NWA wrestler Joseph Hudson has passed away

ATLANTA, Ga. — Somber news comes from the headquarters of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) overnight. Joseph Hudson, better known as Josephus Brody, Josephus, and The Question Mark, has passed away from a yet-to-be-diagnosed medical issue. The news was broken overnight by promotion owner Billy Corgan on Instagram and shared by Championship Wrestling from Hollywood promoter Dave Marquez on Twitter.

“It’s with a heavy heart that I share that my friend and brother in wrestling, Joseph Hudson, has passed away suddenly from an as-yet undiagnosed medical issue,” Corgan writes. “NWA fans would know him as Josephus as well as The Question Mark.”

Corgan credits the fans that would assemble at the Georgia Public Broadcasting Studios in Atlanta for the tapings of NWA Powerrr, adding that Hudson received the kind of support in-ring that he always dreamed of.

Corgan notes that Hudson is survived by a young son, in which Corgan would write, “If anything would pain him about leaving this Earth, it would be not being able to be there for his boy.”

A career Hudson hopes to live on in infamy

Hudson got his start in wrestling in January 2010 at a United States Wrestling Organization (USWO) show in his hometown of Nashville, Tenn. His debut match, as Josephus, was a victory against The Convict. He would ride on three additional wins before getting his first title opportunity in April for the USWO Heavyweight Championship. He would get disqualified in his title match against Jeff Daniels.

Following the failed bid for the title, Josephus would go on to win five of his next seven matches before entering tag team action in July 2010. He would team with Earl Fields at a Southern States Wrestling (SSW) show in Kingsport, Tenn. The match would end in a loss to Bulldog Mac and Iron Cross.

Upon returning to USWO, Josephus would rack up three consecutive singles wins and a tag team win alongside Kevin Dunn. Soon afterward, he would receive his call to NWA’s then-territory system.

In August 2010, Josephus would fight in NWA’s Southern All-Star Wrestling (SAW) promotion which was held in Nashville. Josephus would win against Johnny Bandana in a match that elapsed less than five minutes.

Outside of one tag win alongside Dutch Mantel, there was a several-month rivalry with Jeff Daniels, in which Josephus would win the title in a September 2010 Deathmatch and retaining it against Daniels in an October rematch.

In between, Josephus would fight Mantel at a Global Championship Wrestling show, emerging victorious.

Josephus would hold the primary USWO title on several occasions, all the while winning championships in SAW, Resistance Pro Wrestling, SAW/NWA’s Southern Heavyweight Championship, and NWA.

Hudson marked his 194th match in January 2020, where he and Aron Stevens would lose in tag action against The Rock n’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson). Two months later, the COVID-19 pandemic would put a halt on the sports community, therefore impacting NWA operations.

How this loss impacts NWA

NWA has yet to reveal a timeline as to how soon the promotion will be back up and running.

Hudson’s passing would impact the backstage quite considerably.

Additionally, the promotion’s roster continues to decline. Ricky Starks and Thunder Rosa are active in All Elite Wrestling. Eli Drake is now LA Knight in World Wrestling Entertainment’s NXT property. James Storm, Caleb Konley, and Tasha Steelz have consistent work in Impact Wrestling. The Beer City Bruiser and Brian “Brawler” Milonas are working for Ring of Honor. Matt Cross, Zicky Dice, and others who have been on NWA without a contract are essentially free agents.

NWA World Champion Nick Aldis hasn’t defended the title since January. Aron Stevens and JR Kratos have yet to defend the NWA World Tag Team Championship since their win in November.

Trevor Murdoch has yet to defend the NWA National Championship since winning it off Stevens in September.

The same is true for the NWA Television Championship, which Elijah Burke won off Dice in October.

Currently, the only NWA championship in active contention is the NWA Women’s Championship, currently held by Serena Deeb, who has held it since defeating Thunder Rosa in October. Deeb has successfully defended the title four times, defeating “Legit” Leyla Hirsch, Allysin Kay, Thunder Rosa, and Tay Conti.

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