Colt Cabana says it was his idea to get involved with Brodie Lee in AEW.
Speaking with Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp (full interview above), Cabana, who signed with AEW in February 2020, shared that he approached Brodie Lee about working a program together after Lee had lost in his World Title match against Jon Moxley. According to Cabana, he knew it would be a cool-down period for Brodie and felt he could help build him back up.
"Obviously, there’s a lot of sad things," Cabana began. "I don’t know how much necessarily I like to talk about this stuff, but I went to Brodie with a pitch. It was after he had wrestled Moxley for the championship. It was like they built him up and then there was nothing for him to do and it’s kind of like a cool-down period. Because you knew Brodie would be in the upper echelon. But, that’s always a hard spot for, like, King Kong Bundy after WrestleMania 2, right? We built him up, but he’s gotta go down for a little bit before he goes up."
After Brodie was receptive to Cabana's pitch, Colt drew up a big manuscript that laid out their entire story. Obviously, plans changed and they had to make adjustments along the way. Unfortunately, they were never able to have the big match that they were hoping to have together. He said this:
"So, I wanted to be that in between guy for him. Give him a big win to then re-boost him into the picture because I knew there would be a little bit of a while to stall. I came to him and I said, ‘Would you mind me pitching this?’ He was like, ‘No, I love it.’ I wrote up a big manuscript of each week by week by week. Slowly, but surely it was starting. Then it started moving left and right because Cody and the TNT title started entering the picture. So, it started changing a little bit, but the end was always to get to this big match with me and Brodie. Obviously it never happened."
Brodie Lee (Jon Huber) sadly passed away on December 26, 2020, after battling a lung ailment. The December 30 episode of AEW Dynamite was a celebration of his life.
With everything that transpired, Cabana says it couldn't get more real as to why he is in the Dark Order.
"Sometimes I see stuff online being like, ‘Why is Colt being in the Dark Order?’ It’s the most real-life shit that there is. I was stuck in this matrix of will I or won’t I? Brodie has left us. It couldn’t get more real as to why I’m in the Dark Order. So, that’s kind of what we were doing. I can’t speak enough of how sad that we lost Brodie," said Cabana.
Never forgotten, Cabana showed off a picture of Brodie that he had behind him. All that he's waiting for is the frame so that he can hang it up.
"I got his picture over there," Cabana shared. "I’m waiting on a frame to put it on my wall. So many great artists have done stuff like that. You see it all the time. That’s kind of like the cool thing about the community of wrestling. It’s the coolest thing that Tony Khan is not only the biggest part of wrestling now, but he’s in that community and he’s like, ‘Of course we’re gonna put on this show dedicated to Brodie.’ I think we’ll always have that. Again, it’s archival. We’ll always have that. We can always watch that."
Having spent the majority of his time in AEW in front of no crowds, Cabana is excited to get back on the road and see the fans' reaction to the Dark Order. He prides himself on being able to connect with audiences and is excited for what the future holds for him and the group once everyone gets to experience them live and in person again.
"I think being in the Dark Order sums up my career as a wrestler," Cabana proclaimed. "I can’t wait until the crowds come back because that’s how I’ve been. I may not be the biggest and the strongest. I may not look like I’m one of the ‘top wrestling stars in the world,’ but I’m able to connect with the fans. It’s something I’ve always been able to do and when in an arena, I’m able to get a reaction. Just the little bit of the little crowds in Jacksonville, I think and I'm hoping it’ll open a lot of eyes when the Dark Order comes out to these live crowds. I’m very excited for what happens after that."
After more than a year of shows at Daily's Place, AEW kicks off their touring schedule on July 7th with a special Road Rager edition of Dynamite. That show will feature a strap match between Cody Rhodes and QT Marshall, as well as a coffin match between Ethan Page and Darby Allin.
You can check out Colt Cabana's new Wrestling Anonymous podcast at this link, which features voice messages from wrestling fans around the world. You can also see Cabana on All Elite Wrestling programming each week -- Dark Elevation, Mondays at 7 PM EST on Youtube, Dark Tuesdays at 7 PM EST on Youtube, and AEW Dynamite, 8 PM EST on Wednesdays on TNT.
