Pops & Botches: AEW – Brodie Lee Celebration of Life

AEW Dynamite Pops & Botches

 

Last Saturday night, my fiance and I were playing virtual quizzo with some friends, when the notification came on my phone.

“Brodie Lee, Dead at 41”.

Shocking, as always. Unfortunately, as wrestling fans, tragedy seems to be a package deal. It’s easy to lose perspective if you’re a long term wrestling fan, but other fandoms don’t deal with as much death and loss as we do. By the time I was 18, we’d lost Kerry Von Erich, Owen Hart, Chris Candido, Crash Holly, Test, Yokozuna, Brian Pillman, British Bulldog, Big Bossman, Mr. Perfect, Miss Elizabeth. Can you think of any other thing you love that has that high a death toll at such a young age? I don’t seem to recall the starting lineup of the 1997 Philadelphia Flyers being mostly dead by 2003. I don’t remember the cast of The Matrix dropping like flies. But wrestling…it always came with the territory.

So, what was it going to be this time? Car accident? Drug overdose? Attempted genocide?

As the details rolled in, we learned it was even greater loss than any wrestling fan would know. A man at seemingly peak health, suddenly infiltrated and devoured by a mystery disease within months. The greatest tragedies are the ones that are neither good nor evil, but blind uncaring fate. The bullet with your name on it, that is never heard until it has hit it’s mark.

However, the loss we as fans experienced is NOTHING compared to the loss of those close to him. We were losing an entertaining wrestler that was finally getting his shot at the main event. But it is now clear that the industry as a whole was losing so much more. As the accolades and grief came gushing in like burst dam, the stories began to paint a clearer picture of Brodie Lee, the man. The loving husband, the supporter of rookies, the beacon of positivity to friends, and the doting father his friends admired and aspired to be.

(This week’s article will be light on jokes, but there will be some. Actually, it’ll be pretty light overall, as there’s really not much I can add beyond the incredible tribute AEW delivered. I will however do my best to keep them within good taste and be respectful towards all involved.)

Ten-Bell Salute

Poor Miro is bawling in the back. 

As always, we get people yelling during the moment of silence? Can we stop yelling out during the fucking count? You’re doing it for you. You’re doing it to make the only noise in a big group. Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you. I’ll give the slimmest benefit of the doubt that maybe the crowd thought they’d hit 10 already, but it’s hard to ever give a wrestling crowd the benefit of the doubt. I immediately went and showed my fiance the CZW video where some dicklick yelled out “Fuck that!” during Eddie Guerrero’s 10 bell memoriam and had to be thrown out before the wrestlers and crowd destroyed him.

Little Brodie Jr. is here in an Evil Uno mask with a kendo stick. I know it’s a memoriam show and this poor child is suffering one of life’s greatest tragedies. But…so help me god if he turns heel and whacks somebody with that Kendo stick by the end of the night…white heat, baby. Nuclear heat. Puerto Rico heat.

Okay, nothing but positivity from here.

The Tributes

So sad. Especially hearing Brodie speak so fondly over being a father, a new frontier that Moxley currently stands on the precipice of. 

Eddie gives a heartfelt tribute of what he’ll miss from Jon. He also gives a sincere message to Brodie’s sons.

 

I had completely forgotten that Matt Hardy was a red herring for the Exalted One leading up to his debut. God this year has been at least 6 years long.

Wardlow notes that the rule in wrestling is the biggest, scariest looking guy is ALWAYS the kindest and sweetest person. He shares a story about Brodie approaching Cody backstage after what we didn’t know then, was his final match ever, the Dog Collar TNT match.

Jericho shares a story from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Hardy & Private Party vs. Young Bucks & Colt Cabana

Guys, we’re gonna see so many fucking Lariats tonight and I am stoked for it. I want diving lariats, Mexican standoff lariats, chicken fight lariats, I want Larry Zybzko to come out of retirement just to get a Larry-at.

Jericho says it’s okay to cry, and he’s right. Colt comes out with the Dark Order and the poor guy looks distraught and red-eye-rimmed.

It’s super weird that Hardy is playing the heel role here, pulling feet from the outside and whatnot. I know we’ve seen him showing a darker side in recent weeks, but there’s still a little kayfabe mark in me thinking, “How DARE he cheat on tonight of all nights? Shame on you, Matt Hardy!”

Hardy encrouages Quen to throw a Buck into the chair but refuses. It’s nice we’re getting a little character development on a tribute show. Colt gets the pin with the superman after a Bucks Meltzer Driver.

The Acclaimed show up talking smack on Dark Order, but never get the word out before SCU throw them in the ring for a double super kick and double Bionic Elbow. C’mon Acclaimed, tonight of all nights? For shame.

#5 Angels chills out on the side guardrail with -1 Brodie Jr. It’s adorable.

Dark Order (Grayson, Uno, and Lance Archer) vs. Kingston Butcher and Blade

Lance is dressed like Luke Harper, and I can not imagine a wifebeater and stretchy blue pants could be such a sweet loving gesture.

 

Kingston grabs the mic, says “Brodie, I love you, I miss you, this is for you, but now that all the niceness is out of the way, the Dark Order is done for.”

Turning the heels against the Dark Order as a whole is a nice tasteful way to still get some heel heat on such a sensitive sorrowful night. Nobody would have held it against AEW if they just did some short exhibitions, but they actually found a way to keep the stories going, and I applaud them for that. It’s not an easy thing.

Great spot where Lance Archer keeps throwing his teammates onto a prone Eddie Kingston, only for Uno and Grayson to double suplex him on Kingston in return.

Bunny is on the side grabbing ankles. (Really Bunny? On tonight of all nights? For shame.)

Brody Slam tribute.  We’re 1.5 matches into the night, and we’ve seen zero lariats, and I feel stupid. Larry Zybisco better get destroyed by the end of this.

Holy shit, INCREDIBLE Undertaker style old school rope walk into a fucking MOONSAULT by Lance Archer.

Evil Uno and Grayson have kinda taken a backseat in recent months in regards to in-ring competition, but this match really reminded me how exciting they are as a team. The final 30 seconds of this match with the double hot take between the two were electric, and I hope we get to see them in the squared circle more often.

Cash/Arn/Colt/Bryce

Some super sad pics of Huber with his family and stories of what a great husband and father he was, playing with his children at every opportunity. Bryce says Brodie belongs on the Mount Rushmore of wrestling dads for what a dedicated father he was.

Hangman Page/Reynolds/Silver vs. MJF/Sanatana/Ortiz

MJF comes out with a Proud and Powerful headband and special Puerto Rican flag tights.

You have to wonder if the New York Times realized their plaque was going to be used as a foreign object for the upcoming year.

Hangman and the Dark Order pay tribute to Brodie by throwing the papers ala Brodie on BTE.

MJF starts screaming in Brodie Jr.’s face at ringside. (Really MJF? On today, of all days?) It’s small things like this that make wrestling incredible to us on the inside and incomprehensible to those on the outside. Enjoy explaining to a friend how your favorite wrestler was flipping off an 8 year old whose dad died four days ago but it’s actually a good thing.

Silver is on fire running combos on all three Inner Circle opponents.

MJF takes things further by snatching the mask off of Brodie Lee Jr.’s head only for -1 to crack him with a kendo stick. Goddammit I love wrestling. Also, this doesn’t seem to be the only kendo stick bashing Brodie Jr. did that night. Boy is dominant authority figure, just like his old man.

I really wish my dad’s friends would’ve done this for me when he passed. It was the hardest day of my life, the LEAST they could’ve done would’ve been to allow me to grieve via Singapore Cane.

We get a surprise appearance of Brodie’s Bludgeon Brother and Wyatt Family member Erick Rowan, who shows up to take out Wardlow. Silver nails the Lariat(!)  for the pin and immediately collapses in tears. Rowan returns to the ring holding  sign reading simply, “Goodbye for now, my brother. See you down the road.” After reading multiple attestations from his friends and colleagues, it’s been repeated that one of Lee’s quirks was to give leave by saying, “Goodbye forever”, regardless of the circumstances.

Tay Conti/Anna Jay vs. Penelope Ford/Britt Baker

I haven’t seen Penelope Ford in the ring much, but she impressed quite a bit in this match. Go Philly Girl! Dark Order continue their clean sweep of the night.

Britt says the match was rigged, some kind of inside joke. Brings out Thunder Rosa to beat her ass.

Brodie Jr Six Man Match: Team Taz vs. Orange Cassidy/Preston Vance 10/Cody

This match was booked by Brodie Jr. himself, his three favorite babyfaced versus his three most hated heels.

Cody embraces Bryce. Jericho makes mention of Brodie’s younger son, Nolan Rhino, saying he’s too young to truly understand what’s happening, but he’ll look back on tonight and know, and Jericho promises we’ll take care of him as well.

Commentary makes numerous reference to Number 10 getting a big opportunity here to prove himself, as this is his first main event match.

Arn and Taz both grab chairs and standoff. Ten gets the pin, Cody whispers something encouraging in his ear. It’s a clean sweep for the Dark Order.

Hook Taz suplexes 10. Team Taz cleans house. The lights go out! It’s Sabu! He’s here to claim Hook as his son, Hook!

Wait, it’s Darby. Lights go out again, it’s Sting! A weird closeup of the snow machine. They appear from the same wing and approach the ring together. (Again, the snow looks beautiful falling straight into the lens and I hope they never fix it. I could totally see the random complaint of one dickhead exec ruining this, and they are wrong.)

They stand in the ring challenging Team Taz on the ramp.

Commercial: Why is HurryCane, a mobility assistance for the elderly tool, buying advertising on AEW? Have they confused former wrestlers with bad knees for the primary audience? Is that 18-49 demo not as lucrative as the 50-99 with bad joints demo?

Final Goodbyes

Cody wraps up the show with possibly the single most heartbreaking segment I’ve seen in the history of wrestling. He was looking for a quote to encapsulate Brodie Lee. “You can judge a man’s character, by how he treats somebody who can do him no good.” Mentions the mountains of positive stories outpouring from Brodie Lee. There has never been another wrestler that no one has anything bad to say about. He was a beautiful man. And he leaves behind a beautiful legacy, and here comes a part of that. Brodie Lee Jr.

Brodie Jr. comes out with his Mom carrying Brodie’s boots (fucking heartbreaking…). Tony Khan follows up behind.

Mrs. Lee hands the boots to Brodie Jr. who lays them in the ring as Cody lays a bandana on top. Tony then presents Brodie with the TNT championship for life. 

The show wraps up with one final tearjerker tribute video. I was shocked to find Tom Waits (one of my all time favorite artists) song Ol’ 55 playing over the tribute. A father who will never get to watch his children grow. A wife who will have to raise their sons alone. Sons without their father, but now with several dozen substitutes from his friends stepping up to fill the role, in a way they can never accomplish, but will do their best to fill the role.

…

I don’t know how many of you have lost a parent out there. I lost my father at 22 due to an accidental overdose on OxyContin. It is the most gut-wrenching thing I have ever been through. It is a wound that never heals, a hole that never seals. I question what type of man I would have become had my father stayed around, and I was ALREADY grown man. To lose a father you idolize at 8 years old…life is filled with pains too wicked to ever justify. “Never” is such a dull meaningless term; it is only in death that its true, cold, hollow definition is truly felt. Never again will Brodie Lee pop a crowd, or hit a lariat. Even more painful, he will never kiss his wife and children goodnight. I don’t bring this up for sheer morbidity and bleakness, but to pay respect to the flaming crater created by the death of an integral part of one’s life. I ask you to please consider the true enormity of loss… We, in the wrestling community, have lost a beloved star that entertained us. But the outpouring from fans and friends are a stark reminder that they are losing so much, much more, that we as fans can never fully truly appreciate. A friend. A colleague. A husband. A father.

We must go on without him, but we will never leave him behind. Brodie Lee/Luke Harper/Jon Huber.

Thank you for everything

Jesse Draham is a comedian. Follow him on Twitter @jessedraham and listen to the Kill Your Gods Podcast.

     

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