at home and the former WWE star was rushed to the hospital towards the end of October, after his lungs stopped working.
Dark Order’s Mr. Brodie Lee has reflected on his recent Dog Collar matchup against Cody. Lee opened up about their bout during a recent episode of AEW’s official podcast, Unrestricted.
Lee confessed how his favorite match of all time is the Dog Collar match between Roddy Piper and Greg Valentine. He added how he had originally pitched the idea of a Dog Collar match between himself and Cody as a joke.
“[…] when discussion of what should the big match be that we do, I almost jokingly threw out, ‘let’s do a Dog Collar Match.’ And everyone goes, ‘yeah, that’s a great idea.’ And I was like, ‘oh my God,’ so then the day of, they say, ‘hey, Valentine’s coming and he wants to talk to you.’ It was unreal.”
Lee shared how Valentine pulled them both aside and praised them for the bout after the match had concluded. He admitted that he has yet to rewatch the match and has only seen clips, revealing that he wants to “leave it as it is” because of how special it is to him.
Brodie Lee On Being “Terrified” Of Promo Time
Brodie Lee also opened up about how he’s been afforded creative freedoms delivering his promos in AEW. He revealed how the promo where he challenged Cody to the Dog Collar match was improvised without the need of a script.
This positive promo experience has led Lee to discover a renewed passion for mic time. Whereas he was once “terrified” of promo time, Lee explained how he now craves it.
“[…] I want that 10-minute promo. I crave it. It hit and it feels good,” Lee stated. “I don’t know the exact moment, but I feel like that promo with Cody and then the BTE leading up to that was kind of the turning point to where we are now.”
The Dark Order’s Brodie Lee was a recent guest on All Elite Wrestling’s official podcast, Unrestricted. During their discussion, Lee spoke about the perceived comparisons between his AEW character and WWE CEO and Chairman Vince McMahon.
After Lee was revealed to be the Dark Order’s Exalted One back in March, he appeared in several backstage segments. According to him, there was rife speculation he was basing his on-screen character on WWE’s Vince McMahon. People pointed to the character’s dress sense, mannerisms, and characteristics as evidence of this.
“The Vince McMahon comparisons flew! That’s all people talked about the first 3 to 4 weeks of my AEW career, and that became I think detrimental to me, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t want it,” Lee stated.
The former TNT Champion continued, “So I tried to get away from the stuff that they were saying so as opposed to a multi-colored suit, I now went with a full tailored to me that I don’t think looks like a Vince McMahon or anybody else. This is my bi-monthly routine now is to go get a suit made, and I love it.”
Lee has denied that he based Mr. Brodie Lee on Vince McMahon. He has claimed that the majority of the gimmick’s characteristics are instead derived from mafia movies.
WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently discussed the Dog Collar match from this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite.
Cody Rhodes reclaimed his TNT Championship against Brodie Lee in the Dog Collar bout. Pro wrestling legend Greg Valentine, who had an outstanding Dog Collar match against Roddy Piper in 1983, was ringside for the contest.
Bully Ray would state that his ‘favorite’ part of the match was Valentine being ringside. Ray would praise both Valentine and AEW commentator Jim Ross for selling the story of Valentine ‘re-living’ his Starrcade ’83 match against Piper whilst watching Cody/Brodie.
Bully Ray on Cody Rhodes vs Brodie Lee
“My favorite part of the match? Greg Valentine” Bully ray began on the show. “Watching Valentine watch the match with his subtle facial expressions? It told such a story, watching Valentine relive his match with Piper. “You can see it in his eyes. You could see it in his face.”
“And then that got backed up by JR” Bully Ray continued. “JR told me that Valentine was reliving his dog collar match through Cody and Brodie. That instantly, for me, put tons of credibility on that match. Greg Valentine decided to come off the beach for 10 minutes to show up to watch a dog collar match, a match that he helped make famous.”
Bully Ray would finish by saying how the ‘moment’ helped to make the match. Ray would also be critical of a couple of elements of the TNT Championship match. “To me that little moment in time means so much. Yes the performance from Cody and Brodie was great. Yes, they did a good job with the match. [But] I thought they could have done a better job with the finish, because I didn’t like Cody just getting up right after a Dragon German Suplex on his head. That didn’t make a lot of sense to me, but whatever.”
Do you agree with Bully Ray? Let us know in the comments
Brodie Lee has had a successful stint in AEW so far which includes leading his own group filled with many talented stars in the Dark Order and a run with the TNT title as well.
However, during a recent interview with AEW Unrestricted podcast, the former WWE star talked about his title run and revealed that he wasn’t originally going to win the belt.
The Dark Order leader claimed that the original plans did not call for him to have a run with the belt and Brodie Lee explained why he tries not to know too much about the plans for his future:
“I believe that the original plan was for me to not become TNT Champion, I’m kind of not privy to the ins and outs, the nuts and bolts of it all, probably because I don’t want to be.
Because if I get a thought in my head, I become quickly married to it, and then if something changes, I go insane. So, I try not to know too much about what’s supposed to happen and kind of just live in the moment.”
While the former WWE star did not reveal the reason for the change in plans, it was likely influenced by the fact that Cody had to take time off to film the STARZ Heels series with Stephen Amell.
Apart from this, Brodie Lee also talked about the original plans for his debut being altered due to the coronavirus pandemic, leading the Dark Order and more.
AEW Champion Jon Moxley recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. The former WWE Superstar discussed a number of topics during his appearance on the show, including his wife Renee Young’s status, the ALL OUT PPV and his ambition to go for the AEW Tag Team Titles.
During the broadcast Jon Moxley would discuss the presentation of AEW programming. “I thought it was tremendous” Moxley began, discussing the recent beatdown of Cody Rhodes at the hands of Brodie Lee and The Dark Order.
Jon Moxley on Brodie Lee
“Obviously I’m a huge fan of Brodie Lee, both personally and professionally. It is awesome that you really never know what you’re gonna see on Dynamite. We’ve kind of thrown the traditional rulebook of television wrestling out the window. You’ll see a little bit everything, but anything can happen. Anybody can show up.”
Jon Moxley elaborated further, saying “whether it’s a Thunder Rosa or an Eddie Kingston? At any moment somebody could show up. [You could get ] a match that last 15 minutes and go through the same, basic formula you’ve seen for the last 10-15 years? Or it could just be a hailstorm and over in three minutes. Anything could happen, you know?”
Moxley has made it clear over ever since he left WWE that he wasn’t looking for their style of heavily scripted professional wrestling any longer. With the style of AEW he clearly feels more comfortable, and he finished by expanding on his praise of the Cody/Brodie Lee angle.
“We really opened up the possibilities, and that’s what I really loved about it. Besides from, you know, just the awesome physicality of it? Cody, he’s a guy who stays on the ball and stays motivated. I anticipate when he comes back? He would I assume want to get that one back from Brodie.”
Did you like the angle between Brodie Lee and Cody Rhodes? Let us know in the comments
Jonathan Huber is now known as Brodie Lee in AEW. He is the leader of the Dark Order and the new TNT Champion. Previously, he was known as Luke Harper during his 7-year career in WWE. Speaking with ESPN, Brodie Lee said that Luke Harper had a good career in WWE but he doesn’t want fans to see him as the guy who used to play that character.
“Luke Harper had a wonderful career in WWE, if you really look at it and break it down, he had a really good career,” Lee said. “But I don’t want people to think, ‘Oh, that used to be Luke Harper’ when they see Brodie Lee. I want them to be like, ‘Holy f—, that’s Brodie Lee, and he’s the man.'”
AEW President Tony Khan was also interviewed about Lee’s contributions to AEW thus far.
“He’s got the great physical size. He didn’t do so many promos in WWE, but he’s actually a great promo,” said Khan. “And so he was from the beginning someone that we figured to be a top person in AEW as soon as he signed with us.”
Lee also spent some time during the interview talking about learning to trust his instincts again upon arriving in AEW.
“I had to understand that my instincts were correct again,” said Lee. “I was almost seeking out so many opinions because that’s where I came from, that’s what it was. It was lots of people putting pieces in, instead of just letting myself be who I am.”
Cody Rhodes is no longer the AEW TNT Champion as he was dethroned by Brodie Lee.
The title change occurred during Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT. Lee beat Rhodes in dominating fashion, some people think it was a total squash to establish the new champion.
Lee went over in the main event. Post-match, Rhodes was stretchered out of the arena due to the damage that he suffered only to be attacked by members of the Dark Order.
The special edition of the weekly TV show from All Elite Wrestling aired on Saturday night due to TNT’s coverage of the NBA Playoffs.
Rhodes’ title reign as the AEW TNT Champion started at the AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view event in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place, All Elite Wrestling booked a championship match between Rhodes and Lance Archer that served as the tournament finals.
Since that time, Rhodes had held weekly open challenges against all comers including Ricky Starks and Warhorse along with members of the AEW roster.
WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of Busted Open Radio on SiriusXM Bully Ray recently discussed AEW and their ongoing shows during the Coronavirus pandemic.
All Elite Wrestling have taken a different approach to taping without fans to WWE. The company has been airing shows from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, an amphitheater that has a different atmosphere to WWE’s Performance Center. Despite this, AEW has had to maintain a high level of shock and awe to keep the momentum going on Wednesday nights.
This includes debuting new characters over the last few months, something that Bully Ray believes has been hindered by the lack of live crowd reaction. “I think the mentality of not staying in a holding pattern has actually…I don’t want to use the word hurt, but it has not benefited certain talents” Bully began on Busted Open.
Bully Ray on Broken Matt and Brodie Lee
“Brodie Lee, as the leader of The Dark Order, the Exalted one” Bully Ray continued. “I just think that because he had to go full blown and could not hold back on anything? Not being in front of a crowd hurt that a little bit. I think Matt Hardy as Broken Matt? I think Broken Matt was affected, look at the position they’ve had to put Matt in now. Kind of hanging out with Private Party, being a manager.”
Bully would then elaborate on his views of Matt Hardy’s AEW run. “I don’t think AEW’s original plan was to have to go back to regular Matt Hardy this soon. Because broken Matt Hardy was such a big deal. But Broken Matt Hardy is not going to resonate as much in the COVID times. These are our characters and angles that need the crowd, but wrestling companies are not in a position right now to hold back. Because what matters the most right now? The rating.”
Bully Ray would finish by saying “it’s all about the rating. Look, everybody’s talking about this whole AEW versus NXT war. The rating? That is really the only number that anybody has to go on these days.”
Do you agree with Bully Ray? Let us know in the comments
Jon Moxley took on Brodie Lee for the top title in the promotion in what many considered to be a top match featured on the card.
Moxley made his latest title defense as the AEW World Heavyweight Champion against Brodie Lee at the AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view event.
The match had some brawling elements as the referee allowed them to use objects around the ring as weapons. Moxley backdropped Lee off the steel steps through the table. Lee sent him through cardboard signs. Moxley threw a small poker chip at Lee.
The end of the match saw Moxley hit Lee a few times with his finisher before locking in a rear-naked choke for the win.
Paradigm Shift through the entrance ramp! Order Double or Nothing NOW on all major cable & satellite providers / @BRLive / @FITETV (Intl Fans Only) #AEWDoNpic.twitter.com/eohLdnnr2h
Through the table! Order the Double or Nothing reply NOW on all major cable & satellite providers / @BRLive / @FITETV (Intl Fans Only) #AEWDoNpic.twitter.com/iiFJ8YsoGi
We knew that this was gonna be a fight! Both men are out to prove a point! Order the Double or Nothing reply NOW on all major cable & satellite providers / @BRLive / @FITETV (Intl Fans Only) #AEWDoNpic.twitter.com/alMWWHIg0S
Lee made his promotional debut back on the March 18th episode of Dynamite on TNT when he made an appearance. He was revealed as The Exalted One, the leader of The Dark Order.
The former Luke Harper requested his release from WWE back in April 2019. He remained under contract until December when WWE finally granted the request.
What are your thoughts on retaining Jon Moxley retaining the AEW World Heavyweight Title? Was this the right call by AEW officials? Sound off in the comment section.
Brodie Lee spoke with SEScoops.com last week ahead of his title match with Jon Moxley at Double or Nothing. Amongst other topics, Brodie spoke about going from being unfertilized in WWE to headlining a PPV with a new company.
“It’s very gratifying, it’s awesome, it’s exactly what I wanted, it’s exactly what I craved, it’s exactly what I desired,” Brodie said. “It’s everything I ever wanted it to be.”
Brodie would continue to say, however, that now the pressure on him is to deliver in his new role.
“So, now the pressure becomes on me because this is what I asked for, this is what I told people I could do,” he continued. “So now the pressure is on me to either put up or shut up. There’s an added pressure but also I believe that pressure will help make me better and I’m not afraid of the pressure.”
The “Empty Arena Era”
Brodie Lee made his AEW debut on the March 18th episode of Dynamite. That episode was originally supposed to take place from Rochester, NY, his hometown.
Lee revealed that AEW President Tony Khan gave him the option of delaying his debut until things got back to normal, since his big homecoming was not meant to be. He decided to debut on March 18th as planned and make the best of it.
“That’s kind of one of the things I was most looking forward to,” he said about AEW’s live crowds. “I was supposed to make my debut in Rochester, New York on March 18th. They had a really good presale crowd there and then the next week would be in New Jersey, which I think they had 12,000 tickets sold there. So, I was looking to jump right in into the huge aspect of AEW and the fans and the passion. Unfortunately, of course, that turned out to be too good to be true because everything happened on March 11th right before my debut.”
He then mentioned that AEW told him his debut could be pushed back.
“I was told ‘you don’t have to debut, you can wait, we can push it back.’ but at the same time, nobody knew how long that would be and I had been caged up and a stray cat for so long and just kind of left out that I was ready to be a professional wrestler again, I was ready to be a performer again, I was ready to work on my craft and there was no hesitation in me at all to jump right into it.”
“Tony, like I said, Tony gave me the option to hold it off but I think me and Matt Hardy we’re on the same page, we’re ready to hit the ground running.”
AEW Behind The Scenes
AEW stars such as Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley have said that AEW is less scripted and more open to input from performers than previous companies they have worked for. Brodie also commented on this aspect of his new company.
“That’s exactly it. There’s a lot of collaboration but it’s a lot of, I guess friendly collaboration. It’s not like ‘hey do this’ it’s ‘hey, what do you think of this idea?’ and then if I don’t like it, I tell them and it’s a conversation and we go from there.”
“Same thing with promos, it’s like there’s no written script. It’s like here’s the kind of point we need to get across. You say it how you want to say it. It’s your character, you’re fleshing out the character the way you want to which is incredibly refreshing because I was never able to flesh out a character for the past…I was a very one-dimensional character. I said my promo I think it was 2 weeks ago was the first time I’d spoken on a live mic at a professional wrestling show in the past 8 years, almost combined. Again, there’s a certain pressure to it because it’s on you now, there’s nobody left to blame.”
“Again, it’s a different element but it’s a very cool, creative element that helps you sleep at night.”
AEW Changing Course Due To Pandemic
Brodie Lee came to AEW at a time when some on the roster was unable to attend tapings due to travel restrictions. We asked what he knows about AEW changing course creatively as a result of the current climate.
“I think certain things with people not being able to be there maybe got put on hold,” he said. “I’m not privy to that information. I know that Jon Moxley presented us a situation for me to jump at and that’s what I did. So, I can’t worry about hurt feelings about people that didn’t show up to the show and didn’t get the opportunity, I can’t worry about that, I can only worry about myself. But, that said, hopefully, the way I handled things and the way that I performed changed some people’s minds as well if I wasn’t supposed to be in this position.”
Talent He Wants to Work With in AEW
Finally, we wanted to know about which young talent Brodie Lee wants to work with in AEW.
“Every person on the roster is a fresh match-up for me. At the top of that list would be Kenny and the Young Bucks. Watched them work, been friends with the Young Bucks for a long time. I’ve always told them that they had these unbelievable matches in Japan.”
“It’d be a thrill to get in there and test myself against guys like that.
“Darby Allin, a guy like that, a guy like Jungle Boy. Even people like the Proud and Powerful, they are fun for me to watch, I think they are wonderful workers. Jericho, Cody, so these people even who I have history with, Shawn Spears even, these guys that I have history with to now do it in a different environment is very appealing to me.”
Brodie then went back on a previous comment. He joked, “I take that back, anybody but Shawn Spears, if you could put that quote in.”
Order AEW Double or Nothing at BR Live (US) and FITE.TV (Internationally).
