Tag team wrestling star Jay Briscoe has died at age 38.
The wrestling world has lost an influential tag team wrestler. It was first widely reported by AEW Founder, Co-owner, President and CEO Tony Khan who is also the owner of Ring of Honor that Jay Briscoe has died. Yesterday evening Khan issued a statement of Briscoe’s death via his Twitter.
“Sadly, Jamin Pugh has passed away. Known to fans as Jay Briscoe, he was a star in ROH for over 20 years, from the first show until today. Jay and his brother Mark dominated ROH, reigning as champions to this day. We’ll do whatever we can to support his family. Rest In Peace Jamin,” Khan said.
Auto Accident Being Unconfirmed Caused Of Death
At this time the cause of Jay Briscoe’s death is not known. The rumor circulating is it was the result of a car accident. That has not been officially confirmed, but Dave Meltzer did say it was an auto accident, so it’s mostly confirmed.
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We did get a little details on the death and who else was involved. Jay Briscoe’s wife, Ashley Pugh, issued a statement about their daughters’ conditions which would add validity to the auto accident rumor.
According to an EMS report found by Ringside News which is thought to be describing the Jay Briscoe auto accident there were two adult fatalities. Thought to be Briscoe and the driver of another car. Two children who are believed to be Briscoe’s daughters are in critical condition.
WWE Pays Tribute To Jay Briscoe
The wrestling world has taken to the internet to share their memories of Briscoe and their condolences. NXT even held a moment of silence for Briscoe’s untimely death. This is a very huge moment for wrestling because he never wrestled for WWE and was a part of a big rival promotion since ROH is now under the AEW umbrella. This is undoubtedly because of Triple H and Shawn Michaels’ influence on WWE and NXT.
We will undoubtedly see IMPACT and AEW pay tribute on their next episode.
The Start Of The Legend Of The Briscoe Brothers
Jay and his brother Mark formed the Briscoe Brothers. They got their start in 2000 when Jay was just 16 years old. He wrestled on ROH’s first ever show in 2002. This is where the Briscoe’s stayed for most of their career. Even though they wrestled for other big promotions like CZW, GCW, NWA, IMPACT and NJPW they always returned to ROH.
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Throughout their almost 23 year career the team amassed many tag championship reigns all over the world. They have won the ROH Tag Team Championships 13 times and have the most title reigns by a lot with second most only being three. Jay himself is a two-time ROH World champion. At the time of his death they were the reigning ROH tag team champions.
A big time wrestler dying in their peak doesn’t happen often and hasn’t happened in the wrestling world since Brodie Lee died in 2020. Some good to come out of this tragedy is, as with Lee’s family and son in particular, Khan takes care of his wrestlers. He has promised to take care of Jay’s family and will probably help with funeral and hospital fees.
We here at The Illuminerdi want to share our deepest condolences to the Briscoe/Pugh family and friends. Be careful out there people, it’s a crazy and dangerous world.
What are some of your favorite Briscoe Brothers moments? What about a Jay moment which sticks out to you? Do you think we would have teams like FTR or The Usos without the Briscoes? Do you think ROH would have become as successful without the Briscoe’s being a part of the tag division?
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Sources: Tony Khan, Ringside News, Jay’s wife update
