Mishal takes some time to reflect upon, and be thankful for, the career and amazing life of Jon Huber (Brodie Lee/Luke Harper).

The past 24 hours have been a whirlwind of emotion for any wrestling fan.

Death is never an easy event to tackle, regardless of who you are. It’s an unexpected, sudden and harsh reminder of just how short life is, but more importantly how suddenly it can be taken away without even the slightest of warnings. More than anything it provides a reality that the life we all live is never as constant or safe as we’d like it to be, and when we least expect it, the things that add so much value in their small bursts can just vanish in the blink of an eye.

And that’s how the last 24 hours feel, like a blur, something that simply doesn’t feel real despite the harsh reality we must all force down.

2020 has been filled with loss, more for some than others. Whether it’s friends, families, loved ones from your social circles, celebrities, idols, mentors or even pets, loss has been a common theme we can all relate to during these exhausting times. Some of us have even lost the capability to live as freely as we were once used to, others are forced to restrict their lifestyles because of the hazard they could represent to older generations of people around them, and I think it’s all of this that makes yesterday’s developments so much more devastating.

The wrestling world has been no stranger to loss in 2020. From the legendary Pat Patterson, Kamala, ‘Soulman’ Rocky Johnson, Road Warrior Animal and now, Jon Huber, to us WWE & AEW fans, known as either Luke Harper or Brodie Lee, respectively.

No matter how or when we knew him, no matter the character he portrayed, no matter the promotion he was signed under at the given time we reference or which side of the wrestling aisle he sat at, Jon Huber’s death stings in many ways I wasn’t expecting it to. I’ve been watching him steal the show in every ring he’s set foot in since the days of CHIKARA, where he went to war against the likes Claudio Castagnoli (now known to us as Cesaro) or Bryan Danielson (who we know as Daniel Bryan) amongst many other names I won’t mention here. And ever since my first introduction to him as a young wrestling fan, he always stood out to me as an oddity different from all the others around him. The Brodie Lee character was always intimidating because not only was he amongst the biggest men in the room, he was also amongst the most agile in that room as well. Placing a character of such size and agility into the squared circle is never a joke as it breaks the mould of the prototypical big-man the business so frequently tries to sell to us. Generally, men over 6 foot 6 are normally presented as being all about the size, a more limited move set without the variety someone in a lower weightclass would possess, but not Brodie.

Brodie Lee was one of wrestling’s few exceptions, in the vein of the likes of The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, Sheamus, Braun Strowman or Keith Lee, a mammoth of a man towering over smaller opponents that could mimic any of their offense that would normally give them an advantage. He was a talent, a special one at that, one that always made the man across from him look good even in loss.

My early exposure to Brodie Lee was a unique one because of that distinct look his character presented, an attire and posture that wasn’t too frequently seen in the business. Beyond the odd, calculating stare laid a swiss army knife of tricks out of the wrestling handbook that nobody could be prepared to see, which was displayed in spades as his career grew to the heights we saw it in his later years.

His WWE debut brought a tonne of eyes to the character that had previously not been exposed to his work prior which made for a world of potential for him to grow. And despite his run under the WWE banner being somewhat mixed from many fans perspectives, I’m just glad the wider mainstream world of professional wrestling got to see his talents first hand, regardless of the hiccups his character may have had. Brodie, now known as the unpredictable Luke Harper, tangled as part of The Wyatt Family with both Bray Wyatt & Erick Rowan, a group which has become one of the most iconic in the modern-day era of professional wrestling. It turned out that being a member of cult obsessed with purifying the talents they faced in the ring would be the ideal fit for Luke Harper at the time, even with the limitations it brought his character down the road.

Harper would start stealing the show not just as a stable, but in singles competition, taking part in some of the most underrated matches of the last half decade I can think of. Many singles matches against the likes of Randy Orton, Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles, Roman Reigns and a criminally overlooked match against Dominik Dijakovic that doesn’t receive near the level of attention that it should have at the time are just prime examples of how good the man was at being a professional wrestler, at embodying the character he played for a good portion of his career.

For the longest time Luke Harper was a part of the most overlooked moments of the last number of years in WWE, including some of the best angles the company created on each given year he competed in. He was, and still is referred to as one of the most overlooked competitors that WWE just never used to his fullest potential despite some real highs in a career under the brand many felt never reached the levels it was capable of.

But that’s where AEW comes into the fold.

As devastatingly brief as his work with AEW was, few would ever contest that this was the point where Brodie Lee started coming into his own element entirely. Portraying ”The Exalted One” didn’t just give him the perfect gimmick to bounce off of following a WWE run that left much to be desired, as well as positioning himself as the saviour of The Dark Order, a stable that up to that point was barely clinging onto relevancy due to the influx of talent the company was receiving at that point in time.

Brodie, however, grabbed the bull by the horns and thrust The Dark Order into a position in which it received significant attention on the card, including spotlights in the AEW World Title scene, as well as an incredible squash match which saw Brodie topple Cody Rhodes to claim the AEW TNT Title in dominating fashion. Brodie’s title reign didn’t last as long as many would have wanted it to, but it did accomplish a multitude of things; memorable matches against talent such as Jon Moxley, Cody, Dustin Rhodes & Orange Cassidy, bringing relevancy to a previously forgotten unit in AEW, re-establishing himself as the star he simply wasn’t regarded as with the competition and presented us a character that had endless potential down the line if the circumstances had been different.

While the length of his tenure is certainly disappointing when we reflect, what he accomplished in the short space of time he was in AEW is remarkable. Proving not just to us, but more importantly to a number of other industry leaders that he was what they doubted him to be, a star, and a master of his craft.

Up until this point this article has been a brief run-through of the career of Brodie Lee, Luke Harper or the man himself Jon Huber and just highlight of how much quality came out of such an under-appreciated character. But more than anything, it should teach us all one thing, how quickly we can lose someone that all of us, fans, friends, family or otherwise hold near to our hearts.

The life of Jon Huber will be remembered for many things. He’ll be remembered for being a father, a husband, a great friend to many around him, an incredible entertainer to the fans no matter the opponent across him, a champion worthy of more than he even accomplished, a superstar capable of achieving the highest of highs and having met him on a few occasions at live events when they existed, a stand-up guy who welcomed everyone like they were a member of his family. Jon Huber’s death is a bleak reminder of the times we live in when all the things we value are at risk and just how devastating a loss can feel when someone forges a connection with you regardless of your location on this planet. And I’ll admit, the weight of losing him didn’t hit me until the minute I read about it.

Having met and seen him perform in the ring on more than one occasion, there’s no doubt of the kind of person Jon was, and that’s why the pouring out of emotion is so unlike anything we’ve come to see in the small community that professional wrestling bolsters.

What we all need to remember is that death is never the end of our journey, for many it’s a brief pitstop. For others death doesn’t define your ending, the impact you make following it keeps the spirit of the person alive longer than his or her own lifespan can. And without question Jon is going to be talked about long, long after this heartbreaking period.

I think I speak for everyone, fan or otherwise when I say thank you to Jon, for making us laugh, scream, cry, stare in awe at his abilities, but most importantly, for bringing us together at a time when we couldn’t be more divided as a community in general.

Rest in power Jon Huber, you’ll never, ever be forgotten.