AEW News: Brodie Lee (Luke Harper) Start Date, Lance Archer, Brian Cage Update
The following news on All Elite Wrestling signing some new wrestlers comes from the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (available via subscription) by Dave Meltzer.
– It is expected that former WWE superstar Luke Harper, whose real name is Jonathon Huber, has agreed to a deal with All Elite Wrestling and he will be using the name Brodie Lee that he used before he was in WWE. Lee is 40 years old. Lee is expected to debut in AEW on March 18 in Rochester, New York because that’s his hometown. Lee could legally start with AEW on February 12 when his 90-day no-compete clause is set to expire, but AEW wants to wait until March 18 when he is more likely to get a bigger reaction.
Lee has already had some interaction with an AEW superstar because he appeared briefly in a video with AEW’s Sammy Guevara. Lee uttered his “you know what that means” line that he uses on Twitter every day.
TJR Thoughts: Now that this info is out there that Lee/Harper is expected to go to AEW in March, it wouldn’t surprise me if they just do it earlier in February. Why not do it at the Revolution PPV on February 29? I guess any time after February 12 is possible, but remember that March 18 date too. Harper should stand out in AEW due to his talent, his look and he’ll be one of the tallest guys on their roster as well.
LANCE ARCHER MIGHT SIGN WITH AEW
Lance Archer is well known to North American Wrestling fans for his TNA/Impact run as Lance Hoyt, a brief time in WWE as Vance Archer, but the place he has had the most success is New Japan as Lance Archer. Archer won the IWGP US Title last October, which he lost to Jon Moxley at Wrestle Kingdom this year and he’s also a 3-time IWGP Tag Team Champion as well. Apparently, he’s close to joining AEW as well.
It was reported last week by Sports Illustrated that Archer was in talks with AEW, which was confirmed by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. It was noted by Meltzer that it’s not a done deal, but it’s close enough that they have already talked about angles to do if he were to sign. It’s also not known if he would have a deal similar to Jon Moxley or Chris Jericho where they are still allowed to work for New Japan even though they are under AEW contract. Archer is 42 years old.
TJR Thoughts: It would be an interesting signing to bring in Archer, who is also a tall guy that’s listed at 6’8″ so just like Brodie Lee he would be one of the tallest guys in AEW. I’ve seen enough of his NJPW work to know that he has improved a lot in the last decade and he can really go in the ring as well. I think he would be a great fit in AEW.
UPDATE ON BRIAN CAGE STARTING WITH AEW
There was a report about Brian Cage signing with AEW several weeks ago where it was denied by his wife Melissa Santos, but that could just be something that they were told to say. Cage is done with Impact Wrestling officially as well. However, Cage had surgery for a torn biceps and the Observer notes that’s an injury that could keep somebody out of the ring for seven or eight months. However, there have been guys that have been back from that in about five months too, so when you look at Cage, he might be one of those guys that gets back quicker than expected.
Cage recently posted a video talking about his torn biceps surgery here. He talked about how he hasn’t signed anywhere, but we know in wrestling that wrestlers are usually told to deny everything until it’s official.
TJR Thoughts: I think Cage will be a good addition to the AEW roster in the summer. He’s a talented guy with an impressive physique and he can put on good matches, so he’ll do well there.