Luke Harper

Jon Huber (December 16, 1979 – December 26, 2020) better known by his ring name Luke Harper, was an American professional wrestler. He was a one-time WWE Intercontinental Champion.

Huber also wrestled in the North American independent circuit under the ring name Brodie Lee, working for promotions such as Alpha-1 Wrestling, Chikara, Combat Zone Wrestling, Dragon Gate USA, Jersey All Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor. He was born in Rochester, New York.

Career
When FCW was rebranded into NXT Wrestling, he debuted on the December 12, 2012 episode of NXT as a follower of Bray Wyatt, who introduced Rowan as his "first son".

Erick Rowan was later introduced as Wyatt's "second son" and Harper started to team with Rowan. They defeated Percy Watson and Yoshi Tatsu on the January 9, 2013 episode of NXT and defeated them again on the January 23 episode of NXT in the first round of the NXT Tag Team Championship tournament. Harper and Rowan defeated Bo Dallas and Michael McGillicutty in the semi-finals but were defeated in the finals by Adrian Neville and Oliver Grey. Harper and Rowan won a triple threat elimination tag match on the May 2 episode of NXT and defeated Neville and Bo Dallas, filling in for the injured Grey, on the May 8 NXT (taped on May 2) to win the tag titles. On June 20, they lost the NXT Tag Team Championship to Adrian Neville and Corey Graves.

Vignettes became appearing on Raw to promote the upcoming debut of the Wyatt Family and they debuted on the July 8 episode of Raw when they attacked Kane. He made his WWE in-ring debut in a tag team match on the July 26 episode of SmackDown, where he and Rowan defeated Tons of Funk (Brodus Clay and Tensai). Harper and Rowan went on a winning streak over many teams for a couple months but suffered their first lost on the October 11 episode of SmackDown from Cody Rhodes and Goldust.

On the September 29 episode of Raw, there was a vignette aired where Wyatt set Harper free, saying that he fixed him and gave him a reason to exist. On the November 10 episode of Raw, Harper made his TV return, throwing an unconscious Dolph Ziggler at Triple H and Stephanie McMahon's feet, and expressed his desire to join their team at Survivor Series against John Cena's team.

On the November 17 episode of Raw, he joined Team Authority and was immediately given a match for the Intercontinental Championship against Dolph Ziggler. Harper would win the match and his first championship in the WWE.

Death
Huber died on December 26, 2020 from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, ten days after his 41st birthday. He was hospitalized for non-COVID-related lung problems in Jacksonville, Florida.

Championships
Alpha-1 Wrestling
A1 Zero Gravity Championship (one time)

Jersey All Pro Wrestling
JAPW Heavyweight Championship (one time)
JAPW New Jersey State Championship (one time)
JAPW Tag Team Championship (one time) (with Necro Butcher)

Next Era Wrestling
NEW Heavyweight Championship (one time)

NWA Empire
NWA Empire Heavyweight Championship (one time)

NWA Mississippi
NWA Southern Television Championship (one time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated
He was ranked #34 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2014.

Rochester Pro Wrestling/NWA Upstate/NWA New York
NWA Upstate Kayfabe Dojo Championship (one time)
NWA Upstate/NWA New York Heavyweight Championship (three times)
RPW Tag Team Championship (one time) (with Freddie Midnight)
RPW/NWA Upstate Television Championship (one time)

Squared Circle Wrestling
2CW Heavyweight Championship (two times)

World of Hurt Wrestling
WOHW United States Championship (three times)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Best Gimmick (2013) (The Wyatt Family)

WWE
WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)

WWE NXT
NXT Tag Team Championship (one time) (with Erick Rowan)

References

Other websites

WWE profile

1979 births
2020 deaths
Deaths from lung disease
American professional wrestlers
Sportspeople from New York
People from Rochester, New York
Former WWE wrestlers
AEW wrestlers
Deaths from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis