AS I SEE IT
Bob Magee
Pro Wrestling Between the Sheets
PWBTS.com
Yesterday would have been Jay Briscoe's 42nd birthday.
I originally wrote much of this week's blog 3 years
ago...but my feelings haven't changed much since that day
three years ago when Vic Joseph told most of the wrestling
world of the death of Jay Briscoe on a live episode of NXT.
Heaven gained another star 3 years ago that sad day as Jamin
Pugh, known to wrestling as Jay Briscoe, was killed in a car
accident in Laurel, DE. He was 38 years old.
The Jay I knew wasn't the multiple time tag team champion in
multiple companies with **** and ***** matches who thrilled
wrestling fans all over the planet. Thousands of people have
talked about that Jay Briscoe over these three years
Instead, the Jay Briscoe I got to meet was the polite, well
brought up young man whose parents supported his early
career, including the night mom Jana was in tears watching
Jay wrestle brother Mark for the first time at a CZW show at
Champs indoor soccer arena what seems like 2 or 3 lifetimes
ago.
It was the Jay Briscoe who came with his brother Mark out to
the lobby of the 2300/ECW Arena where we were doing a Toys
for Tots collection at the December 18, 2015 Ring of Honor
show...the first night of Final Battle.
Jay and Mark came out and signed fan pictures before the
show, and again during intermission to try to encourage toy
donations. They helped us collect 200 toys.
The only thing they seemed to want was a picture with the
Marines escorting the toy boxes. I still have that picture
today...multiple cell phones later.
Despite his wrestling fame, Jay was family first....his wife
Ashley, a staffer at Laurel High School, and his children
Gracie, Jayleigh and Gannon, plus Mom Jana, and Dad Mike
(aka wrestling's Papa Briscoe).
He was proud of his marriage, loved his kids, family and his
life...before anything to do with professional wrestling. He
was known for taking red-eye flights home after matches so
he could spend more time with them.
He was a Girl Dad, known on social media for doing
cheerleading dances with his daughters during the height of
the pandemic (because....well...that's what Dads do
sometimes when they love their kids) and drove his daughters
to cheerleading competitions. He coached middle school
football at his son's school. He was constantly doing for
his family and for others.
In the last act of his life, Jay was apparently again doing
for his family... driving his children to cheerleading
practice at the time of the accident.
According to the State Police report, at about 5:00 pm that
Tuesday three years ago, Briscoe and his two daughters were
traveling on Laurel Road westbound in their 2019 Chevy
Silverado 1500. 27-year-old Lillyanne Ternahan, traveling
eastbound, failed to stay in her lane, crossed the center
line for unknown reasons, followed by a head-on collision.
His two daughters suffered multiple serious injuries from
the accident, and went through multiple surgeries.
The wrestling world, ALL major promotions, came together in
a way that they seldom do, and donated $346,093 to a
Give Send Go account.
After Warner Brothers Discovery, fionally gave permission;
Jay Briscoe's brother, Mark, defeated Jay Lethal in the main
event match of the January 25, 2023 episode of AEW
Dynamite, on what would have been Jay's 39th birthday. The
entire locker room came out after the match to celebrate
Mark's win. On Dynamite, AEW did a remembrance of Jay, as
the Pugh family was in the front row.
A year later, on the anniversary of Jay's death, he was
celebrated on AEW Dynamite by Mark: “I come to you
tonight representing the baddest tag team in the history of
this planet, the Briscoe Brothers. Tragically, one year ago
tonight, my brother passed on in a car accident. He moved
onto the next level of existence. My nieces were in the
truck with him, and tragically they told my oldest niece
she’ll never walk again. However, damn it, God is on the
throne! We won’t stop because we can’t stop!”
Then in a stunning moment, Mark’s niece (Jay's oldest
daughter) walked onto the stage.
The segment ended with a tribute package honoring Jay
Briscoe.
Something else needs to be made crystal clear about the man
Jamin Pugh. He was a caring man to all, not just some.
WWE and, years later, Warner Brothers Discovery held tweets
he made when he was much younger against both Jay and his
brother. But after the firestorm that followed those
original tweets, he made a specific effort to learn about
LGBT and non-binary people. He asked questions. He learned.
He asked for forgiveness. He grew. As he learned, he openly
welcomed LGBT and non-binary talent into locker rooms he was
in. LGBT talent like Effy, Kiera Hogan, Nyla Rose, Sonny
Kiss, Pollo Del Mar and others made a particular point in
their memorial tweets of making sure others knew that.
Effy's tweet said: "Jay Briscoe showed me respect and
love when everyone told me he wouldn't. If you knew Jay, you
knew he would uplift everyone in that locker room regardless
of whatever world they came to wrestling from."
It's a measure of the man that every (and I mean every)
promotion, including WWE on Smackdown and NXT...and as far
away as New Japan and Pro Wrestling NOAH remembered Jay the
weekend after his passing.
On the January 20 WWE Smackdown, WWE commentator Michael
Cole paid tribute to Briscoe, labeling him and brother Mark
as "one of the greatest tag teams in wrestling". Paul
Levesque similarly paid tribute in a tweet, commending him
as an "...incredible performer who created a deep
connection with wrestling fans across the globe."
On Night Two of Wrestle Kingdom 17 on January 21, 2023, New
Japan Pro-Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH paid tribute to
Briscoe by having talent from both companies (led by Hiroshi
Tanahashi and Naomichi Marufuji) accompany pictures of
Briscoe to the ring, where a ten-bell salute was conducted
while the Briscoes' theme played.
Heaven did indeed gain another star that Tuesday 3 years
ago.
My thoughts and prayers are with the Pugh family and all who
love the Briscoes during this sad and tragic anniversary.
Please keep them in your own thoughts and prayers.
As I said 3 years ago, hug someone and tell them you love
them. God knows when you won't get another chance.
Until next time...
If you'd like to contact me, you can do so at my
bobmagee1@hotmail.com account or to through Facebook
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