Terrible news spread across the web in the early hours of Thursday morning: Nashville native Joseph Hudson, known to wrestling fans at different phases of his career as The Shelby Street Brawler, Jocephus Brody and most recently The Question Mark, died unexpectedly. National Wrestling Alliance head William Patrick Corgan (aka Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan) made the announcement.
Hudson was 43 years old. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help cover funeral and medical expenses. Thanks to signal-boosts from prominent members of the wrestling community, the goal has already been exceeded, and additional money raised will go into a trust for Hudson’s young son.
He also had close ties across a wide swath of Nashville’s music community. Before he began his wrestling career with the United States Wrestling Organization promotion, which at the time held matches at the Stadium Inn, he performed with immensely creative boundary-busting artists like Dave Cloud and Paul Booker. In the early 2010s, Hudson was part of a fascinating, unnerving synth-punk project called Xists, and played in a trio called Jocephus and the Nihilists with Jawws’ Hunter and Eli Tidwell. In early 2018, he released the appropriately titled self-recorded single “Electro Doom” on a split cassette with Vladopus9.
Hudson was also an actor and filmmaker in projects that weren’t always related to wrestling. However, keen-eyed local music fans will fondly remember his work in two music videos in which he played himself: “Gone Tomorrow,” from Lambchop’s 2012 album Mr. M, and “First of the Week,” from Patrick Sweany’s 2015 LP Daytime Turned to Nighttime. He was also the subject of an outstanding Nashville Docujournal short in 2012. One way to get a window into Hudson’s incredible warmth: Last month, he sat down for a two-hour streaming interview with longtime friend and local DJ/producer Pimpdaddysupreme, for his newly launched, aptly titled Beard Show. Check out their conversation about hair care, collecting VHS tapes and much more on PDS’ Twitch channel.
