Erick Rowan made a shock appearance on AEW Dynamite to pay tribute to Brodie Lee.
Wrestling star Lee, real name Jonathan Huber, died at the age of 41 due to a non COVID-related lung issue over Christmas.
Rowan, also known as Erick Redbeard, debuted on All Elite Wrestling (AEW) television when coming out to help The Dark Order, a faction which was led by Lee, against The Inner Circle on Wednesday’s episode.
After the match, which The Dark Order won, a visibly upset Rowan reappeared with a sign reading: “Goodbye for now my brother. See you down the road.”
Rowan tagged with Lee for most of their time together in WWE, when he worked under the name Luke Harper.
Both men were part of the Wyatt Family with Bray Wyatt, before forming The Bludgeon Brothers tag team in 2017.
Huber left WWE in 2019 and joined AEW as Brodie Lee earlier this year.
It was a special AEW Dynamite episode on Wednesday night which started with a traditional 10-bell tribute to Lee.
In other segments, AEW president Tony Khan, alongside Cody Rhodes, presented Lee’s eight-year-old son, Brodie Jr, with a TNT Championship belt for life.
Lee famously beat Rhodes for the TNT Championship in August, before losing it to his rival two months later.
Lee's wife, Amanda, broke down in tears when she was in the ring with Brodie Jr as her husband’s boots were placed on the mat.
Brodie Jr, who is also known as Negative One, has signed a contract with AEW and was even involved in The Dark Order’s match by hitting MJF with a kendo stick.
AEW Dynamite’s heartfelt episode drew praise from several WWE stars, including Daniel Bryan, Big E, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn on social media.
An emotional Bryan tweeted: “That was beautiful. I cried, numerous times. Thank you... so much... for honoring [sic] a man we loved.
“And thank you for honoring [sic] his family in such a special way. I love you Brodie and we will all miss you.”
That was beautiful. I cried, numerous times. Thank you... so much... for honoring a man we loved. And thank you for honoring his family in such a special way. I love you Brodie and we will all miss you.
— Bryan Danielson (@bryandanielson) December 31, 2020What a perfect tribute show to a beautiful man. I’m just so glad I got to be friends with someone so many loved. #BrodieLee
— Ettore “Big E” Ewen (@WWEBigE) December 31, 2020ncG1vNJzZmiskaG4tLzOq6tnm5%2BifLS8zquraK%2BimsC1uMinnmhwYWWDdISOm6monJmaeq2xxKxknqqZmLhuvs6wmKdlkZrEbrDYp5imoaSaerW%2ByJusrZ2jZA%3D%3D