Though he’s been playing up his new heel persona on social media lately, AEW World Champion Kenny Omega opted to break from that while appearing on The Pro Wrestling Junkies podcast this week. “The Cleaner” was asked about Brodie Lee, who tragically passed away at the age of 41 this past weekend. Omega said he fully believed Lee was “destined for extreme greatness” during his tenure in AEW, which started back in March when he revealed himself to be the “Exalted One” of The Dark Order. Some of Lee’s highlights during his first year with the company included facing Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship at Double or Nothing, squashing Cody Rhodes to win the TNT Championship and losing it back to “The American Nightmare” in a widely-praised Dog Collar Match. That bout wound up being the last of his career.
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“A lot of people have said what he did during wrestling was not for the sake of his own fame,” Omega said (h/t Wrestling Inc.). “He was doing it to be a hero to his kids. Regardless of what he left unaccomplished in the ring, I’m sure he was destined for extreme greatness in AEW. You could just see that with the little bit he did with us, which was unfortunately cut short.”
“I [sic] find a lot of happiness in looking at my timeline [on social media] and seeing all these stories that everyone else had with him,” he continued. “I’m just happy he was so universally loved with everyone he worked with and everyone he met. Its not something exclusive to just us [at AEW], so many people had been touched by him. I’m just glad he was able to meet so many people, touch them, and be a part of their lives.”
As a tribute to Lee’s life, the card for this week’s AEW Dynamite has been changed in order to feature various members of The Dark Order either taking on or teaming up with some of AEW’s biggest stars. You can see the full card below:
- Cody Rhodes, Orange Cassidy and 10 vs. Team Taz (Brian Cage, Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs)
- The Young Bucks & Colt Cabana vs. Matt Hardy and Private Party
- Hangman Page, John Silver and Alex Reynolds vs. MJF, Santana and Ortiz
- Anna Jay and Tay Conti vs. Dr. Britt Baker and Penelope Ford
- Lance Archer, Evil Uno and Stu Grayson vs. Eddie Kingston, The Butcher & The Blade
