When Brodie Lee signed with AEW earlier this year, he had big plans after spending the last seven years as Luke Harper in WWE. In an exclusive interview with CBR to promote the AEW 1st Anniversary episode of AEW Dynamite, Lee described what AEW planned for his introduction to the company and compared it to his debut in an empty arena due to the quarantine.

Lee, a native of Rochester, New York, was set to debut in his hometown on a live episode of AEW Dynamite. The show was sold out, as was the next week's show in New Jersey. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, and both shows were canceled. Instead, Lee made his debut with no crowd present at all.

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"It was going to be too good to be true," Lee said of debuting in front of a sold-out crowd in his hometown. "It turned out to be too good to be true."

Lee said that AEW President Tony Khan called him to ask if he wanted to postpone his debut, and his new boss said it was totally up to him. Brodie said that was not going to happen after spending seven years in WWE and then three months sitting at home waiting to return to the ring.

"I was pent up and locked up for too long. And I was ready to, like I said before in this interview, to be a professional wrestler," Lee said. "I was ready to go at any point. I don't think I was mentally prepared for the quietness and almost non-energy level that an empty arena holds for a wrestling match. Everything hurts a bit more now."

Brodie Lee wrestling Adam Page in AEW.

When asked what he meant by that, Lee said that he hears every bump he takes now, and the adrenaline that comes with performing in front of a loud and excited audience is harder to reach without the fans there. He also mentioned that things that used to start hurting a day or two later now start hurting an hour or two after the match.

"I wonder if in other professional sports if that is the thing too? When a hockey player gets crashed into the boards, and there's no huge reaction or a football player gets crushed, and there's no huge reaction, does it hurt more?" Lee questioned. "I think it just took some adjustment. And now my energy levels at least are on par with crowd levels."

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Despite Florida restrictions lifting on the COVID-19 pandemic, Lee said he is not sure when things will get back to normal at wrestling shows, but he said he is excited to go as big as they can, as long as they do it safely and follow CDC guidelines.

"Once they added the people around the ring, and now the people in the upper bowl too, that energy is back," Lee said. "It has its own life form now, almost to say like going back in front of a crowd is going to be strange in its own sense. I think I might have too much energy now. I get fired up now in these matches I'm having in front of 500 people. So when it's 10,000 people or 20,000 people, I get goosebumps thinking about it."

AEW Dynamite airs Wednesday nights on TNT at 9/8c.

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