Luke Harper

Jon Huber (December 16, 1979 – December 26, 2020), better known by his ring names Luke Harper and Brodie Lee, was an American professional wrestler. In WWE he was a one-time Intercontinental Champion and a three-time Tag Team Champion (two-time SmackDown and one-time NXT Tag Team Champion).

Huber also wrestled under the ring name Brodie Lee, working for promotions such as All Elite Wrestling (where he was the leader of The Dark Order and a former TNT Champion), 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

 WWE (2012–2020) 
On March 12, 2012, it was reported that Huber had signed a developmental contract with WWE. He made his debut for WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) at a house show on May 18, working under the new ring name Luke Harper. When FCW changed its name to 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 who replaced 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.

Starting on May 27, 2013, videos played on Raw to promote the upcoming main roster debut of the Wyatt Family. They debuted on the July 8 episode 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 defeated many teams for a couple months but suffered their first loss on the October 11 episode of SmackDown from Cody Rhodes and Goldust.

On the September 29, 2014 episode of Raw, a video played where Wyatt set Harper free, saying that he fixed him and gave him a reason to exist. Therefore the Wyatt Family broke up and Harper began wrestling in singles competition. 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 won the match and his first singles championship in the WWE. He lost the title back to Ziggler in a ladder match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, ending his reign at 27 days.

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. After his death, AEW made a special episode of Dynamite, on December 30, called the Brodie Lee Celebration of Life. In it, his then-eight-year-old son, Brodie, joined the stable The Dark Order, which Huber originally was the leader of.

Championships
 Alpha-1 Wrestling
 A1 Zero Gravity Championship (1 time)
 All Elite Wrestling
 AEW TNT Championship (1 time)
 Jersey All Pro Wrestling
 JAPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 JAPW New Jersey State Championship (1 time)
 JAPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Necro Butcher
 Next Era Wrestling
 NEW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 NWA Empire
 NWA Empire Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 NWA Mississippi
 NWA Southern Television Championship (1 time)
 Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 Ranked No. 24 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2015
 Rochester Pro Wrestling/NWA Upstate/NWA New York
 NWA Upstate Kayfabe Dojo Championship (1 time)
 NWA Upstate/NWA New York Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
 RPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Freddie Midnight
 RPW/NWA Upstate Television Championship (1 time)
 Squared Circle Wrestling
 2CW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
 World of Hurt Wrestling
 WOHW United States Championship (3 times)
 Wrestling Observer Newsletter
 Best Gimmick (2013) – 
 WWE
 WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
 WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton (1) and Rowan (1)
 NXT Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Erick Rowan
 Slammy Award (1 time)
 Match of the Year (2014) 

Notes

References

Other websites

Category:1979 births
Category:2020 deaths
Category:Deaths from lung disease
Category:American professional wrestlers
Category:Sportspeople from Rochester, New York
Category:All Elite Wrestling alumni
Category:Former WWE wrestlers
Category:Deaths from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis