Brodie Lee Explains How WWE Went To Great Lengths To Re-Sign Him
It was a frustrating seven year run with WWE for Brodie Lee, formerly Luke Harper. The […]
By
Ryan Droste
March 28, 2020, 2:30pm
It was a frustrating seven year run with WWE for Brodie Lee, formerly Luke Harper. The ultra-talented big man now finds himself as one of the newest arrivals in All Elite Wrestling, the so-called “Exalted One” for the Dark Order. However, getting the opportunity to leave WWE wasn’t always easy. Lee requested his release multiple times from the company but was turned down. Eventually, an agreement was finally worked out for his release and the former member of the Wyatt Family was able to move on to more creatively inspiring opportunities.
However, WWE did everything in their power in trying to re-sign Lee. Despite failed opportunities to cash-in on his talents over the years, the company was ready to make one more final pitch to keep him around. Lee talked about those efforts on the
Talk Is Jericho podcast this week.
“I was offered contracts all the way up to the day they called to release me,” said Lee. “Their (WWE’s) M.O. was to keep everyone at that time. They knew that I was gonna be gone and I was going to go to AEW as soon as I can.”
Jericho recalled an instance where WWE offered a contract to Rhyno solely to keep him from going to Impact Wrestling, despite not even planning on using him on television.
“
Rhyno told me that they offered him money basically saying we are never going to use you, here is a raise just to stay home,” said Jericho.
Lee replied, “It was ungodly money, like I could never even imagine making that amount of money in wrestling literally just to stay at home.”
At another point in the podcast, Lee talked about his debut with AEW and how it was originally supposed to happen in his hometown of Rochester, New York. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the location of Dynamite had to be moved for the foreseeable future to Jacksonville.
Lee talked about how AEW CEO Tony Khan gave the Lee option of postponing his debut until they were going to be in front of a crowd, but Lee decided to forward with it anyway.
“Tony specifically texted me and said, ‘hey man, if you don’t want to do this we won’t do this’,” said Lee. “I responded back and said no man I am all in for Wednesday, just let me know what you need me to do. I had a way out if I wanted it, but I had been cooped up so long and I just wanted to do something. I need to be creative.”
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