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Brodie Lee Celebration of Life

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The Brodie Lee Celebration of Life was a professional wrestling memorial event and television special produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The event took place on December 30, 2020, at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida and was broadcast on TNT as a special episode of Dynamite. It paid tribute to AEW wrestler Brodie Lee following his death four days prior.

Brodie Lee Celebration of Life
Promotional poster featuring Brodie Lee
PromotionAll Elite Wrestling
DateDecember 30, 2020
CityJacksonville, Florida
VenueDaily's Place
Attendance1,080[1]
Tagline(s)Brodie Lee Celebration of Life 1979–2020
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Production

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Background

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On December 26, 2020, Jonathan Huber died at the age of 41 of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (initially revealed as a "non-COVID lung issue") at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] He had been hospitalized in the intensive care unit since late October 2020.[10][11] Better known by his ring name "Mr. Brodie Lee", Huber debuted in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as "The Exalted One" and the leader of The Dark Order on March 18, 2020.[12][13] The March 18 episode of Dynamite was originally scheduled to take place at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York, Huber's hometown. It was in turn the first episode to be held behind closed doors at Daily's Place in Jacksonville due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is where the majority of AEW's shows over the following year had to be held, although in August, AEW began holding shows with fans at 10–15% capacity of the venue.[14]

On December 28, AEW President and Chief Executive Officer Tony Khan announced that the December 30 episode of Dynamite would be a memorial event, titled "Brodie Lee Celebration of Life".[15] Four days before his death, Huber's oldest son, Brodie, appeared on the December 22 episode of Dark at ringside with a mask as "-1", a member of The Dark Order.[16] It was later revealed that Brodie signed an AEW contract.[17]

AEW had previously announced that the December 30, 2020, and January 6, 2021, episodes of Dynamite would host the two-part New Year's Smash event. However, it was postponed to January 6 and January 13 to allow AEW to hold Huber's memorial event.[18][19][20]

Storylines

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The Brodie Lee Celebration of Life featured professional wrestling matches and segments that paid tribute to Brodie Lee, with all of the matches featuring members of The Dark Order of which Lee was the leader (and all matches were won by the teams featuring The Dark Order). AEW intended for this event to be non-canonical, ignoring some ongoing storylines of the promotion. Some wrestlers were paired in tag teams with other wrestlers that they would not normally team with during the tribute event. AEW storylines, at the time, were typically produced on the weekly television program, Dynamite, the supplementary online streaming show, Dark, and The Young Bucks' YouTube series Being The Elite.[21]

As the event was largely non-canonical, there were few storylines for the matches going into the event. However, one match in particular was billed as the "Brodie Lee Jr. Dream Match", featuring three of Lee's son's favorite AEW wrestlers, Cody Rhodes, Orange Cassidy, and The Dark Order's Preston "10" Vance teaming for one night only in a six-man tag team match against Team Taz (Brian Cage, Ricky Starks, and Powerhouse Hobbs).[20]

Event

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Other on-screen personnel
Role Name
Commentators Jim Ross
Excalibur
Tony Schiavone
Chris Jericho
Ring announcer Justin Roberts
Referees Aubrey Edwards
Bryce Remsburg
Paul Turner
Rick Knox

The Brodie Lee Celebration of Life opened with commentator Jim Ross saying one of Brodie Lee's catchphrases, "It's Wednesday and you know what that means", followed by a ten-bell salute with the entire AEW roster and Lee's family onstage honoring Lee.[22] Throughout the show, there were segments with fellow AEW personnel Jon Moxley, Darby Allin, Dax Harwood, Arn Anderson, Colt Cabana, referee Bryce Remsburg, Eddie Kingston, Chris Jericho, Frankie Kazarian, Dustin Rhodes, Jerry Lynn, Christopher Daniels, Wardlow, and Matt Hardy sharing stories and their thoughts on Lee.[23][24]

The AEW roster wore black armbands with "RIP Brodie Lee" and Brodie Lee t-shirts honoring Lee. Also honoring Lee, there were purple wristbands and bandanas worn, along with several women wearing purple makeup to represent the colors of The Dark Order, the stable he led.[25][26] Lance Archer wore a white tank top and blue jeans, similar to ring gear that Lee wore at WWE with the "Luke Harper" character he portrayed prior to joining AEW. Eddie Kingston wore a vintage (pre-2012) Notre Dame football jersey because Lee used to tell people "he played offensive tackle at Notre Dame and blocked for Tony Rice in the '80s. Just to pop himself." Wrestlers paid tribute to Lee in their matches by pointing up and looking to the sky, using Lee's gestures, taunts, and signature moves like The Dark Order hand gesture, his Brodie Bossman slam, Brodie Powerbomb, Brodie Big Boot, and his finishing move the discus lariat.[27]

To start their six-man tag team match, Adam Page, Alex Reynolds and John Silver used papers to hit their opponents, a tribute to Lee's Being The Elite segments.[28] Later on in the match, as Wardlow went to attack John Silver, Lee's former long-time WWE tag team partner Erick Redbeard, formerly known as Erick Rowan, made his surprise AEW debut protecting Silver and then proceeding to attack Wardlow. MJF taunted Brodie Huber, who was sitting ringside with Dark Order's Alan "5" Angels throughout the match, and after MJF removed his Dark Order mask, Huber hit him in the head with a kendo stick. After the match, Redbeard came back to the ring, celebrating with the winning team, and held up a sign that read: "Goodbye for now, my brother. See you down the road."[29]

The main event match featured Brodie Huber's favorites Cody Rhodes, Orange Cassidy, and The Dark Order's Preston "10" Vance teaming for one-night only against Team Taz (Brian Cage, Ricky Starks, and Powerhouse Hobbs) in what was billed as the "Brodie Lee Jr. Dream Match". In the end, Vance hit Starks with a spinebuster for the pinfall, giving the win to his team, and making it a clean sweep for The Dark Order. After the match, Team Taz attacked their opponents but retreated when Darby Allin and Sting made their way to the ring joining Rhodes, Cassidy, and Vance, ending in a staredown between them and Team Taz. This was one of a few small canonical things to happen during the event, as there was an ongoing storyline between Rhodes, Allin, Sting, and Team Taz.[29]

Following a speech by Cody Rhodes, Jon's widow Amanda Huber and son Brodie came to the ring and left Jon's wrestling boots and a purple bandana in the middle of the ring. Then, Brodie Huber was awarded the TNT Championship belt by AEW President and CEO Tony Khan, naming him "TNT Champion for life" while retiring the red strap version of the championship belt as a tribute to Jon Huber. A new black strap version of the belt was commissioned by AEW.[30] A tribute video with "Ol' '55" by Tom Waits closed the show.[31] Khan purchased the rights to the song in perpetuity, saying "so the tribute will last forever".[32]

Reception

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The Brodie Lee Celebration of Life was attended by 1,080 fans (very close to 20% of the venue's capacity of 5,500) which was a sellout, the second largest American pro wrestling crowd since the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States started, and AEW's largest since the start of the pandemic.[1] The memorial show was met with universal acclaim from fans, critics, and fellow wrestlers.[33] Dave Meltzer, publisher and editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, described the show as "easily the best wrestling television show of the year."[34] Mike Johnson of PWInsider called the show "the classiest, most perfect tribute show I've ever seen in all of my time watching professional wrestling".[35]

During the show, Pro Wrestling Tees' Shop AEW store released a t-shirt in memory of Brodie Lee with all proceeds benefiting The Huber Family.[36] In less than two hours, it set a new record for most shirts sold within 24 hours, breaking Sting's previous record.[37] In just under four hours, it became the highest selling t-shirt of 2020, breaking Orange Cassidy's previous record.[38]

Television ratings

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The Brodie Lee Celebration of Life averaged 977,000 television viewers on TNT and a 0.40 rating in AEW's key demographic.[39]

Results

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No.ResultsStipulationsTimes[40]
1Colt Cabana and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) defeated Matt Hardy and Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen)Six-man tag team match[20]15:31
2Lance Archer and The Dark Order (Evil Uno and Stu Grayson) (with Jake Roberts) defeated Eddie Kingston, The Butcher and The Blade (with The Bunny)Six-man tag team match[20]9:40
3"Hangman" Adam Page and The Dark Order (Alex "3" Reynolds and John "4" Silver) defeated The Inner Circle (MJF, Santana and Ortiz) (with Wardlow, Sammy Guevara, and Jake Hager)Six-man tag team match[20]12:42
4Anna "99" Jay and Tay Conti defeated Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. and Penelope Ford (with Rebel, Kip Sabian, and Miro) by submissionTag team match[20]10:04
5Cody Rhodes, Orange Cassidy, and Preston "10" Vance (with Arn Anderson and Alan "5" Angels) defeated Team Taz (Brian Cage, Ricky Starks, and Powerhouse Hobbs) (with Taz and Hook)Six-man tag team match[20]11:35

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Observer Staff (January 1, 2021). "January 4, 2021 Observer Newsletter: Rest in Peace Brodie Lee & Danny Hodge". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  2. ^ "Amanda Huber". www.radio.com. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
  3. ^ "Amanda Huber Opens Up About The Passing Of Jon Huber (Brodie Lee) | Fightful Wrestling". www.fightful.com. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
  4. ^ AEW Staff (December 26, 2020). "Rest in Peace Brodie Lee". All Elite Wrestling. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  5. ^ Rose, Bryan (December 26, 2020). "AEW's Brodie Lee passes away at 41 due to lung issue". Figure Four Online. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  6. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (December 26, 2020). "Brodie Lee Passes Away At The Age Of 41". Fightful. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  7. ^ Huber, Amanda (December 26, 2020). "My best friend died today". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  8. ^ Raimondi, Marc (December 26, 2020). "Jonathan Huber, AEW wrestler known as Brodie Lee, dies at 41". ESPN. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  9. ^ Baer, Jack (December 26, 2020). "Wrestling star Jon Huber, known as Brodie Lee, dies of non-COVID-19 lung issue". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  10. ^ Rest in Peace, Rest in Power - Remembering Brodie Lee: Wrestling Observer Live. YouTube. Wrestling Observer Newsletter. December 27, 2020. Event occurs at 2:28-2:36. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  11. ^ Brodie Lee passes away at 41 years old: Wrestling Observer Radio. YouTube. Wrestling Observer Newsletter. December 28, 2020. Event occurs at 0:38-0:42. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  12. ^ Renner, Ethan (March 18, 2020). "AEW Dynamite live results: Exalted One reveal, Blood & Guts advantage". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  13. ^ Powell, Jason (April 29, 2020). "4/29 AEW Dynamite TV results: Powell's live review of Cody vs. Darby Allin and Dustin Rhodes vs. Lance Archer in TNT Title tournament semifinal matches, Best Friends vs. Jimmy Havoc and Kip Sabian, Brodie Lee vs. Marko Stunt, AEW Champ Jon Moxley's promo". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  14. ^ Wilkinson, Matthew (October 12, 2020). "Brodie Lee Reveals Original Plans For His AEW Career". ProWrestling.com. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  15. ^ All Elite Wrestling [@AEW] (December 28, 2020). "Watch the Brodie Lee Celebration of Life episode of #AEWDynamite this Wednesday LIVE on TNT Drama at 8e/7c. Tickets are ONLY available by emailing ticketing@boldeventsjax.com or calling 904-633-2000" (Tweet). Retrieved December 28, 2020 – via Twitter.
  16. ^ Dark Order's Colt Cabana & "5" & "10" vs Fuego Del Sol & Aaron Solow & Ray Jaz | AEW Dark 12/22/20. YouTube. All Elite Wrestling. December 25, 2020. Event occurs at 5:54-6:09. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  17. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (December 29, 2020). "Tony Schiavone Reveals AEW Signed Eight-Year-Old Brodie Lee Jr. To A Contract". Fightful. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  18. ^ Rose, Bryan (December 9, 2020). "AEW announces Holiday Bash, New Year's Smash special events". Figure Four Online. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  19. ^ Powell, Jason (December 28, 2020). "AEW Dynamite preview: Brodie Lee celebration of life card, New Year's Smash postponed". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g Khan, Tony [@TonyKhan] (December 28, 2020). "AEW New Year's Smash will now take place across the first 2 weeks of 2021, on January 6 + January 13 on @tntdrama. I'll announce the card for this week's #AEWDynamite Celebration of Mr. Brodie Lee's Life in a moment. Thank you to all who have shared their love for Jon this week" (Tweet). Retrieved December 28, 2020 – via Twitter.
  21. ^ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  22. ^ AEW Honors Mr. Brodie Lee with a 10 Bell Salute | AEW Brodie Lee Celebration of Life, 12/30/20. YouTube. All Elite Wrestling. December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  23. ^ Renner, Ethan (December 31, 2020). "AEW Dynamite video highlights: Brodie Lee tribute show". Figure Four Online. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  24. ^ Mueller, Chris (December 30, 2020). "AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Reaction, Highlights from Brodie Lee Tribute Show". Bleacher Report. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  25. ^ Taz [@OfficialTaz] (December 30, 2020). "The temperature check for each @AEW show at the venue changes color all the time when we are here. Today is PURPLE. #TheLittleThings #AEWDynamite #RIPBrodieLee 💜💜💜" (Tweet). Retrieved December 31, 2020 – via Twitter.
  26. ^ Edwards, Aubrey [@RefAubrey] (December 30, 2020). "The amount of girls in our roster walking into the makeup and asking for purple makeup makes me so happy 💜 #AEWDynamite" (Tweet). Retrieved December 30, 2020 – via Twitter.
  27. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (December 30, 2020). "Lance Archer Dresses As Old School Brodie Lee (Luke Harper), Jake Roberts Gets Physical On AEW Dynamite". Fightful. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  28. ^ "Brodie" - Being The Elite Ep. 236. YouTube. Being The Elite. December 28, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  29. ^ a b AEW Staff (December 30, 2020). "AEW Dynamite Results for December 30, 2020". All Elite Wrestling. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  30. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (December 30, 2020). "Brodie Lee Jr Crowned As AEW TNT Champion For Life In Honor Of Brodie Lee, Brodie Jr's Belt Retired". Fightful. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  31. ^ AEW Pays Tribute to Jon Huber aka Brodie Lee | AEW Brodie Lee Celebration of Life, 12/30/20. YouTube. All Elite Wrestling. December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  32. ^ Khan, Tony [@TonyKhan] (December 30, 2020). "Thank you everyone who joined us tonight on #AEWDynamite to celebrate the life of Jon Huber, known to fans as Mr. Brodie Lee. 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" (Tweet). Retrieved December 30, 2020 – via Twitter.
  33. ^ Guzzo, Gisberto (December 30, 2020). "WWE Stars React To Dynamite, Sting And Darby Allin Appear Together | Post-AEW/NXT Fight-Size Update". Fightful. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  34. ^ Meltzer, Dave [@davemeltzerWON] (December 31, 2020). "That was easily the best wrestling television show of the year" (Tweet). Retrieved December 31, 2020 – via Twitter.
  35. ^ Johnson, Mike (January 7, 2021). "COULD WWE USE THEIR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY TO LAUNCH A WWE CINEMATIC UNIVERSE, AEW'S HUBER MEMORIAL SHOW, ALICIA FOX AND MORE". PWInsider. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  36. ^ "Brodie Lee - Exalted in Heaven". Shop AEW. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  37. ^ Renner, Ethan (December 31, 2020). "Brodie Lee notes: Record T-shirt sales, AEW TNT Title, more". Figure Four Online. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  38. ^ One Hour Tees [@OneHourTees] (December 30, 2020). "Up until now... @orangecassidy had the highest selling shirt of 2020 on http://ProWrestlingTees.com. He was just dethroned in just under 4 hrs after the release of this tribute shirt. The highest selling shirt of 2020 will go to Mr. Brodie Lee" (Tweet). Retrieved December 30, 2020 – via Twitter.
  39. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (January 4, 2021). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.30.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  40. ^ Barnett, Jake (December 30, 2020). "12/30 AEW Dynamite results: Barnett's live review of the Brodie Lee (Jon Huber) celebration of life show featuring Cody Rhodes, Orange Cassidy, and 10 vs. Brian Cage, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Ricky Starks, Anna Jay and Tay Conti vs. Britt Baker and Penelope Ford". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
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