AEW Pays Tribute to Jay Briscoe to Open AEW Dynamite

By Connor Casey

Jay Briscoe, real name Jamin Pugh, tragically passed away at the age of 38 on Tuesday in a car accident in Laurel, Delaware. AEW President Tony Khan was the first to break the names, alerting the public on Twitter by writing, "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." Since then, professional wrestlers from all corners of the industry have taken to social media to pay their respects to Jay and offer their condolences to his family. 

This week's AEW Dynamite opened with a special tribute to Briscoe, with the words "In Memory of Jamin Pugh 'Jay Briscoe' 1984-2023 flashing across the screen. The show then opened with Orange Cassidy defending the All-Atlantic Championship against Jay Lethal, the latter of whom had a "Briscoe" armband wrapped around his arm.

While he never appeared on AEW television proper, Briscoe played a massive role during Khan's first year of owning the promotion. He and his brother, Mark, were staples of Ring of Honor's roster from its earliest days and were the reigning ROH World Tag Team Champions when Khan announced he had purchased the company in early 2022. The two would then feud with FTR in a trilogy of pay-per-view matches, all of which were Match of the Year contenders. The final of the three saw Jay and Mark win back the tag titles in a hyperviolent Dog Collar Match at the Final Battle pay-per-view. 

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