Guillermo Rebollo Gil
A primer on being father to a son
Jon Huber died. He was 41. Left a wife, two young kids. In the special tribute show, his eight-year-old got to bash MJF over the head with a kendo stick. Fans cheered because the grip on the weapon and the over-the-head swing are a small-big part of what the boy now has left of his dad.
The child’s name is Brodie. His father wrestled as Brodie Lee. He died of an undisclosed lung condition.
Jon was my age, not terribly old for a wrestler, but ancient from the perspective of every eight-year-old in the world, except his own. I got to see him live once. He leaned over the ropes and yelled I’m a monster to the Spanish-speaking crowd. Everybody understood, though. The world likely will not allow you to live your life, and care for your children, without you first scaring everybody else away.
There’s plenty of footage online of him carefully lifting opponents over his head before dropping them savagely on the concrete floor. I’m careful to slide my hand over my son’s eyes as I sit down to watch and learn.