The Wyatt Family was an American professional wrestling stable in WWE originally composed of Bray Wyatt , Erick Rowan , and Luke Harper .
162-758: Portrayed as a villainous cult from the bayous of the Deep South , the Wyatt Family debuted in WWE's then- developmental branch NXT in November 2012, with Harper and Rowan going on to win the NXT Tag Team Championship . They debuted on the main roster in July 2013 and terrorized wrestlers such as Kane , CM Punk , Daniel Bryan , John Cena , and The Shield , among others. Bryan joined
324-417: A 3-on-1 handicap match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 15, with Wyatt attempting to recruit Bryan in the previous weeks. On the final Raw of 2013, Bryan defeated Harper and then Rowan in a gauntlet match that would lead to Bryan facing Wyatt, whereupon Harper and Rowan interfered to cause a disqualification and began beating Bryan down until a frustrated Bryan finally gave up and joined
486-561: A Last Man Standing match being set up for Payback on June 1, which Cena won to end their feud. On the June 2 episode of Raw , Harper and Rowan took on then WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos in a tag team match; Wyatt did not appear during the match, but his rocking chair still sat beside the ring, and Harper and Rowan went on to win the match, which made them number one contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championship. On
648-502: A NXT Championship number one contender match due to Dallas' refusal to join the Wyatt Family. Dallas went on to hand Wyatt his first loss on the March 13 episode of NXT . On the May 2 episode of NXT , while Wyatt was defeated by six-time world champion Chris Jericho , Luke Harper and Erick Rowan won a triple threat elimination tag team match by last pinning Neville to earn a shot at
810-417: A Ring of Fire match at SummerSlam , which he accepted. On August 18 at SummerSlam, Wyatt defeated Kane following interference from Harper and Rowan, after which Harper and Rowan attacked Kane again and ended the segment by carrying him away. At Battleground on October 6, Wyatt's momentum continued with a win over Kofi Kingston . Over the next few months, Rowan and Harper competed as a tag team and went on
972-701: A backyard wrestler , performing under the ring name Huberboy #2 with the likes of Colin Delaney and his real-life brother, Referee Rob Ryan (Chris Huber) and Jimmy Olsen . Huber was eventually formally trained by Kirby Marcos and Rik Matrix in Rochester, New York , and Tony Mamaluke in Schenectady, New York , and made his debut for Roc City Wrestling (RCW) in 2003, working under a mask as Huberboy #2. Later that year, he unmasked and began working as Brodie Lee for Rochester Pro Wrestling (RPW). He came up with
1134-495: A dark eight-way fray elimination match , before the tapings of the Uprising pay-per-view . Later, on the pay-per-view section of the evening, Lee interrupted a match between Rip Impact and Johnny Wave, beat down both of the competitors and stated that next time he would be coming after a Japanese wrestler. At the following event on September 25, Lee defeated Da Soul Touchaz (Acid Jaz, Marshe Rockett and Willie Richardson) in
1296-582: 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 was rebranded as NXT in August 2012, Harper made his television debut on the November 7 episode of NXT as a follower of Bray Wyatt , who introduced Harper as the "first son" of The Wyatt Family . The Wyatt Family later also came to include Wyatt's "second son" Erick Rowan , with whom Harper formed
1458-493: A heavyweight , claimed he was a " cruiserweight ". Upon his debut in WWE as Luke Harper, he became part of The Wyatt Family , a cult -like faction with Bray Wyatt as their leader. According to Huber, WWE chairman Vince McMahon envisioned Harper as a hillbilly and asked him to speak with a Southern -like drawl . The faction split in early 2017, but Harper later reunited with former Wyatt Family teammate Erick Rowan to form
1620-573: A low blow on his distracted opponent. Other heels may act overpowering to their opponents to play up the scrappy underdog success story for the face. Luke Harper Jonathan Huber (December 16, 1979 – December 26, 2020) was an American professional wrestler known as Brodie Lee . Huber performed under the ring name Luke Harper in WWE from 2012 to 2019, and as Mr. Brodie Lee in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in 2020. From 2003 to 2012, Huber performed as Brodie Lee on
1782-490: A lumberjack match , where Hatfield and Dunkerton were victorious. In May 2011, Lee entered the 12 Large: Summit , set to determine the inaugural Chikara Grand Champion , but was forced to pull out of the tournament following his first match, after suffering a legitimate injury. Lee returned to Chikara on October 30. After signing a developmental contract with WWE, Lee made his farewell appearance for Chikara on March 25, 2012, when he unsuccessfully challenged Eddie Kingston for
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#17328015731501944-422: A no contest . As Moxley was protesting the stoppage, Lee kicked a chair into his face, which led to Evolve suspending him for the show of September 11. Lee returned to Evolve on May 20, 2011, in a match where he was defeated by Sami Callihan via submission. On May 8, 2010, Lee made his debut for Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA), defeating Cheech, Cloudy, Kyle O'Reilly, Phil Atlas, Xtremo, Brent B. and Anthony Fiasco in
2106-547: A squash match . Going into 2018, The Bludgeon Brothers began to target SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos , as well as their rivals The New Day . On March 11, 2018, The Bludgeon Brothers made an appearance at Fastlane , interfering during the SmackDown Tag Team Championship match between The Usos and The New Day. This led to a tag team championship match between the three teams at WrestleMania 34 , which The Bludgeon Brothers won to attain
2268-477: A three-on-one handicap match , before repeating his threat of going after a Japanese competitor. Later in the night, Lee set his sights on Yamato and chased him away from ringside, when he tried to interfere in a match between his ally Jon Moxley and Jimmy Jacobs. The following day, Lee defeated Jimmy Jacobs, Kyle O'Reilly , Mike Quackenbush, Rich Swann and Silas Young in a six-way match. On October 29 at Dragon Gate USA's first live pay-per-view, Bushido: Code of
2430-459: A battle royal at the Crown Jewel event on October 31, which he lost. On November 26, he filed a trademark for Brodie Lee, his former wrestling ring name. On December 8, it was announced that Harper had been released from his WWE contract. Huber made his surprise debut for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on the March 18, 2020, episode of Dynamite , reverting to his Brodie Lee ring name. He
2592-481: A brief feud with each other, Harper and Rowan reunited in May 2015. In July 2015, the Wyatt Family reunited and were joined by Braun Strowman , who was later taken out of the faction as a result of the 2016 WWE draft . In late 2016, with the addition of Randy Orton , the Wyatt Family won the SmackDown Tag Team Championship , holding it under the Freebird Rule . After they lost the championship, Harper left
2754-468: A brief Wyatt Family reunion, along with Bray Wyatt, before all three men began to brawl. On the May 7 episode of SmackDown , Rowan would come out after Harper defeated Fandango , seemingly to confront Harper, but would instead attack Fandango and thus turning into a villain in the process. On the May 11 episode of Raw , Harper and Rowan would officially reunite when Harper accompanied Rowan to his match against Fandango which Rowan won after 30 seconds and
2916-548: A chair, before burying him under a table, a ladder and steel chairs. At Survivor Series on November 23, Harper was one of the last men eliminated in Team Authority's loss against Rowan and Team Cena. As punishment for his affiliation with The Authority, Harper was forced to put his Intercontinental Championship on the line against Ambrose the following night on Raw and successfully retained the title after getting himself disqualified, after which Wyatt ambushed Ambrose, who
3078-488: A different public image, such as The Rock 's turn from a clean-cut face to self-absorbed narcissist in the Nation of Domination heel stable, or Tetsuya Naito 's fan rejection of his babyface causing him to drastically form Los Ingobernables de Japon . The term "heel" does not, in itself, describe a typical set of attributes or audience reaction, but simply a wrestler's presentation and booking as an antagonist. Depending on
3240-454: A family. On the June 5 episode of Superstars , Harper and Rowan defeated Los Matadores in a tag team match. On the June 8 episode of Raw , Harper and Rowan defeated Los Matadores in a rematch. On the June 19 episode of Superstars , Harper and Rowan defeated Los Matadores and The Ascension in a triple threat tag team match. During a match at a live event , Rowan got injured, with reports saying he would be out of action for 4–6 months. On
3402-509: A grudge with Castagnoli for breaking up The Kings of Wrestling the previous year. Lee's and Castagnoli's feud ended on September 7, 2008, in Chikara's first-ever steel cage match , with Castagnoli coming out victorious. In late 2008, Lee aligned himself with Eddie Kingston and Grizzly Redwood to form a stable called The Roughnecks. On February 21, 2009, The Roughnecks defeated UltraMantis Black , Crossbones and Sami Callihan to earn
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#17328015731503564-414: A heart attack on August 24, 2023, at the age of 36, leaving Rowan as the only surviving original Wyatt Family member. The 236th episode of The Young Bucks ' YouTube series Being The Elite ( BTE ) was titled "Brodie", featuring a compilation of Lee's BTE appearances. The following episode was titled "Tribute", featuring behind the scenes clips from his Celebration of Life memorial show. Since then,
3726-465: A heel or a face. During his period as the leader of The Ministry of Darkness , he appeared as a priest of the occult in a hooded black robe and literally sat in a throne, often in the shape of the symbol used to represent him. Occasionally, faces who have recently turned from being heels still exhibit characteristics from their heel persona. This occurs due to fans being entertained by a wrestler despite (or because of) their heel persona, often due to
3888-632: A lung issue at the clinic since late October. Despite what some fans believed at the time, the issue was unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic as Huber had tested negative multiple times. He had been moved to the intensive care unit in late October. On the AEW Unrestricted podcast in January 2021, Amanda revealed that Huber had died from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis , a rare condition which causes lung tissue to continuously thicken until
4050-435: A match against Dasher Hatfield , who was defeated by Redwood the following day. On November 20, Lee and Redwood, having earned each other's respect, re-united and attacked Hatfield after his match with Shayne "Buck" Hawke. On January 23, 2011, at the season ten premiere, The Roughnecks defeated The Throwbacks (Hatfield and Sugar Dunkerton) in a tag team match. The Roughnecks and The Throwbacks ended their feud on March 13 in
4212-507: A match between the teams at Elimination Chamber , which The Wyatt Family won. During this time, Harper and Rowan also supported Bray Wyatt in his feud with John Cena through WrestleMania XXX , with Harper and Rowan also starting their own feud with the WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso), who supported Cena in the feud. Harper and Rowan went on to unsuccessfully challenge The Usos for
4374-414: A nasty or otherwise dangerous look, such as wearing corpse paint over their faces, putting on demonic masks, covering themselves in dark leather and the like. Gorgeous George is regarded as the father of the wrestling gimmick, and by extension the heel gimmick. Starting in the 1940s, he invented an extravagant, flamboyant "pretty boy" gimmick who wore wavy blonde hair, colorful robes and ritzy outfits, and
4536-429: A negative audience reaction despite their portrayal as heroes. An example is Roman Reigns , who in 2018 was a top face in WWE, but got booed in his matches while his opponents got cheered regardless of their status as face or heel, due to perceived favoritism from WWE executives and a lack of character development . Such characters often (but not always) become nudged into becoming villains over time or retooled to present
4698-575: A new steampunk -style sheep mask, assisting Wyatt and attacking Orton (since Wyatt lost the WWE Championship to Orton at WrestleMania 33 on April 2), but later that night they lost a tag team match against Orton and Harper. The Wyatt Family seemingly disbanded again when Wyatt was moved to the Raw brand during the 2017 WWE Superstar Shake-up , though Wyatt and Rowan continued their alliance, with Wyatt distracting Orton during his match with Rowan on
4860-510: A new record for most shirts sold within 24 hours, breaking Sting 's previous record. In just under four hours, it became the highest selling T-shirt of 2020, breaking Orange Cassidy 's previous record. Night 1 of New Japan Pro-Wrestling 's Wrestle Kingdom 15 started with commentator Kevin Kelly saying "it's January 4th, you know what that means" and dedicating the broadcast to Lee. In March 2021, wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer presented
5022-505: A painting of Huber has been present in The Dark Order's usual meeting room for their segments on BTE . The Dark Order members also continue to often wear Brodie Lee shirts and "RIP Brodie" armbands. The December 30 episode of AEW Dynamite , which was a special episode titled " Brodie Lee Celebration of Life ", featured matches and segments with fellow wrestlers honoring and paying tribute to Huber and his family. Every match on
The Wyatt Family - Misplaced Pages Continue
5184-611: A podcast before WrestleMania 32 on WWE's storylines for the Wyatt Family Also at Hell in a Cell on October 25, the Wyatt Family would later attack The Undertaker and carry him backstage, reigniting their feud. The next night on Raw , Wyatt was confronted by former rival Kane , who was attacked by the Wyatts and also carried backstage. On the November 9 episode of Raw , after Bray Wyatt claimed to "have taken their souls", The Brothers of Destruction returned and attacked
5346-539: A singles match against Reigns at a live event in Italy, Wyatt suffered an injury to his right calf and was thus pulled off WWE's European tour. His injury resulted in the abrupt suspension of the feud and the breakup of The League of Nations. Although all four members appeared on the Payback poster, none of the members had a match at the event. On the June 20 episode of Raw , the Wyatt Family (without Harper) returned for
5508-851: A singles match. On January 28, 2011, at United: NYC , Lee, now representing the heel group Blood Warriors, defeated Jimmy Jacobs in a singles match. The following day at United: Philly , Lee suffered his first loss in Dragon Gate USA, when he was defeated by Open the Freedom Gate Champion Yamato in a non-title match. On December 21, 2010, Lee made his debut for Japanese promotion Dragon Gate (DG) in Tokyo , where he, representing The Warriors stable, defeated Kzy . The Warriors stable turned heel on January 14, 2011, when they attacked Masato Yoshino and World-1, aligning themselves with Naruki Doi 's group, though Lee himself
5670-500: A six-man tag team match at Night of Champions on September 20 between the Wyatts and Reigns, Ambrose and a partner of their choosing, revealed to be Chris Jericho , which the Wyatt Family won. Rowan made his return to the ring on the October 19 episode of Raw , when he filled in for Harper (who was unable to show for personal reasons), against Reigns, Ambrose and Rollins which his team won after Rollins faked an injury and walked out on
5832-419: A spot in the 2009 King of Trios tournament . On March 27, The Roughnecks lost their King of Trios opening round match to Team Uppercut ( Bryan Danielson , Claudio Castagnoli and Dave Taylor ). When Kingston moved on to feuding with Castagnoli, Lee and Redwood began wrestling matches as a tag team . With victories over Los Ice Creams (El Hijo del Ice Cream and Ice Cream Jr.), Cheech Hernandez and K.C. Day, and
5994-418: A tag team dubbed The Bludgeon Brothers . The duo carried wooden mallets to the ring and had a look apparently modeled after Demolition , a tag team who wrestled for WWE in the 1980s. Desiring a run as a singles competitor, Huber pitched several gimmick ideas to McMahon, such as a "collector" who took trophies from his defeated opponents and an "intelligent monster" who would eloquently tell his rivals how he
6156-475: A tag team match on November 22 at Survivor Series , where the two defeated Harper and Wyatt. The next night on Raw , Harper teamed with Wyatt again to defeat The Dudley Boyz , igniting a new feud. Over the next weeks, Tommy Dreamer and Rhyno joined The Dudley Boyz in the feud, leading to an eight-man tag team tables match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs , where Harper, Wyatt, Rowan and Strowman were victorious. On January 24, 2016, Harper competed in
6318-514: A tag team match. The following month at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs , The Wyatt Family defeated Bryan in a 3-on-1 handicap match . At the Royal Rumble on January 26, 2014, Harper competed in his first Royal Rumble match , where he eliminated two other participants before being eliminated by Roman Reigns . Shortly afterwards, The Wyatt Family began a feud with The Shield ( Dean Ambrose , Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins ), leading to
6480-431: A tag team. The two defeated Percy Watson and Yoshi Tatsu in their first match together on the January 9, 2013, episode of NXT . On the January 23 episode of NXT , Harper and Rowan again defeated Watson and Tatsu in the opening round of the NXT Tag Team Championship tournament . Following a win over Bo Dallas and Michael McGillicutty in the semi-finals with Wyatt's interference, Harper and Rowan were defeated in
6642-438: A torn pectoral muscle and required surgery. Despite the injury, Wyatt continued to appear on NXT by founding a faction known as the Wyatt Family in November, with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan as his "sons". Harper and Rowan entered the NXT Tag Team Championship tournament to crown the inaugural champions and they defeated Percy Watson and Yoshi Tatsu in the first round on the January 23, 2013, episode of NXT . Following
The Wyatt Family - Misplaced Pages Continue
6804-490: A win over Bo Dallas and Michael McGillicutty in the semi-finals with Wyatt's interference, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan were defeated in the finals of the tournament by Adrian Neville and Oliver Grey . Wyatt had his first match back from injury on the February 20 episode of NXT , defeating Yoshi Tatsu. The Wyatt Family later assaulted Grey (who had suffered a legitimate injury) while Wyatt prevented Dallas from winning
6966-469: A winning streak over many teams until the October 11 episode of SmackDown , when Harper and Rowan suffered their first loss against Cody Rhodes and Goldust . The Wyatt Family's next feud began when they attacked CM Punk and Daniel Bryan , in late October. The feud saw Harper lose his first singles match to Punk. At Survivor Series on November 24, Harper and Rowan lost a tag team match against Bryan and Punk. The Wyatt Family then defeated Bryan in
7128-677: The 2019 WWE Draft . Harper was released in December 2019, and Rowan was released in April 2020. Strowman was released in June 2021, but would later return to the company in September 2022. Strowman continued as a singles competitor, while Wyatt adopted the new character of "The Fiend" to continue his solo career. Wyatt spent a significant part of his stint as "The Fiend" feuding with former Wyatt Family members, namely Bryan, Strowman, and Orton, before being released in July 2021. He returned to WWE at
7290-477: The 2021 Royal Rumble , The New Day wore custom ring gear honoring Huber, later auctioning off the gear with all the proceeds going to Foodlink, a nonprofit foodbank based in Huber's hometown Rochester. At WrestleMania 37 in April 2021, Bray Wyatt (who had largely been off television since before Huber's death) honored Huber by shouting Huber's "yeah, yeah, yeah" catchphrase during his match. Wyatt later died from
7452-574: The 2022 Extreme Rules event. On December 26, 2020, at the age of 41, Harper (who had been performing in AEW as Brodie Lee) died from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis . Numerous tributes were given by former colleagues, including his former Wyatt Family partners. On December 30, Rowan appeared on AEW's memorial show, the Brodie Lee Celebration of Life , holding up a sign dedicated to Harper that read, "Goodbye for now, my brother. See you down
7614-399: The Freebird Rule . Heel (professional wrestling) Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s In professional wrestling , a heel (also known as a rudo in lucha libre ) is a wrestler who portrays a villain , "bad guy", "baddie", "evil-doer", or "rulebreaker", and acts as an antagonist to the faces , who are
7776-572: The NXT North American Championship . Soon after, Harper took time off after undergoing surgery for a wrist injury. On March 9, 2019, Harper returned to in-ring action, defeating Mojo Rawley at a house show in his hometown of Rochester. He made his televised return at WrestleMania Axxess , defeating Dominik Dijakovic , which aired as part of the WWE Worlds Collide special. Following that, he competed in
7938-628: The NXT Tag Team Championship and the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship . The team of Harper and Rowan , later known as The Bludgeon Brothers in one of their tag team runs, went on to hold the SmackDown Tag Team Championship once more. During a brief run as a singles competitor, Harper became a one-time WWE Intercontinental Champion . Huber departed WWE in December 2019 and subsequently made his AEW debut in March 2020 as Mr. Brodie Lee,
8100-489: The Royal Rumble with fellow Wyatt Family members and he was eliminated by Brock Lesnar , but returned to the ring later on with The Wyatt Family members to eliminate Lesnar. Harper and Wyatt were defeated by Lesnar in a 2-on-1 handicap match at the Roadblock event on March 12. On March 21, Harper suffered a knee injury during an untelevised match on Raw , sidelining him for five to six months. After getting an MRI , it
8262-700: The Shad Gaspard/Jon Huber Memorial Award , named after Huber and fellow wrestler Shad Gaspard , who died in May 2020 while saving his young son from drowning, which is dedicated to people involved in professional wrestling who make positive contributions to society. In August 2021, CM Punk revealed that Huber's death and how well his illness was kept secret amongst the AEW locker room out of respect inspired him to end his seven-year hiatus from wrestling, which began when he became disillusioned with WWE. Bryan Danielson also spoke about how
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#17328015731508424-418: The angle , heels can act cowardly or overpowering to their opponents. For instance, a "closet champion" in particular is a term for a heel in possession of a title belt who consistently dodges top flight competition and attempts to back down from challenges. Examples include Seth Rollins during his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship reign, Charlotte during her Divas / Raw Women's Championship reign,
8586-435: The championship . On the May 8 episode of NXT (which was taped on May 2), Harper and Rowan defeated Neville and Bo Dallas (filling in for the injured Grey) to win the NXT Tag Team Championship . The Wyatt Family went on to feud with Corey Graves and Kassius Ohno , with Wyatt defeating Graves on the May 22 episode of NXT , and the next week Wyatt eliminated both Graves and Ohno during an 18-man battle royal to determine
8748-502: The heavyweight championship on three separate occasions, the tag team championship once and, after he won the television championship , he unified it with the Kayfabe Dojo Championship. Huber made his debut for Philadelphia -based Chikara on March 24, 2007, at Time Will Prove Everything , using "The Right Stuff" Brodie Lee gimmick and losing to Equinox . Lee originally was not scheduled to wrestle at
8910-559: The heroic protagonist or "good guy" characters. Not everything a heel wrestler does must be villainous: heels need only to be booed or jeered by the audience to be effective characters, although most truly successful heels embrace other aspects of their devious personalities, such as cheating to win or using foreign objects. "The role of a heel is to get 'heat,' which means spurring the crowd to obstreperous hatred, and generally involves cheating and any other manner of socially unacceptable behavior." To gain heat (with boos and jeers from
9072-511: The special guest referees for the match. On the January 22 episode of SmackDown , Harper and Rowan once again competed against each other, this time in a 2015 Royal Rumble qualifying match, with Harper winning and thus not allowing Rowan to participate in the Royal Rumble match. Despite this, Rowan appeared during the Royal Rumble match on January 25, ambushing the number six entrant Curtis Axel , to attack Harper and subsequently sparking
9234-562: The "in-between" good and evil actions these wrestlers display). WWE has been cited as a company that is doing away with the traditional heel/face format due in part to audiences' willingness to cheer for heels and boo babyfaces. In "local" wrestling (e.g., American wrestling) it was common for the faces to be "local" (e.g., Hulk Hogan , John Cena , and Stone Cold Steve Austin ) and the heels to be portrayed as "foreign" (e.g., Gunther , Alberto Del Rio , Ivan Koloff , The Iron Sheik , Rusev/Miro , Jinder Mahal , and Muhammad Hassan ). In
9396-476: The 24 January episode of SmackDown Live , Orton defeated Harper after which Wyatt attacked Harper with a Sister Abigail , but did not dictate whether he was kicked out of the group. During the Royal Rumble match on January 29, Harper attacked both Orton and Wyatt, even attempting Sister Abigail on the latter before being attacked by Orton, who would then go on to win the Royal Rumble match. At Elimination Chamber on February 12, Orton defeated Harper while in
9558-734: The American independent circuit for promotions such as Chikara , Ring of Honor , and Dragon Gate USA , as well as Dragon Gate Japan . Upon signing with WWE in 2012, he assumed the Luke Harper name and was sent to WWE's developmental territory in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) before debuting in NXT as a member of The Wyatt Family . For most of his WWE career, he was closely associated with Wyatt Family members Bray Wyatt and Erick Rowan . The Wyatt Family won
9720-701: The André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at the WrestleMania 35 pre-show, but failed to win as he was eliminated by Braun Strowman. After WrestleMania, Harper wrestled against EC3 in a dark match before an episode of SmackDown . It was reported that WWE chairman Vince McMahon did not like the match, so he canceled creative plans for Harper including a feud with Sami Zayn . After that, on April 16, Harper requested his release from WWE, as he had yet to appear on weekly television. His request
9882-461: The April 11 episode of SmackDown Live . On the April 25 episode of SmackDown Live , Rowan (still being referred to as a member of the Wyatt Family) competed in the main event against Orton in a no disqualification match which he lost. On the May 9 episode of SmackDown Live , Harper and Rowan faced each other in a match won by Rowan; the commentary team referred to both men as former members of
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#173280157315010044-439: The August 21 episode of SmackDown Live , The New Day defeated The Bludgeon Brothers in a no disqualification match to win the championships, ending their reign at 135 days. The following day, it was announced that Rowan had suffered a torn right bicep, sidelining him indefinitely and putting the team on hiatus. Harper made a surprise appearance at a NXT house show on September 6, where he unsuccessfully challenged Ricochet for
10206-558: The August 22 episode of Dynamite , Lee quickly defeated Cody to win the AEW TNT Championship . He successfully defended the TNT Championship against Rhodes and Orange Cassidy on the September 9 and 23 episodes of Dynamite , respectively. Cody returned after Lee's match against Cassidy, and Lee challenged him to a dog collar match for the TNT Championship. On the October 7 episode of Dynamite , Cody won
10368-517: The COVID-19 pandemic and with AEW's return to the venue in January 2024 for the two-part Homecoming special, AEW again paid tribute to Huber, airing a video package during the event and had three multi-person tag team matches with current and former members of The Dark Order. During the tribute show, Pro Wrestling Tees ' Shop AEW store released a T-shirt in memory of Lee with all proceeds benefiting The Huber Family. In less than two hours, it set
10530-607: The Chikara Grand Championship. Lee made his debut for Ring of Honor (ROH) on October 25, 2008, aligning himself with The Age of the Fall and helping the group's leader Jimmy Jacobs to defeat Austin Aries in an Anything Goes match . Lee then teamed with fellow Age of the Fall member Delirious and defeated Cheech and Cloudy in a tag team match, before ending the night by attacking Necro Butcher , with whom
10692-647: The Elimination Chamber match slots. The Shield were seeking revenge, so a six-man tag match was set up between the Shield and the Wyatt Family at the Elimination Chamber event , which the Wyatt Family won after Dean Ambrose had disappeared into the live audience during the match. On the March 3 episode of Raw , the Shield were given a rematch against the Wyatt Family, but lost again when The Shield's poor teamwork led to Seth Rollins , leaving
10854-605: The Elimination Chamber match. After Elimination Chamber, Wyatt turned his attention fully to feud with Cena, with Wyatt wanting to prove that Cena's heroic act was a facade characteristic of "this era of lies", while also trying to turn Cena into a "monster". Wyatt went on to accept Cena's challenge for a WrestleMania match, with Cena successfully resisting the urge to become a "monster" and overcoming interference from Harper and Rowan to defeat Wyatt at WrestleMania XXX April 6, thus marking Wyatt's first pinfall loss on WWE's main roster. The feud continued after WrestleMania XXX based on
11016-641: The Garden State Gods (Corvis Fear and Myke Quest) to win the JAPW Tag Team Championship . On January 23, 2010, at JAPW's 12th Anniversary Show, Lee and Necro lost the title to Da Heavy Hitters (Havok and Monsta Mack ) in a three-way tag team match, which also included The H8 Club (Nate Hatred and Nick Gage ). On March 20, Lee got to challenge for the JAPW Heavyweight Championship , but was defeated by
11178-535: The Honky Tonk Man during his long Intercontinental Championship reign, Tommaso Ciampa during his NXT Championship reign and The IIconics during their WWE Women's Tag Team Championship reign. Brock Lesnar's character in WWE had heel aspects, and was well known for failing to regularly defend his title (especially during his first Universal Championship reign), often only performing on pay-per-view events and not on SmackDown or especially Raw as he
11340-463: The January 10, 2017, episode of SmackDown Live , Harper and Orton shoved each other, which led to Harper accidentally superkicking Wyatt. Harper and Orton continued having problems with each other, leading to a match between the two on the January 24 episode of SmackDown Live , where Orton was victorious. After the match, Wyatt attacked Harper with the Sister Abigail , separating him from
11502-455: The July 26 SmackDown , where he and Rowan defeated Tons of Funk ( Brodus Clay and Tensai ). Over the next few months, Harper and Rowan went on a winning streak over many teams, until Cody Rhodes and Goldust handed them their first loss on the October 11 episode of SmackDown . In November, The Wyatt Family started a rivalry with CM Punk and Daniel Bryan heading into Survivor Series , where Harper and Rowan lost to Punk and Bryan in
11664-580: The July 4 episode of SmackDown Live , Harper took part in the Independence Day Battle Royal to determine the number one contender for the United States Championship . He failed to win as the match was eventually won by AJ Styles. Harper then disappeared from WWE television for several months. On the October 10 episode of SmackDown Live , as a heel again, Harper returned to television in a vignette where he
11826-594: The June 13 episode of SmackDown , due to a distraction by Seth Rollins, Wyatt went on to win his match against Dean Ambrose to qualify for the first Money in the Bank ladder match contested for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship. At the 2014 Money in the Bank event on June 29, all three members of the Wyatt Family failed to win championships in their respective matches. The Wyatt Family also lost at Battleground on July 20, as The Usos successfully defended their WWE Tag Team Championship against Harper and Rowan. On
11988-478: The June 23 episode of Main Event , Harper returned to singles competition when he defeated Cesaro , but not before cutting a promo where he said losing his tag team partner has only made him more dangerous. At Battleground on July 19, Harper interfered during Wyatt's match against Roman Reigns , helping him defeat Reigns and signaling the return of the stable. During a post-Battleground interview, Wyatt stated: "To
12150-425: The June 30 episode of Raw , the Wyatt Family interrupted Chris Jericho 's return and began to beat him down. This led to a singles match between Wyatt and Jericho at Battleground which Wyatt lost. However, Wyatt defeated Jericho at SummerSlam on August 17, despite Harper and Rowan being banned from ringside. The feud with Jericho ended on the September 8 episode of Raw , when Wyatt won a steel cage match by escaping
12312-641: The North Star Express (Darin Corbin and Ryan Cruz), Lee and Redwood earned their right to challenge for the Campeonatos de Parejas . On October 17, 2009, Lee and Redwood challenged The Colony (Fire Ant and Soldier Ant) for the championship, but were defeated in two straight falls . Lee opted to give Redwood one more chance, but when he dropped the fall on October 19 in a match against The Osirian Portal (Amasis and Ophidian ), Lee kicked him in
12474-492: The November 1 episode of SmackDown Live , Wyatt and Harper helped Orton win in his respective match against Kane, thus confirming his allegiance to the group. At the 30th annual Survivor Series on November 20, Wyatt and Orton were the sole survivors for Team SmackDown in the traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match after Orton saved Wyatt from a spear from Roman Reigns. On the November 29 episode of SmackDown Live , Wyatt and Orton defeated American Alpha to become
12636-592: The November 10 episode of Raw , throwing an unconscious Ziggler at Triple H and Stephanie McMahon 's feet and expressing his desire to join their team at Survivor Series . The following week on Raw , Harper officially joined Team Authority . Immediately after, Harper was awarded an impromptu match for the Intercontinental Championship against Dolph Ziggler, which, after interference from Seth Rollins , Harper won to capture his first main roster title. At Survivor Series, Team Authority lost
12798-423: The November 17 episode of Raw , Rowan joined Team Cena for Survivor Series , thus opposing Harper's team. The next few weeks saw Ambrose and Wyatt taunting and attacking each other in both backstage and in-ring segments, with Wyatt claiming that he could "fix" Ambrose, the way he "fixed" Harper and Rowan, leading to a match at Survivor Series, where Wyatt won the match by disqualification after Ambrose hit him with
12960-546: The Olsen Twins ( Colin and Jimmy ) and adopted the nickname "Big Rig" and a more serious gimmick of a trucker . Lee and the Olsen Twins were scheduled to enter the 2008 King of Trios tournament as Team Dr. Keith, but after Colin signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), the team was left one man short. While Retail Dragon substituted Colin, the team lost in the first round, so Lee turned on him while simultaneously ending his alliance with Jimmy Olsen in
13122-656: The Power podcast to Huber, which also featured Cesaro , Tyler Breeze , and Erick Rowan speaking about Huber; a video version of the podcast was put on the WWE Network . The next day on the WWE Network, the promotion added a new entry into their Best of WWE series entitled "Best of Luke Harper", an anthology showcasing several of Huber's matches in WWE, which also included comments by various wrestlers involved in those matches speaking of their time working with Huber. At
13284-416: The WWE Tag Team Championship at both Money in the Bank and Battleground . Beginning on September 29, vignettes were shown of Harper and Rowan being "set free" by Wyatt, marking the dissolution of The Wyatt Family and the transition of its members into singles competition. After a further series of video vignettes aimed at Dolph Ziggler , Harper made his return to television during the closing moments of
13446-478: The Warrior, Lee teamed with sumo legend Akebono in a tag team match, where they defeated The Osirian Portal. After the match, Lee and Akebono had to be separated from one another by the rest of Dragon Gate USA's locker room. Later in the night, Cima used his draft pick to name Lee the newest member of his Warriors International stable. At the following day's tapings of Freedom Fight 2010, Lee defeated Akebono in
13608-488: The Wyatt Family facing Graves, Neville and Regal in a six-man tag team match the next week on NXT , where Wyatt pinned Regal for the win. On the July 17 episode of NXT (which was taped on June 20), Harper and Rowan lost the NXT Tag Team Championship to Neville and Graves. From the May 27 episode of Raw , WWE aired vignettes promoting the upcoming debut of the Wyatt Family. The vignettes showed
13770-491: The Wyatt Family's backwoods origins and Rowan wearing a sheep mask. On the July 8 episode of Raw , the Wyatt Family made their debut by assaulting Kane . The Wyatt Family continued their attacks on wrestlers like R-Truth , Justin Gabriel and 3MB ( Drew McIntyre , Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal ), while sending cryptic messages to Kane telling him to "follow the buzzards". Following another assault, Kane challenged Wyatt to
13932-470: The Wyatt Family, thus confirming the disbandment. In October 2017, Harper and Rowan reunited as The Bludgeon Brothers and went on to win the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania 34 . After they lost their tag team titles, Rowan formed an alliance with former Wyatt Family member Bryan, with whom he would win his second SmackDown Tag Team Championship. After Rowan and Bryan's team dissolved, Rowan reunited with Harper before they were separated due to
14094-473: The Wyatt Family. As of August 2024, Rowan, Strowman, and Orton are the only former members of the group still active in WWE. Bryan joined AEW in 2021. Harper, who joined AEW in 2020, died from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis at the age of 41 in December 2020; Wyatt died from a heart attack at the age of 36 in August 2023. Rowan joined The Wyatt Sicks , a heroic group led by Wyatt's real-life brother Bo Dallas and his alter ego Uncle Howdy, in mid-2024. Wyatt
14256-407: The Wyatt Family. At Survivor Series on November 22, Wyatt and Harper lost to The Brothers of Destruction in a tag team match after The Undertaker pinned Harper. At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 13, the Wyatt Family defeated Team ECW in an eight-man tag team elimination tables match . All four members of the Wyatt Family entered the 2016 Royal Rumble match on January 24 which
14418-512: The Wyatt Family. However, two weeks later, Bryan attacked the other members of the Wyatt Family and broke free of the group. At the Royal Rumble on January 26, Wyatt defeated Bryan to end their feud while both Harper and Rowan entered the Royal Rumble match . On the January 27 episode of Raw , the Wyatt Family attacked John Cena , Bryan, and Sheamus during an Elimination Chamber qualifying match against The Shield , thus awarding Cena's team win by disqualification victory over The Shield and
14580-522: The Wyatts were then fended off by the returning John Cena and The Rock. On the April 4 episode of Raw , the Wyatt Family started a brief feud with The League of Nations by attacking the villainous faction. On the April 11 episode of Raw , the Wyatt Family confronted and scared off the League of Nations when they were about to attack Roman Reigns, with whom Wyatt tagged with to defeat League of Nations members Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio . On April 13 during
14742-535: The action-horror film Mohawk . Under the Luke Harper name, he is a playable character in the video games WWE 2K15 , WWE 2K16 , WWE 2K17 , WWE 2K18 , WWE 2K19 , and WWE 2K20 . And in AEW Fight Forever under his Mr. Brodie Lee name as a legend. Huber married Amanda, a fellow professional wrestler who previously performed under the name Synndy Synn, in 2011. They had two sons named Brodie and Nolan. Following Huber's death, Brodie
14904-463: The audience), heels are often portrayed as behaving in an immoral manner by breaking rules or otherwise taking advantage of their opponents outside the bounds of the standards of the match. Others do not (or rarely) break rules, but instead exhibit unlikeable, appalling, and deliberately offensive and demoralizing personality traits such as arrogance, cowardice, or contempt for the audience. Many heels do both, cheating as well as behaving nastily. No matter
15066-444: The cage. On September 29, vignettes began to air of Wyatt announcing he was setting Harper and Rowan "free". All three members of the Wyatt Family returned to television on their own and apart from each other: Wyatt returned at Hell in a Cell on October 26, attacking Dean Ambrose ; Rowan returned on the October 31 episode of SmackDown ; and Harper returned on the November 10 episode of Raw , aligning himself with The Authority . On
15228-453: The card featured members of Huber's faction, The Dark Order . The memorial show began with the entire AEW roster onstage and commentator Jim Ross saying, "It's Wednesday and you know what that means", followed by a ten-bell salute . In the middle of the show, Huber's former long-time WWE tag team partner Erick Rowan, now under the name Erick Redbeard, made his AEW debut and held up a sign which said, "Goodbye for now, my brother. See you down
15390-591: The championship after another miscue between Orton and Harper, who accidentally performed a superkick on Wyatt after the match, resulting in Wyatt walking away in frustration. This continued the following week on SmackDown Live , when Orton lost to Ambrose after Harper distracted his teammates, causing Orton and Harper getting involved in another argument, which would physically escalate until they were separated by Wyatt, who struck Harper, resulting in Harper walking away. On
15552-616: The championship and ended Lee's reign at 55 days (46 days as recognized by AEW due to tape delay ). This would mark Lee's final match as he then went on hiatus and was reportedly dealing with an undisclosed injury, but died from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in December. Huber's wrestling style has been described as mix of "blending power moves with deceptive agility" and "pioneering a new wave of athletic giants". He cited Jake Roberts , Rick Rude , and Big Show as his primary influences. Huber has described his original "The Right Stuff" gimmick as him "just having fun" and, despite being
15714-490: The close of the SmackDown brand's event No Mercy on October 9 in a match between Wyatt and Orton, whom Harper distracted to help Wyatt win the match, thus realigning himself with Wyatt. Prior to Harper's return, Rowan underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and would be out of action for four to six months. On the October 25 episode of SmackDown Live , Orton interfered on Wyatt's behalf in his match against Kane. On
15876-594: The defending champion Dan Maff and, after the match, Nick Gage attacked Maff and joined The Hillbilly Wrecking Crew, replacing Murdoch, who had left the company. On May 22, Lee and Necro faced Maff and the JAPW New Jersey State Champion Charlie Haas in a tag team match, where they put their JAPW careers on the line against the titles of their opponents. In the end, Lee managed to pin Haas, after Maff had turned on him, to become
16038-405: The event, but was instead visiting backstage with friends. However, when Reckless Youth no-showed the event, Chikara booker Mike Quackenbush offered Lee the chance to get in the ring. Lee returned to the company two months later, defeating Equinox in a rematch and starting a streak of not being pinned nor submitting that lasted for the rest of the year. In August, Lee aligned himself with
16200-526: The face, effectively ending The Roughnecks. Redwood made his return six months later on April 24, 2010, as a surprise opponent of Lee's, but was easily defeated by him. Afterwards, Redwood stated that he was not done with Lee, but would prepare himself before their next match. On August 29, Lee entered the Countdown Showdown battle royal and was dominating the match, before being eliminated by Redwood. On October 23, Lee suffered an upset loss in
16362-419: The finals of the tournament by Adrian Neville and Oliver Grey . Harper defeated Neville on the March 20 episode of NXT . On the May 2 episode of NXT , Harper and Rowan won a triple threat elimination tag match by last pinning Neville. On the May 8 episode of NXT , Harper and Rowan defeated Adrian Neville and Bo Dallas, filling in for the injured Grey, to win the NXT Tag Team Championship. After retaining
16524-440: The first round. In early May, Harper revived his alliance with Erick Rowan. After Rowan suffered an injury, Harper reunited with Bray Wyatt on July 19 at Battleground by helping him defeat Roman Reigns . This led to a tag team match between Harper and Wyatt against Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose at SummerSlam , which they lost after Reigns pinned Wyatt. The following night on Raw , Braun Strowman joined Harper and Wyatt as
16686-462: The first time since April and were confronted by then WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day , thus starting a feud between the two teams. On the July 11 episode of Raw , The New Day went to the Wyatt Family's compound where the two factions brawled. This would lead to a non-title six-man tag team match at Battleground on July 24, which the Wyatt Family would win. On July 19 at the 2016 WWE draft , Wyatt and Rowan were drafted to SmackDown while Strowman
16848-564: The first time, unifying the two titles. Lee made his first JAPW Heavyweight Championship defense on December 11, during the Anniversary weekend, defeating Rhino with help from Nick Gage. On December 30, 2011, JAPW announced that Lee, who had not made an appearance for the promotion in nine months, had been stripped of the JAPW Heavyweight Championship. On March 12, 2012, it was reported that Huber had signed
17010-402: The following episode of SmackDown Live , Harper ambushed Daniel Bryan after a confrontation with Rowan, only to be interrupted by Reigns, who Harper and Rowan laid out as well. At Hell in a Cell , Harper and Rowan were defeated by Reigns and Bryan in a tag team match. As part of the 2019 draft , Erick Rowan was drafted to Raw, disbanding the team. Harper's last televised match in WWE was in
17172-534: The greatest TNT Champion. A tribute video with " Ol' '55 " by Tom Waits closed the show. Khan purchased the rights to the song in perpetuity , which he did "so the tribute will last forever". AEW has since adopted "it's Wednesday night, (and) you know what that means" as the standard introduction for episodes of AEW Dynamite , as further tribute to Huber. As Huber was a prominent figure for AEW during its time at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida during
17334-403: The group in January 2017. Orton won the 2017 Royal Rumble match and Wyatt won his first WWE Championship the following month, with the pair facing each other at WrestleMania 33 . Wyatt and Rowan continued their alliance as the last remaining members of the Wyatt Family until the 2017 WWE Superstar Shake-up , in which Wyatt was moved to Raw while Rowan remained on SmackDown , thus disbanding
17496-433: The group in late 2013 and left in early 2014, after which Wyatt defeated him to end their feud. The original incarnation of the group began to go their separate ways in September 2014, after Wyatt announced he was "setting Harper and Rowan free". Rowan would turn into a heroic character by joining Cena's team at Survivor Series , while Harper would remain villainous and side with The Authority against Cena's team. Following
17658-405: The group. At the Royal Rumble on January 29, Harper entered the Royal Rumble match at number 25, attacking both Wyatt and Orton and eliminating Apollo Crews , before being eliminated by Goldberg . On the January 31 episode of SmackDown Live , Harper turned face after helping WWE Champion John Cena in his confrontation with Orton and Wyatt. At Elimination Chamber on February 12, Harper
17820-405: The kingdom" which referred to the Wyatt Family's compound, but Orton turned on Wyatt by burning down the Wyatt Family compound on the February 28 episode of SmackDown Live before challenging him to a match at WrestleMania 33, seemingly disbanding the Wyatt Family in the process. On the April 4 episode of SmackDown Live , Rowan returned from injury after nearly eight months of inactivity, sporting
17982-459: The leader of The Dark Order , and won the AEW TNT Championship in August of that year. He was hospitalized in October 2020 for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis , from which he died on December 26 at the age of 41. Jonathan Huber was born in Rochester, New York , on December 16, 1979. He attended McQuaid Jesuit High School and played lacrosse for four years. He also played hockey in independent youth leagues. Huber first got into wrestling as
18144-563: The lungs can no longer function. A multitude of wrestlers and wrestling personalities paid tribute to Huber with previously untold stories on social media , most of which shared a running theme of him being devoted to his wife and children while going out of his way to guide and support other wrestlers. His former Wyatt Family teammates also paid tribute: Bray Wyatt called Huber his "best friend, brother, [and] partner", Erick Rowan said that Huber "meant more to [him] than he will ever know", and Braun Strowman referred to Huber as "one of
18306-510: The main event Wyatt won the WWE Championship in the Elimination Chamber match . On the following SmackDown Live , after Wyatt successfully defended the WWE Championship in a triple threat match involving John Cena and AJ Styles (despite a pre-match attack by Harper), Orton came to the ring, pledging allegiance to Wyatt and refusing to face him at WrestleMania 33 . The following week on SmackDown Live , Wyatt gave Orton "the keys to
18468-504: The match due to a serious back injury that he was legitimately suffering from. On March 21, Harper suffered a knee injury during a Raw dark match and it was reported that the injury would sideline him for five to six months. After getting an MRI , it was revealed that he had dislocated his patella and tore his medial patellofemoral ligament . The Wyatt Family appeared at WrestleMania 32 on April 3, where they confronted The Rock , who defeated Rowan in an impromptu match in 6 seconds and
18630-402: The match of the SmackDown brand pay-per-view No Mercy , helping Bray Wyatt defeat Randy Orton by distracting Orton. On December 4 at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs , Wyatt and Orton, who had recently joined The Wyatt Family, captured the SmackDown Tag Team Championship , and three days later it was announced that Harper had been sanctioned as champion as well, making him eligible to defend
18792-532: The match, which Harper was eliminated by Ziggler. As punishment for his affiliation with The Authority, Harper was forced to defend the Intercontinental Championship against Dean Ambrose on the November 24 episode of Raw and successfully retained the title after getting himself disqualified. Harper lost the title back to Ziggler in a ladder match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs , ending his reign at 27 days, and failed to regain
18954-449: The match. Wyatt's feud with Reigns culminated in a Hell in a Cell match which Wyatt lost. "[...] when we set out and finally got the call up [from NXT to the main roster]... We were so different that I don't think the company knew even how to use us... we were so different in the promos, so different in the way we looked and how we moved... And they still don't know how to use what we are". Windham Rotunda ( Bray Wyatt ) speaking on
19116-411: The most unselfish men [he has] ever met and an amazing husband and father". Cody Rhodes , against whom Huber wrestled his final match, called the match "an honor and a privilege and an experience so ferociously humbling". Big E , who was particularly close with Huber and his son Brodie and was requested to be present alongside Rhodes with Amanda when informing Brodie of his father's death, spoke of how
19278-471: The name Brodie Lee from the movie Mallrats by combining the names of actor Jason Lee and his character Brodie Bruce , though his style and appearance have also brought comparisons to Bruiser Brody , mistakenly thinking his ring name was derived from Bruiser. Throughout his time in RPW, which was later renamed to NWA Upstate and then again to NWA New York, Lee went on to win multiple championships including
19440-489: The new JAPW New Jersey State Champion. On October 23, 2010, Lee challenged Dan Maff for the JAPW Heavyweight Championship in a Champion vs. Champion match, but was defeated. On November 20, Lee first successfully defended the New Jersey State Championship against Eddie Kingston and then defeated Dan Maff, Nick Gage and Azrieal in a Championship Scramble to win the JAPW Heavyweight Championship for
19602-433: The new member of The Wyatt Family. At Night of Champions The Wyatt Family defeated Reigns, Ambrose and Chris Jericho in a six-man tag team match. On the October 19 episode of Raw , Erick Rowan returned to The Wyatt Family when he filled in for Harper (who was unable to show for personal reasons). The Wyatt Family then got involved in a feud with The Brothers of Destruction ( The Undertaker and Kane ), which built to
19764-489: The number one contender to the NXT Championship, although he was later eliminated by Adrian Neville. On the June 19 episode of NXT , the Wyatt Family defeated the team of Graves, Neville and Ohno. On the following episode of NXT , the Wyatt Family, together with Garrett Dylan and Scott Dawson , attacked Graves, Neville and Ohno; when William Regal tried to make the save, he was also overwhelmed, and this led to
19926-413: The number one contenders for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship . They went on to challenge and defeat Heath Slater and Rhyno on December 4 at TLC: Tables, Ladders, & Chairs for the tag team titles, Wyatt Family's first championship in WWE's main roster. While Wyatt and Orton retained the SmackDown Tag Team Championship against the former champions on the December 6 episode of SmackDown Live , it
20088-485: The performer's charisma or charm in playing the role. Certain wrestlers such as Eddie Guerrero and Ric Flair gained popularity as faces by using tactics that would typically be associated with heels, while others like Stone Cold Steve Austin , Scott Hall and more recently Becky Lynch displayed heelish behavior during their careers yet got big face reactions, leading them to be marketed as antiheroes . On other occasions, wrestlers who are positioned as faces receive
20250-568: The process. In April 2008, Lee's storyline where he bullied smaller wrestlers led to Claudio Castagnoli issuing a challenge to him. Their first match on April 20 ended in Castagnoli being disqualified for accidentally kicking the referee of the match. The second match on May 24 ended in similar fashion, this time Lee was disqualified for kicking the referee. This led to a no disqualification match on July 13, which Lee won after interference from Shayne Hawke and Mitch Ryder, both of whom had
20412-443: The professional wrestling industry as a whole came together to mourn the loss of a performer deemed to have made a personal impact on the careers and lives of many of his colleagues, stating, "I feel a real brotherhood. In that I have so many guys that I've worked with, who hit me up, who cried with me, who reached out to me, and that's beautiful. It really made me think, 'Man, we have something special in our industry. ' " After many of
20574-449: The promotion's first ever show, teaming with Gran Akuma and Icarus in a six-man tag team match, where they were defeated by Team Frightning (Mike Quackenbush, Hallowicked and Frightmare ). After losing a singles match to Gran Akuma on March 13, Lee picked up his first victory in the company by defeating Gran Akuma, Hallowicked and Chris Dickinson in a four-way match on May 1. At the fourth show on July 23, Lee wrestled Jon Moxley to
20736-411: The ring during the match. On the April 8 episode of Main Event , the Wyatt Family was defeated by The Shield in another six-man tag team match to end the feud. Between January and February, the Wyatt Family also cost John Cena his WWE World Heavyweight Championship matches against Randy Orton . At Elimination Chamber on February 23, the Wyatt Family's interference caused Cena to be eliminated from
20898-426: The road." At the end of the episode, various photos of Harper were shown, including several real-life moments shared with his Wyatt Family partners. On August 24, 2023, at the age of 36, Wyatt died from a heart attack caused by a pre-existing heart condition that had been exacerbated by a COVID-19 infection. On the August 25 episode of SmackDown , Rowan and Strowman appeared onstage for Wyatt's memorial package and
21060-437: The road." At the end of the show, Huber's widow and son left his wrestling boots and a purple bandana in the middle of the ring. As Huber was a former TNT Champion, AEW retired the red strap version of the title belt that had been used up to that point in honor of Huber, and presented the belt to Huber's son Brodie, with AEW President and CEO Tony Khan stating that Lee's son was "TNT Champion for life". Khan also regarded Huber as
21222-440: The ropes for leverage while pinning or attacking with a weapon while the referee is looking away), employing dirty tactics such as blatant chokes or raking the eyes , attacking other wrestlers backstage, interfering with other wrestlers' matches, insulting the fans or city they are in (referred to as " cheap heat ") and acting in a haughty or superior manner. More theatrical heels would feature dramatic outfits giving off
21384-454: The stable was feuding, after his match with Go Shiozaki . On November 7, Lee's match with Necro Butcher ended in a disqualification, when the rest of The Age of the Fall attacked his opponent. Lee and Necro Butcher had a rematch under Anything Goes rules on February 27, 2009, which Necro won. In March, Delirious turned on The Age of the Fall and on May 30 he defeated Lee in his final ROH match. Lee debuted for Evolve on January 16, 2010, at
21546-416: The stable. The character of Bray Wyatt debuted in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) in April 2012 and initially associated himself with Eli Cottonwood . Cottonwood was released by WWE that June. When WWE re-branded their developmental territory into NXT , Wyatt debuted on the July 11 episode of the newly NXT television show, defeating Aiden English in a singles match . In July, Wyatt suffered
21708-539: The stories about Huber had been widely shared, Randy Orton stated, "You all have heard about how much we all respected [Huber], about how much we all enjoyed his presence. It is a fact." The December 28, 2020, episode of WWE Raw opened with an "In Memory of Jon Huber ('Luke Harper')" graphic, as did the December 30 episode of WWE NXT and the January 1, 2021, episode of WWE SmackDown . Performers and commentators on Raw paid tribute by using some of Huber's catchphrases, such as commentator Tom Phillips welcoming
21870-422: The story that Wyatt was capturing Cena's fanbase, which was exemplified by Wyatt leading a children's choir to the ring on the April 28 episode of Raw , with the children later putting on sheep masks. At Extreme Rules on May 4, Wyatt defeated Cena in a steel cage match after repeated interference from the rest of the Wyatt Family, as well as a child who had distracted Cena. Cena's feud with Wyatt continued with
22032-506: The title against Corey Graves and Kassius Ohno on the June 5 episode of NXT , Harper and Rowan lost the NXT Tag Team Championship to Adrian Neville and Corey Graves on the July 17 episode of NXT . From the May 27 episode of Raw , WWE aired vignettes promoting the upcoming debut of The Wyatt Family. The vignettes showed The Wyatt Family's backwoods origins. On the July 8 episode of Raw , The Wyatt Family made their debut by assaulting Kane . Harper made his WWE in-ring debut on
22194-405: The title in a rematch on the December 22 episode of Raw . On January 25, 2015, Harper entered the Royal Rumble match at number 4, and was eliminated by Bray Wyatt. Beginning in early March, Harper was involved into a storyline where he was one of many wrestlers stealing Bad News Barrett 's Intercontinental Championship belt from Barrett and each other. This led to a seven-man ladder match for
22356-462: The title on March 29 at WrestleMania 31 , which was won by Daniel Bryan. The match led to a new feud between Harper and Dean Ambrose (who was also a participant in the ladder match at WrestleMania), with Harper losing a Chicago Street Fight between the pair at Extreme Rules . On the April 27 episode of Raw , Harper took part in the 2015 King of the Ring tournament, but was eliminated by Neville in
22518-408: The title under the Freebird Rule . The Wyatt Family, represented by Harper and Orton, lost the SmackDown Tag Team Championship to American Alpha ( Chad Gable and Jason Jordan ) in a four-way elimination match on the December 27 episode of SmackDown Live . After the match, Harper and Orton showed tension over the loss. After Wyatt and Orton unsuccessfully challenged American Alpha for the title on
22680-476: The titles. They would go on to successfully defend the titles against The Usos at the Greatest Royal Rumble event, against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson at Money in the Bank , and against Team Hell No at Extreme Rules . The Bludgeon Brothers lost by disqualification in a championship defense against The New Day at SummerSlam , resulting in them retaining the titles. Two nights later on
22842-414: The traditional 10-bell salute. In mid-2024, Wyatt's real-life brother Bo Dallas (as his alter ego Uncle Howdy) began leading a heroic faction called The Wyatt Sicks alongside Rowan, Dexter Lumis , Joe Gacy , and Nikki Cross to feud with the villainous American Made stable led by Chad Gable alongside The Creed Brothers and Ivy Nile . Wyatt, Orton, and Harper defended the title under
23004-449: The two proceeded to double team Fandango after the match. On the May 18 episode of Raw , Harper and Rowan teamed up to take on Fandango and Zack Ryder , which Rowan and Harper won after a superkick and full nelson slam combination. On the May 21 episode of Main Event , Harper and Rowan defeated Fandango and Ryder in a rematch. On the June 4 episode of SmackDown , Harper and Rowan cut a promo about being ostracized and stated they were
23166-491: The type of heel, the most important role is that of the antagonist, as heels exist to provide a foil to the face wrestlers. If a given heel is cheered over the face, a promoter may opt to turn that heel to face or the other way around, or to make the wrestler do something even more despicable to encourage heel heat. Some performers display a mixture of both positive and negative character traits. In wrestling terminology, these characters are referred to as tweeners (short hand for
23328-590: The viewers to the show by exclaiming "it's Monday, you know what that means" and WWE Champion Drew McIntyre beginning his promo by stating "it's Monday and you know what that means [...] yeah, yeah, yeah". Xavier Woods , who wore an armband with "Brodie" written on it, performed Huber's signature taunt and finishing move during an eight-man tag team match. Over the next week, the promotion uploaded videos with various WWE wrestlers honoring and speaking of their memories with Huber. On January 11, The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston , and Xavier Woods) dedicated their Feel
23490-440: The world of lucha libre wrestling, most rudos are generally known for being brawlers and for using physical moves that emphasize brute strength or size, often having outfits akin to demons , devils , or other tricksters . This is contrasted with most heroic técnicos that are generally known for using moves requiring technical skill, particularly aerial maneuvers . Common heel behavior includes cheating to win (e.g. using
23652-477: The world, say your prayers, lock your doors, the family has returned". This led to a tag team match between Wyatt and Harper against Reigns and Ambrose at SummerSlam on August 23, which the Wyatt Family lost after Reigns pinned Wyatt. The following night on Raw , Wyatt and Harper fought Reigns and Ambrose in a SummerSlam rematch during which Braun Strowman made his WWE debut, joining the Wyatt Family and helping Harper and Wyatt attack Reigns and Ambrose. This led to
23814-469: Was a cult, and often harshly punished his disciples for petty transgressions. The character drew comparisons to McMahon due to displaying traits similar to ones often attributed to McMahon, such as disliking people sneezing in his presence, but Huber denied this and instead stated that it was inspired by mafia films . In 2017, Huber appeared as Pitchfork Perry in an episode of the period drama series Damnation . In 2018, he played Lachlan Allsopp in
23976-439: Was accompanied by beautiful valets to the ring for his matches. The crowd widely jeered his persona, and came out to his matches in hopes of seeing him defeated. George relished this attention, and exploded into one of the most famous (and hated) heels not only of his era, but of all time. Another example of a dramatic heel is the wrestler The Undertaker , who, on many occasions throughout his career, has switched between portraying
24138-481: Was announced that the Wyatt Family invoked the Freebird Rule and thus allowing Harper to also defend the championship. On the December 27 episode of SmackDown Live , the Wyatt Family began to show tension after they lost the SmackDown Tag Team Championship to American Alpha in a four-way elimination tag team match after Orton inadvertently hit Harper and was subsequently pinned. On the January 10, 2017, episode of SmackDown Live , they unsuccessfully attempted to regain
24300-492: Was defeated by Orton. Shortly after this, Harper unsuccessfully faced AJ Styles over number one contendership for the WWE Championship, held by Wyatt. At the WrestleMania 33 pre-show on April 2, Harper took part in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal , from which he was eliminated by Titus O'Neil . Following WrestleMania, Harper feuded with the returning Erick Rowan, leading to a match at Backlash , which Harper won. On
24462-738: Was denied by McMahon. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter later reported that Harper's contract was originally going to expire in November 2019, but WWE added six months to it, due to the time missed due to injury. In mid-July it was reported that Harper had returned to traveling with the roster, as he had been off events since requesting his release. At the Clash of Champions pay-per-view event on September 15, with his old ring name Luke Harper, he made his televised return to WWE programming by attacking Roman Reigns in his match with former partner Erick Rowan. On
24624-403: Was drafted to Raw, separating him from the group. On the August 16 episode of SmackDown Live , Wyatt walked away from Rowan after the latter lost his match against Dean Ambrose, leaving Rowan's sheep mask on Wyatt's rocking chair. Despite this, Rowan attacked Randy Orton on behalf of Wyatt on the September 13 episode of SmackDown Live , continuing their alliance. On October 9, Harper returned at
24786-407: Was going to hurt them, but his ideas were rejected by McMahon and WWE creative. After joining AEW in March 2020, Huber reverted to his pre-WWE name of Brodie Lee and was unveiled as "The Exalted One", the previously anonymous leader of The Dark Order stable. Adding the prefix "Mr." to his name, he assumed the gimmick of a suit-wearing corporate executive who denied allegations that The Dark Order
24948-456: Was looking for weapons to attack Harper with. On the December 8 episode of Raw , Harper and Rowan faced each other in singles competition, with Harper ultimately getting himself disqualified. On the January 5, 2015, episode of Raw , The Authority punished Rowan by putting him in a singles match against Harper, with Harper picking up the win after a discus clothesline and the help of J&J Security ( Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury ), who were
25110-507: Was not present, as he was snowed in and could not make the show. The following day, Lee made his return to DG as a member of the new top heel group, in a match where he, Gamma and Genki Horiguchi defeated Yamato , Kagetora and Diablo. On January 18, the new group was named Blood Warriors. Lee made his debut for Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) on March 28, 2009, as a member of The Hillbilly Wrecking Crew, along with Necro Butcher and Trevor Murdoch . On August 1, Lee and Necro defeated
25272-405: Was once again aligned with Erick Rowan. The duo were dubbed " The Bludgeon Brothers ", with Harper's ring name shortened to simply "Harper". The team wrestled their return match on the November 21 episode of SmackDown Live , defeating The Hype Bros ( Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley ). At Clash of Champions on December 17, The Bludgeon Brothers defeated Breezango ( Fandango and Tyler Breeze ) in
25434-456: Was only on a part-time appearance contract with WWE. This sort of behavior supports the intended kayfabe opinion that the face (or faces) the heel is feuding with is actually more deserving of the title than the title-holding heel is. Heels may beg for mercy during a beat down at the hands of faces, even if they have delivered similar beat downs with no mercy. Ric Flair in particular has been well known for begging an opponent off, then hitting
25596-444: Was portrayed as an evil cult leader who believed himself to be more monster than human, with his character drawing comparisons to Charles Manson and fellow wrestler Waylon Mercy , as well as Max Cady from the 1991 remake of Cape Fear . The group was presented as a villainous cult from the bayous of the Deep South . During the early process of creation, Judas Devlin and Baron Corbin were considered as potential members of
25758-536: Was revealed as the "Exalted One", the previously unseen leader of the villainous faction The Dark Order , and attacked SoCal Uncensored with the other members of the group. After remaining undefeated for several weeks, he lost for the first time against Jon Moxley in a match for the AEW World Championship at Double or Nothing . Over the following months, Lee recruited new members into The Dark Order, including Colt Cabana and Anna Jay . On
25920-509: Was revealed that he had dislocated his patella and tore his medial patellofemoral ligament . Because of his injury, Harper was not drafted to either Raw or SmackDown in the 2016 WWE draft . Harper returned to the ring on October 5, unsuccessfully teaming with Kevin Owens against Sami Zayn and Seth Rollins at a house show in Santiago , Chile . Four days later, Harper returned in
26082-624: Was signed to AEW and became a member of his father's faction The Dark Order at the age of eight, with AEW stating that he can immediately start to perform for the company when he comes of age if he so wishes. Huber was a fan of the then- Washington Football Team (now the Commanders) and Toronto Maple Leafs . On December 26, 2020, Huber died at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida , 10 days after his 41st birthday. His widow, Amanda, said that he had been receiving treatment for
26244-494: Was the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on the line and the group cumulatively eliminated seven wrestlers, including Brock Lesnar . Wyatt was scheduled to face Lesnar at Roadblock on March 12, but Wyatt revealed that he would be facing Lesnar alongside Harper in a two-on-one handicap match, which they lost with Wyatt never returning to the ring. It was reported that Wyatt was likely replaced in
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