Randy Orton pays a heartfelt tribute to Brodie Lee (fka Luke Harper)
The untimely passing of AEW star Brodie Lee, formerly known as Luke Harper in WWE, has left the entire wrestling fraternity in a state of mourning. Brodie Lee's colleagues and friends have revealed how great of a person he was behind the screen. WWE Superstar Randy Orton has now taken to Instagram to pay his heartfelt tribute to Brodie Lee, whom he referred to as 'my friend, Luke.'
"I knew Luke from work. I always called him Luke. Some of us call each other by our ring names, some stage names. It gets confusing, but I always called him Luke. I’ve been in a wwe lockeroom more than half of my existence, and there is an unwritten code. Respect is at the top. You all have heard about how much we all respected Luke, about how much we all enjoyed his presence. It is a fact. I’m telling ya, on the back of a bus, traveling and away from family for weeks in a row, he was one of the ones I’d make sure to secure a seat on that bus next to. I’m not perfect, never thought I was. Neither was he. But talking to him, and conversing about our families, as most husbands/fathers do on these trips at some point, I learned that he was near perfect when it came to how he loved his sons and his wife Amanda."
Randy Orton further revealed that his wife and Brodie Lee's wife Amanda were close and good friends. He mentioned how he and Brodie Lee used to talk about the business and how it has affected their lives. Orton ended by stating that he is extremely proud of his friend Luke Harper and will cherish all the stories and memories involving the two of them.
"I was always very proud of him and out of my peripheral vision I watched him as a fellow 20 year vet and saw many things that impressed me. Not just his work inside the ring, but how he treated others in the back. I’m telling you guys reading this, that this mans character IS unmatched. I have many stories involving Luke and I, and I will always cherish them. Know that he was a great human being. I will be in that same lockeroom tomorrow and look forward to sharing stories about my friend, Luke. #RIPLukeHarper"
You can check the full post from Randy Orton below.
Randy Orton and Brodie Lee (fka Luke Harper) held the SmackDown Tag Team Championship together
In 2016, Randy Orton joined The Wyatt Family on the Blue brand and it was during that time when he and Bray Wyatt won the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. Later, it was announced that Brodie Lee (Luke Harper) was also the champion and defended the title under the Freebird Rule. After losing the titles, Brodie Lee started a feud with Orton and was separated from The Wyatt Family.