WWE Pays Tribute To The Late Jon Huber On His Birthday, Lio Rush Note, SmackDown Highlights

On December 26, 2020, Jon Huber (formerly Luke Harper/Brodie Lee) passed away from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Saturday would have been Lee’s 44th birthday, and WWE paid tribute to the late veteran wrestler on social media.

WWE wrote, “Remembering Jon Huber, known to WWE fans as Luke Harper, today on his birthday.”

Remembering Jon Huber, known to WWE fans as Luke Harper, today on his birthday. pic.twitter.com/sgjhx37ART

— WWE (@WWE) December 16, 2023

Former WWE Superstar Lio Rush took to Twitter to address the illness he was previously dealing with and how that derailed his hopes for his NJPW run.

Rush was scheduled to compete in an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match at NJPW Destruction this past October, but he was forced to withdraw at the last minute due to his illness. Rush tweeted,

“#September

Where it all came crashing down. Before heading out to Japan, I had a few title defenses. Unfortunately the last one didn’t go as planned and I was no longer the division champion. This put a wrench in my plans of making undeniable history, but there was still Japan in my sights! I still had an opportunity at becoming #IWGP Junior champion.

I remember joking with everyone on this tour about how #BOSJ30 ‘s theme was #ShakeTheSoul and how fitting it was. The name of this tour was called #RoadToDestruction and man did the shoe fit. I knew what I had to give up in order to make this tour happen. I’d have to give up my dogs, pack up everything in LA and move my entire family to Japan.

I could no longer continue to go back and forth from LA to Japan months at a time while not being able to fully support my family back at home the way that I needed to. I was ready to go all in, so that’s what I did. First, I needed to go alone and my family needed to meet me on the 2nd leg of the tour. 1st half of the tour was magical.

Even though this was my 5th tour, I got to tour cities I’ve never been to before. I also got to finally work with someone I’ve looked up to for a long time, @rainmakerokada. I was reminded of how beloved I was by the Japanese fans, the roster and how much they wanted me to stay. Towards the end of the tour before my family could join me in Japan, I got sick and I stayed sick. Not knowing why, not knowing how, but it felt like I was dying.

With my temperature continuously boiling over 105 for days, I lost 15 lbs due to constant sweating and throwing up, developing a hernia in the process. Long story short, I was too sick to compete any further and I was told it was too dangerous for my family to join me in these conditions. I was sent back to America before my family could join me, ultimately leaving me without a title opportunity, homeless and without a deal that would solidify my stay in Japan. This is the month where I lost it all.”

September was the month that I lost it all. #LioRush #FreeAgent #NoTimeToHeal

[email protected] pic.twitter.com/RWvLdtBEVI

— Free Agent Lio Rush (@IamLioRush) December 16, 2023

And finally, you can check out some additional highlights from Friday night’s episode of WWE SmackDown below:

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