I remember writing out an idea for Luke taking over the character.

If I remember correctly, I don't thi k I was alone in thinking he could pu ot off. I don't even think I was the one who picked him initially.

Anyhow, it just reminds me how these guys go out there and capture our imaginations in ways that "real" actors don't quite do.

I think there's a level of intimacy in the wrestler/fan dynamic that's truly unique. It's one thing to chop it up about nba players, how they fit on a team or whatever, but a pro wrestler is a blank canvas. These guys can literally be someone else entirely, and you can connect with them many times over, in different ways and for different reasons.

And Brodie Lee was truly one of those guys. So muc was said about his potential while he was Luke Harper. There was so mu h said about what kind of monster he could be. Even his AEW name played off of the obvious comparisons to Bruiser Brody.

Brodie Lee, as leader of The Dark Order, certainly drew mixed reactions. Even then, he took a respectable creative risk by giving us a character that was left of center to most of our pprojections.But he was still so young, with plenty of years to tweak and adjust, until he hopefully hit on just the right gimmick.

The look was there. The skillset was there. He remained a canvas with intriguing possibilities.

I definitely don't want to pretend he was some maammoth, mainstream main eventer. But was still a guy who jump started our own creative visions as fans, and from what I've seen, he was guy most people wanted to see win in this industry.

This is definitely a painful loss. He will be missed.