WWE can be mad at Brodie Lee, but this is hilarious

Brodie Lee, formerly known as Luke Harper in WWE, has already hit the ground running as the Exalted One in AEW’s Dark Order.

For weeks, wrestling fans were on the edge of their seat waiting for AEW to reveal the identity of the Exalted One leading one of their top factions, the Dark Order. Most fans assumed Matt Hardy would debut as the Exalted One after leaving WWE, since the mysterious nature of the character seemed to fit the “Woken” Hardy perfectly.

Instead, AEW fans got a swerve when the Exalted One was revealed on last week’s episode of Dynamite, and they weren’t disappointed when they realized Brodie Lee, who was known as Luke Harper in WWE, is the Exalted One.

Lee would have been a great fit for Jake “The Snake” Roberts’ client, but Roberts is managing Lance Archer, which is an even better fit.

Meanwhile, Lee has already been a hit as the Exalted One, and he made headlines on the Mar. 25 episode of AEW Dynamite when he parodied Vince McMahon in a backstage segment.

Check it out for yourself.

Steak. Wanting to finish first before others start eating since he doesn’t want people to finish first and thus “beat” him in a totally made-up eating contest. Yelling at someone for sneezing. Talking about being the “predators” hunting “prey”.

Yup, sounds like an obvious Vince McMahon parody.

And it was hilarious. The stories we hear about Vince have become something of legend, and it’s impossible to make sense of someone who is so lost in his own little world. He’s literally the perfect person to spoof, and for Lee, some of this is personal. McMahon always seemed to pull the rug from underneath him in WWE or made him portray ridiculous characters, such as when he carried around a giant mallet as part of the “Bludgeon Brothers” with Erick Rowan.

Now, Lee is shining in a big role for AEW and has the opportunity to show the wrestling world why he’s often regarded by colleagues as a brilliant creative mind. Fans have spoken about how underrated Lee is and how WWE should have done better by him, and it seems like the folks backstage at AEW are in agreement.

The Wrestling Observer News’ Dave Meltzer is already reporting, via WhatCulture’s Andy Murray, that some people in WWE didn’t like the segment. But Meltzer didn’t specify what Vince thought about it.

And the reality is, who cares? And they can stay mad. This was harmless, fun stuff parodying what may or may not be true, and if it helps Lee blow off some steam after leaving a company that didn’t value his talents, then that’s all the better.

It’s entertaining, but I don’t expect it to last and get annoying either. Let’s just say Brodie Lee and the Dark Order have bigger things in mind in AEW, such as winning titles and brainwashing more people into joining them.